In fiscal year 2022, NeighborWorks America received a core appropriation of $163 million, which was flat to FY21. In FY22, this funding provided flexible, strategic training and capital grants to 247 NeighborWorks network organizations. The appropriation also funded one Virtual Training Institute and two NeighborWorks Training Institutes, the first in-person events since the start of the pandemic, as well as other critical programming to promote the creation, preservation and investment in affordable housing and wealth building, organizational assessments to strengthen the capacity and sustainability of our network organizations, and general operations support.

The Housing Stability Counseling Program (HSCP) is part of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 that provided $100 million to NeighborWorks to design and administer a housing counseling grant program. In September 2021, 128 grants were awarded to organizations serving every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam, with initial grant payments disbursed in December 2021. In addition, NeighborWorks developed 35 HSCP-specific training courses to build counselor competency in serving renters and homeowners facing housing instability. In FY22, NeighborWorks distributed $42 million in grants and programming for HSCP.

Shared equity housing models are a specific type of housing strategy designed to create permanently affordable homes, build wealth for families, and create vibrant, inclusive and equitable communities. Between fiscal years 2019-2022, Congress appropriated $8 million for a shared equity housing initiative to build the capacity of nonprofit organizations to ensure long-term affordability for their communities through shared equity approaches, including community land trusts, deed-restricted homes, limited-equity housing cooperatives and resident-owner manufactured housing communities. In FY22, NeighborWorks distributed $3 million in support of shared equity work.

Grants and contributions are additional funds received from private corporations, foundations and federal agencies for specific programming and, at times, for general operational support. Contributions may come with restrictions or conditions that must be met before funds can be recognized. During FY22, NeighborWorks received and distributed $14 million in grants and contributions.

NeighborWorks has additional sources of income primarily from training registration fees, publications and subscriptions. During FY22, we earned an additional $4 million through these sources, an increase as compared with FY21 as NeighborWorks resumed in-person training events post the COVID-19 pandemic.

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) provided funding to NeighborWorks America to design and administer our Housing Stability Counseling Program (HSCP). This program aims to provide grants to support housing counseling for households facing housing instability, such as eviction, default, foreclosure, loss of income or homelessness. During FY22, NeighborWorks funded $39.0 million HSCP grants and $4.6 million in programmatic support.

Preserving affordable homes is a key component of NeighborWorks' mission. NeighborWorks helps our network organizations construct new homes, repair and renovate existing homes, promote homeownership and provide mixed-income affordable housing opportunities. Network organizations also provide hazard abatement, energy conservation, post-purchase counseling and foreclosure prevention services and programs. During FY22, NeighborWorks funded grants totaling $45.3 million in support of the creation and preservation of affordable housing.

NeighborWorks disseminates critical and emerging trends, data analysis and best practices through research, publications and training events that target both network organizations and the broader housing and community development field. During FY21, three NeighborWorks Training Institutes were conducted virtually. Then in FY22, NeighborWorks transitioned to two large, hybrid training institutes and continued offering vital opportunities for housing and community development professionals to learn from peers and faculty. NeighborWorks invested $16.5 million in training and peer learning opportunities during FY22 to build the capacity of its network organizations and strengthen the broader housing and community development field, issuing 10,900 training certificates during the previous fiscal year.

Capacity building is the practical assistance NeighborWorks America provides to strengthen the performance of its network organizations. The assistance is provided by way of grants and onsite technical assistance. NeighborWorks also promotes increased access to capital markets by supporting Community Housing Capital and NeighborWorks Capital. These corporations play a critical role in meeting the capital needs of NeighborWorks network organizations by providing low-cost, flexible, private-sector capital and innovative loan products to network members. These products help meet the financing needs for housing rehabilitation, homeownership and real estate development. During FY22, NeighborWorks invested $101.6 million in capacity building, inclusive of $68.2 million in grants and $33.4 million in programmatic support.

As part of our stewardship and to strengthen the sustainability of the network, NeighborWorks closely monitors the capacity and performance of each NeighborWorks network organization. The organizational assessments evaluate each network organization’s impact, financial sustainability, board governance and other critical health factors. Assessments recognize achievements in performance and identify and help mitigate and manage risk. In FY22, we invested $8.2 million in 151 assessments, 262 audit analyses, and 244 compliance assessments. Through these assessments, 72 network organizations took more than 200 steps to improve their organizational health by addressing areas for improvement and other critical health/risk concerns raised in the assessment process.