NEW ORLEANS, Nov. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The more than 900 residents of New Orleans' Faubourg Lafitte neighborhood prove that a sense of home cannot be washed away, even by Hurricane Katrina. Last week, representatives of the Faubourg Lafitte Tenants' Association (FLTA) were awarded a $16,000 Partnership Grant Program (PGP) check from IBERIABANK and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas). The funds will be used for organizational capacity-building, stipends, transportation costs, and special events.
Presented annually, PGP awards provide grants up to $12,000 to community-based organizations (CBOs), like FLTA. The funds may be used for research, organizational capacity-building, grant- and funding-application assistance, or contractual services.
The new, diverse-income Faubourg Lafitte community incorporates the 27 acres once occupied by the Lafitte public housing project, as well as the historic Treme´ neighborhood, noted as one of America's first African-American neighborhoods. In 2012, the FLTA incorporated as a nonprofit to "serve the needs and interests of Faubourg Lafitte tenants and foster a forum for education and civic engagement."
Andreanecia Morris, vice president for Homeownership & Community Development at Providence Community Housing, further explained the inclusivity of the organization.
"Faubourg Lafitte Tenants' Association is a relativity new organization. Public housing residents typically organized into a 'resident council,' and the term refers almost exclusively to public housing," she said. "This tenants' association is broader than public housing because it includes everyone. So the name was expanded to include everyone in the Faubourg Lafitte neighborhood. We have public housing, Section 8, and market-rate families."
Providence Community Housing is a 501(c)3 nonprofit community development corporation that has been co-developing the Faubourg Lafitte neighborhood with Enterprise Community Partners, Inc.
"As part of the Faubourg Lafitte development team, Enterprise is committed to providing high-quality affordable housing and ensuring residents have access to opportunity through connections to jobs, health care, education, and other services," said Michelle Whetten, vice president and market leader, Gulf Coast, at Enterprise Community Partners and a member of FHLB Dallas' Advisory Council. "The support provided by IBERIABANK and the FHLB Dallas partnership grant will help FLTA continue this important work."
FLTA Vice President and Treasurer Dianne Alfred first lived in Treme´ 30 years ago. She moved into Faubourg Lafitte in 2010.
"I was in the 4th grade when I first came to Treme´. Neighbors would sit on the porches and talk," she said. "It's not as family-oriented as it was before. I want to create a more positive environment for the kids. This is my passion because this is where I'm from."
IBERIABANK has actively supported the establishment of the Faubourg Lafitte neighborhood.
"IBERIABANK is delighted to have been a partner with Faubourg Lafitte since its inception, beginning with our participation in the construction and redevelopment of the area," said Donald Zornman, executive vice president & regional group manager at IBERIABANK. "Since our early involvement, we have also supported various projects including Lafitte Youth Tennis and a landscaped pocket park, which serves as a community space that encourages resident interaction and socializing. The Faubourg Lafitte Tenants' Association plays an instrumental part in the vitality and success of the development, and we are excited to have assisted in this matching grant with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas."
PGP funding allows FHLB Dallas member institutions, such as IBERIABANK, to make a contribution to a CBO of $500 up to $4,000, which FHLB Dallas matches at a 3:1 ratio. In 2015, FHLB Dallas awarded $225,000 in PGP funds to support 25 organizations.
Community investment, through the PGP and other grant programs, is a cornerstone of FHLB Dallas' mission.
"FHLB Dallas offers several types of grant programs. We established the PGP to help support smaller nonprofit community organizations by matching grants at a 3-to-1 ratio with our member institutions," said Greg Hettrick, vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas. "It is a win-win for everyone involved."
On the 10th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina in August 2015, President Barack Obama toured the Faubourg Lafitte/Treme´ neighborhood.
Of the rebuilding, President Obama said in the full transcript on NOLA.com, the website of "The Times-Picayune" newspaper: "You are an example of what is possible when, in the face of tragedy and in the face of hardship, good people come together to lend a hand, and brick by brick, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood, you build a better future."
About IBERIABANK
IBERIABANK Corporation is a financial holding company with 326 combined offices, including 223 bank branch offices and three loan production offices in Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Alabama, Texas, Florida, and Georgia, 22 title insurance offices in Arkansas and Louisiana, and mortgage representatives in 69 locations in 10 states. The Company has eight locations with representatives of IBERIA Wealth Advisors in five states, and one IBERIA Capital Partners, L.L.C. office in New Orleans.
About the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
The Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas is one of 11 district banks in the FHLBank system created by Congress in 1932. FHLB Dallas, with total assets of $43.0 billion as of September 30, 2015, is a member-owned cooperative that supports housing and community development by providing competitively priced advances and other credit products to approximately 865 members and associated institutions in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas. Visit fhlb.com for more information.
Contact:
Corporate Communications
Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
www.fhlb.com
(214) 441-8445
Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20151109/285317
Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20150126/171462LOGO
SOURCE Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas
Share this article