Over the past 18 months, NeighborWorks® America has partnered with seven rural-serving organizations through the USDA-funded Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI), building their capacity to tackle some of the most pressing housing and economic development challenges they identified in their communities. More than a grant program, the RCDI program offered tailored technical assistance and access to subject matter experts, helping these organizations secure critical funding, unlock new resources and implement innovative solutions with lasting impact. NeighborWorks America coordinated the program from start to finish: recruiting eligible organizations, assessing their needs, matching them with subject matter experts, managing the one-to-one dollar match and financial and narrative reporting to USDA, and providing individualized support to ensure each project advanced toward its locally determined goals.

NeighborWorks® America Awards Final 2025 Grants, Including $1.3 Million for Disaster Response Grants Bringing the Total Fiscal Year 2025 Relief Investment To $2.2 Million

For Immediate Release  

September 25, 2025  

Contact: Arian Tyler 

[email protected] [email protected]  

UPDATED: September 26, 2025, 1 p.m. 

 

NeighborWorks® America Awards $1.3 Million for Disaster Response Grants Bringing the Total Fiscal Year 2025 Relief Investment To $2.2 Million 

Asian Community Development Corp., a Massachusetts nonprofit that creates and preserves affordable and vibrant neighborhoods in Chinatown and Greater Boston, celebrated becoming an official member of the NeighborWorks® America network last week. The event, held in conjunction with a groundbreaking for a new affordable apartment building with a ground-floor library – the first public library in Boston’s Chinatown since 1956 – marked the fifth and final new affiliate in the NeighborWorks network for 2025.

September is Disaster Preparedness Month, a time where U.S. residents are encouraged to take steps – both big and small – to prepare for emergencies and disasters, which are increasing in both cost and scope. This year’s theme is Preparedness Starts at Home, with organizations, including the federal government, offering ideas about creating a family emergency plan and more.

A pioneering housing development has opened its doors in Silver Spring, Maryland. Developed by NeighborWorks network member Affordable Homes & Communities (AHC), in partnership with Habitat for Humanity Metro Maryland and Montgomery County, Allium Place is a one of Montgomery County’s largest new construction affordable housing developments. The $96 million development comprises 195 homes on six acres of land formerly owned by the county.

It’s not difficult in parts of New Orleans where people earn the lowest incomes to figure out which houses were built after the flooding and devastation from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. They’re often built higher, an extra layer of sustainability. They have hatches on the roofs, should residents need to climb to higher ground from the attic – something homes didn’t have during unprecedented flooding when the levees broke.

Donald R. Phoenix worked at NeighborWorks® America for more than 26 years. He was regional vice president of the Southern Region at the time of Hurricane Katrina which hit New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and was part of the NeighborWorks support team as the region began to rebuild. Isaac Igbonagwam, a relationship manager in the Southern Region, asked Phoenix for some of his reflections from that time.

NeighborWorks: How did the impact of Hurricane Katrina affect you personally?

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