FOIA

President Lyndon Johnson signed the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) into law July 4, 1966. Since then, Congress has amended it three times: 1974, 1986 and 1996. FOIA exists to empower the public with information and to encourage transparency in government. As a responsible steward of appropriated federal dollars, NeighborWorks America is committed to fulfilling its responsibilities under FOIA.

NeighborWorks America provides information in three different ways:

• Federal Register — Meeting announcements for NeighborWorks America's board of directors are published in the Federal Register and on our board meetings page.
• Virtual reading room — Frequently requested materials are made available in our virtual reading room.
• FOIA document requests — If you seek information related to any other organizational record, you must request it via a formal FOIA submission (see below). 
  • (preferred) Use the button at the top of the page to submit a FOIA request using the JustFOIA platform  
  • Send an email to [email protected].
  • Send a letter addressed to:
    Jenna Sylvester, Paralegal and FOIA Liaison 
    Office of the General Counsel
    NeighborWorks America 
    1255 Union St. NE,  Suite 500
    Washington, DC  20002
     

Please direct any question about the FOIA process to  [email protected].

Receipt of Request

NeighborWorks America will confirm receipt of a FOIA request within 10 working days and will strive to notify the requester within 20 days of our decision to grant or deny it.  If this timeframe is not possible, our FOIA Liaison will notify the requester of the reason for delay and the right to appeal.

Request Denial

A FOIA document request allows members of the public to request records that are not already available on the NeighborWorks America's website or in our virtual reading room. The presumption is that NeighborWorks America will produce any and all documents related to a FOIA request that can be located with reasonable time and effort. However, FOIA provides exemptions for certain protected material and NeighborWorks America will withhold a requested record if it is covered by an exemption as listed at 5 USC 552(b).  Requests will be denied by NeighborWorks America only if it can demonstrate which FOIA exemptions apply to the document in question. 

FOIA Appeals Process

A person whose properly-submitted FOIA request is denied may appeal within 90 days by submitting a letter marked "FOIA Appeal" to Nakeasha L. Sanders-Small, General Counsel at nsanders-[email protected] and copy [email protected].