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star_120Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services (INHS) has been selected by the Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund for a grant of $750,000. This grant will be used to make home purchase and home improvement loans to low-income residents of Tompkins County - specifically targeting homeowners and first-time homebuyers in the rural portions of the County.

Previously, most of INHS’ funds have been limited to use within the City of Ithaca or for specific program purposes, such as rehab loans. Paul Mazzarella, Executive Director of INHS. states, “We were thrilled to learn that INHS had been selected. These funds will enable INHS to grow its lending programs. Because his grant offers much greater flexibility, we will be able to extend our reach to more residents throughout Tompkins County.”

The CDFI Fund is a program of the U.S. Treasury Department.  Its mission is to promote lending by programs that benefit low- and moderate-income people. In order to receive CDFI funding, an organization must have been previously certified as a CDFI, which means that it can demonstrate a primary purpose of lending to low-income communities.  Most of the certified CDFIs are credit unions or loan funds.

The 2010 CDFI funding round was the most competitive in the program's 15-year history. There were 408 applications with total requests of $467 million. The program awarded 180 grants totaling $104.9 million and ranging in size from $87,000 to $750,000 to be used for technical assistance or lending capital. The CDFI program, in its review process, places a premium on sound financial performance and solid business planning.

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