HOPE Celebrates NeighborWorks America’s 40th Anniversary

HOPE celebrates with NeighborWorks America (NWA) as the Washington, D.C.-based organization marks its 40^th anniversary in 2018. With its network of more than 240 community development organizations across the nation, NeighborWorks has provided financial support and training opportunities to help strengthen thousands of distressed communities across the nation. HOPE is currently NWA’s only affiliate in Mississippi. HOPE began its active partnership with NeighborWorks America after Hurricane Katrina, when NWA provided funding, technical assistance and staff for the development of several high-impact programs. Among the organizations’ joint efforts are the Phase II counseling provided after Hurricane Katrina to nearly 10,000 individuals who received state funding.

As an affiliate, HOPE has benefited from grants, technical assistance, training and policy work advocacy. “Our impact in the Deep South region has been significantly enhanced by the support provided by NeighborWorks America,” said HOPE CEO Bill Bynum. “The training provided to our employees and NeighborWorks’ efforts to educate congressional leaders about organizations’ on-the-ground work have been invaluable.”

NeighborWorks’ support for HOPE has come in the form of grants for down-payment assistance for qualified homebuyers; projects aimed at rebuilding housing markets in the Little Rock, Ark., community, and a program designed to improve outreach to underserved Hispanic communities. HOPE also partnered with NeighborWorks last summer on project that brought more than 200 community development practitioners to the Mississippi Delta region as part of a conference to share strategies to tackle rural poverty.