Nonprofits can seek grants to eliminate housing barriers, boost neighborhoods
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Fannie Mae is handing over thousands of dollars in grants as a result of a lawsuit settlement.
The government-controlled company helps provide money for the U.S. housing market by buying residential mortgages and packaging pools of those loans for sale to investors. U.S. fair housing agencies sued the company and accused it of maintaining real-estate-owned and foreclosed properties differently in white neighborhoods than neighborhoods of color.
Fannie Mae in February settled the lawsuit, and the settlement was designed to send money back in phases into neighborhoods cited in the lawsuit.
The first grants will be for nonprofits that focus on housing barriers. Three nonprofits in Indianapolis will pay for repairs and code violation costs, acquire parcels of land for affordable housing, and fund renovations.
The second set of grants will be distributed to nonprofits in what are called “requests for proposals,” proposing ideas for the money.
The deadline to apply for the requests for proposals is July 15.
Amy Nelson, executive director of the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana, said Fannie Mae “is typically for an individual who’s lived in neighborhoods where they couldn’t get a loan because of the lack of investment in these particular areas.”
The Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana says the grants will support communities heavily impacted by the foreclosure crisis — a period of drastically elevated property seizures in the U.S. housing market between 2007 and 2010 — and long-term disinvestment.
Nelson said, with so many impacted in Indianapolis during the foreclosure crisis, the main goal is keeping people in their homes. “Very often, it is around code enforcement issues or code violations issues. They may have received some sort of violation because they might need their siding repaired or lawns mowed.”
Martindale Brightwood is a neighborhood at the heart of the city. For JoDiane Ivey, it’s home. “I’ve lived in the neighborhood just about all my life, which is like 75 years.”
She says she’s seen decades of disinvestment with only some improvement.
For many people, specifically seniors, in the neighborhood, help may not come fast enough. Ivey said, “It needs to be built up a little bit more, and it is in certain areas because sometimes there are some specific funding, but it’s not enough to do a lot of things.”
Ivey says if the grants help, it’s worth the wait. “Very vital. You can’t necessarily find people to do those things sometimes. People are afraid to inquire about things.”