In Florida, where the community development nonprofit Wealth Watchers is based, a Lady Bird Deed – a deed that says who will inherit the property if the owner dies but where the owner retains full rights (including sales rights) while living – is a legal way to transfer wealth. One state over in Georgia, which Wealth Watchers also serves, this type of deed is not legal.

When Nina Teasley took the podium at the ribbon cutting for The Residences at Forest Glen, she shared more than her gratitude, she shared a story of resilience, community, and a new beginning.

Teasley grew up in Ohio, where she raised four children. When her marriage ended, she said, so did her financial security. “I hadn’t paid into social security. I had no retirement plan. And the divorce meant I had to start over. And I did.”

To address rising housing costs that keep homeownership out of reach for many families with low financial resources, some nonprofits are advancing the concept of shared equity housing. In shared equity housing, ownership is shared between a homeowner and a nonprofit representing the community, between a group of homeowners, or when an initial subsidy is passed down from one family to the next over generations to keep a home affordable over time. Models include community land trusts (CLTs), deed-restricted homes, limited-equity housing cooperatives and resident-owned manufactured housing communities (ROCs).
Just before the pandemic, St. Mary Development Corp. began exploring technology as a way to keep older adults in the organization’s Dayton, Ohio, community linked with the outside world and with one another. Five years later, the organization remains more convinced than ever that technology is a key to keeping people engaged. What’s more, says Natalynne Baker, executive vice president of the organization, those who don’t learn new technologies risk missing out, losing their voice and losing access to some types of care. 
Six years ago, Elizabeth Alonzo-Villarreal was in the NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence Program, thinking about a potential capstone project that would take her organization, NeighborWorks Laredo, to the next level. The program, which NeighborWorks® America hosts in cooperation with Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Business, provides classes, coaching and mentorship for leaders like Alonzo-Villarreal, who serves as CEO. She had her answer. “We wanted to become a CDFI,” she said.
NeighborWorks Laredo kicked off NeighborWorks Week with a groundbreaking ceremony for five new homes. In Boise, teams of volunteers once again painted the town, sprucing up 25 homes with a spotlight on homes owned by veterans. There’s a painting program in the Spenard neighborhood of Anchorage, Alaska, too – the same Neighborhood where NeighborWorks Alaska was created more than 40 years ago.
NeighborWorks America convened 17 real estate professionals from across the network this week for an in-person training to focus on Advancing Leaders in Real Estate. This is the first time all four regions of the country have been a part of the intensive, 10-month program, which started in the Northeast and has grown over the past three years.
It’s National Homeownership Month, a time to recognize the importance of homeownership. It may look a little different now, but for many, it is still the American Dream and a path to achieving generational wealth. Today, we share Dawson Bowcut's journey to homeownership, which is tied in with NeighborWorks America and its job of creating homes, building America.
Subscribe to network strength