Community Affairs:
Article Archive > Louisiana
Louisiana Initiative Promotes Adult Literacy
Adult illiteracy continues to be an urgent and growing problem in America. To
help combat the issue in southeast Louisiana, the Volunteer Instructors Teaching
Adults, Inc., (VITA) is actively working to help adult learners develop the
literacy skills needed to further their education and to reach their full
potential. As a nonprofit adult literacy agency, VITA has provided one-to-one
and small group literacy instructions since 1982, serving Lafayette, St. Landry,
Iberia, Vermilion, and St. Martin Parishes. VITA offers several programs, each
designed to provide educational services for individuals 17 years of age and
older with less than a high school education who desire to improve their reading
skills or English proficiency. In addition to improving basic educational
skills, VITA programs incorporate survival and life skills, including promoting
financial independence and self sufficiency.
VITA also maintains technology and resource centers fully equipped with computer
hardware and software for instructions in basic reading skills development
related to the attainment of workplace foundation skills. In addition, VITA
recruits bank employees to serve as instructors in the computer lab and teach
financial literacy mini-courses on such topics as "How to Open a Bank Account,"
and "Checking vs. Money Orders." They also provide counseling on home mortgages,
investments, and auto loans.
VITA is seeking to expand its partnerships with financial institutions by
securing volunteer instructors and funding to support its ongoing programs. Bank
employees who serve as volunteer tutors or instructors enable VITA to reach more
adults and to devote its limited resources to other agency needs. For more
information on the work of Volunteer Instructors Teaching Adults, Inc., and its
core programs, go to its
Web site. [Community Developments Investments, Spring 2009]
Small Loans, Big Returns
Ways to Work (WtW) is a nonprofit, community development financial institution
that helps lower-income people. WtW is designed to help borrowers attain
financial independence and advance economically by having money to purchase
dependable used cars to get to work or school. Since 1996, WtW has originated
nearly 12,000 loans for more than $31 million and the average auto loan amounts
to an average $3,400. Results of a 2006 WtW evaluation indicate that borrowers
reported an average increase of 41 percent in their take-home pay. In addition,
67 percent of WtW borrowers report that they have used conventional financial
services subsequent to receiving their WtW loans.
Headquartered in Milwaukee, WtW makes its loans from 43 offices in 21 states:
California, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland,
Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin.
WtW offices are located in social service agencies affiliated with the Alliance
of Children and Families (ACF). ACF agencies screen and provide financial
education to borrowers and service the loans. WtW local offices provide
financial education to more than three persons for every individual who receives
a loan. Investors in WtW include several national foundations, the Community
Development Financial Institution Fund of the U.S. Treasury Department, local
United Way offices, and financial institutions. Banks can be involved by
investing in the national WtW loan fund, by referring to local WtW offices
prospective borrowers who do not meet conventional credit criteria, by
participating in local WtW loan committees, and by providing grants and in-kind
donations to WtW.
For more information, contact President Jeff Faulkner at (414) 359-1448 ext. 2,
e-mail him, or visit his
Web site.
[Community Developments Investments, Fall 2008]
An Investment Opportunity in Northwest Louisiana
The newly created $40 million Northwest Louisiana Community Development Fund I
was established to finance local real estate projects to help revitalize low-
and moderate-income (LMI) communities across Northwest Louisiana. The fund
currently has more than $11 million in capital commitments. The fund's sponsor,
the Strategic Action Council, was created to enhance the capacity of the region
to compete in today's global, technology-driven economy.
JPMorgan Chase is the lead investor with family and national foundations, both
national and community banks, and institutional investors, such as pension funds
and university endowments joining the fund.
The fund seeks to deliver market rate returns to investors and to create jobs,
income, and community revitalization for LMI residents in a 10-parish region
(Bienville, Bossier, Caddo, Claiborne, DeSoto, Lincoln, Natchitoches, Red River,
Sabine, and Webster). This region represents emerging markets with substantial
potential to contribute to the growth of Northwest Louisiana. Initial
investments are expected in summer 2008, based on a pipeline of projects
including mixed-income, mixed-use, workforce housing, and commercial joint
ventures with developers and builders in the communities.
For more information, contact Karen Kasteel, Managing Director for the Kennedy
Wilson Fund Management Group, at (310) 877-3414 or
e-mail her; or contact J. B. Beaird, Manager/CEO at Beaird Operating
Companies (the Local Investor Group), at (318) 221-8276 or
e-mail him.
[Community Developments Investments, Fall 2008]
Enterprise Corporation of the Delta/HOPE Community Credit Union Offers
Opportunity to Help Rebuild
Enterprise Corporation of the Delta/Hope Community Credit Union (ECD/HOPE) is a
partner for banks seeking to provide assistance in communities affected by
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. In the months since the hurricanes, cleanup and
relief efforts continue, but increasingly the focus is shifting to rebuilding
and planning for recovery of the affected areas. Tens of thousands of homes and
businesses were destroyed or heavily damaged, displacing families, and
disrupting lives. Banks can play a large and vital role in the rebuilding
process.
ECD/HOPE can bring proven affordable housing, small business lending, and
community development expertise to the victims of the hurricanes, as well as,
participating financial institutions. ECD/HOPE is headquartered in Jackson,
Mississippi, with offices throughout Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi.
ECD/HOPE is a nonprofit certified community development financial institution
working to strengthen communities, build assets, and improve lives in
economically distressed areas of the mid-South. It does this by providing
financial and technical assistance to firms, entrepreneurs, homeowners and
community development projects, and by forging strategic partnerships across the
public, private sectors, and banks. Since its founding in 1994, ECD/HOPE has
generated more than $200 million in financing and assisted more than 13,000
people in economically-distressed communities in the region.
For more information on investment and lending opportunities and how your bank
can partner with ECD/HOPE, contact Bill Bynum, chief executive officer, at (601)
944-1100.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments Investments,
Spring 2006]
New Statewide Individual Development Account (IDA) Programs
The IDA Collaborative of Louisiana received a contract through the Louisiana
Department of Social Services and is implementing a statewide IDA program. The
IDA Collaborative is seeking bank partners to provide savings accounts, support
and technical assistance.
For more information, please call Lina Alfieri Stern, Program Administrator, at
(504) 865-5455.
[Published in News from the Districts, Community Developments, Fall 2002]
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