NeighborWorks America Brings More than 2,000 Community Development Professionals to Philadelphia to Participate in Training Institute

Weeklong Training Focusing on Affordable Housing Results in an Estimated $7 Million Economic Impact Citywide

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Today NeighborWorks America, which creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities, announced it will hold its quarterly NeighborWorks Training Institute in downtown Philadelphia on Aug. 19-23. The weeklong event will provide training to more than 2,000 affordable housing and community development professionals from around the country. The training institute is expected to deliver an estimated $7 million in economic impact citywide.

NeighborWorks America selected Philadelphia for its training institute because the city has a strong history of community development success. NeighborWorks America provides training to thousands of community development professionals from more than 3,000 organizations annually, including the more than 245 organizations that belong to the NeighborWorks network located in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The training institute is open to community development professionals, housing counselors, realtors, and others from nonprofit and for-profit organizations from around the country.

"NeighborWorks America's Training Institute in Philadelphia will provide an enormous opportunity for professionals from around the country to exchange best practices and strategies in community development.  This is an exciting event that allows community development practitioners to receive timely and critical education, and equally as important, the training institute allows them to collaborate and learn from one another," said Eileen Fitzgerald, chief executive officer of NeighborWorks America.

In addition to the many courses and workshops offered to more than 2,000 attendees, more than 225 community development professionals, policymakers, researchers and funders will participate in an Aug. 21 symposium focusing on "Building Financial Opportunity for Consumers: Financial Capability Models Demonstrating Impact." The event will share innovative approaches for equipping community residents with the skills they need to manage their money wisely when buying a home, sending a child to school or starting a new business.   During the training institute, NeighborWorks America will launch a financial capability certification program to train coaches, counselors and program managers how to better help their clients reach and sustain long-term financial health. This is the sixth certification program to be offered by the NeighborWorks Center for Homeownership Education and Counseling, established to build and reward mastery of new skills among professionals specializing in housing and economic stability.

Among the expected speakers at the symposium are Michelle Singletary, author and nationally syndicated columnist for The Washington Post, and Mayor of Philadelphia Michael A. Nutter.

The NeighborWorks Training Institute in Philadelphia is supported by a variety of partners, including The Wells Fargo Housing Foundation, Citi and the Citi Foundation, Bank of America, The Atlantic Philanthropies, JPMorgan Chase, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, USDA Rural Development, TD Charitable Foundation and the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency.

In addition to the training institute, NeighborWorks organizations work every day to serve Philadelphia and the surrounding community. In fiscal year 2012, NeighborWorks organizations in Pennsylvania generated more than $60 million in total direct investment, served more than 2,000 individuals and families, and created and maintained 91 jobs. To read more about NeighborWorks organizations' impact in Pennsylvania and other states, view the NeighborWorks America interactive map at http://nw.org/network/stateimpactasp/interactive_map.asp.  

New Kensington CDC in Philadelphia and Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Berks in Reading are local partners for NeighborWorks America and Wells Fargo's LIFT program, a multi-market initiative that  assists mortgage-ready buyers achieve sustainable homeownership by providing  services such as homebuyer preparation and down payment assistance. The following NeighborWorks organizations are in Pennsylvania: New Kensington CDC, Neighborhood Housing Services of Greater Berks, Neighborhood Housing Services of the Lehigh Valley, NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania and NeighborWorks Western Pennsylvania.

NeighborWorks America has sponsored national training institutes since 1987. In 2012, the NeighborWorks Training Institute trained more than 6,000 professionals from 2,100 organizations, and awarded more than 10,000 training certificates. In addition to the national training institutes, the organization offers a variety of educational opportunities for professionals, both classroom and online, throughout the year. In total, NeighborWorks America trained nearly 13,000 professionals from more than 3,500 organizations in 2012, and awarded more than 20,000 training certificates.

For more information about NeighborWorks America, and to register for the training institute, visit www.nw.org.

About NeighborWorks America
For 35 years, NeighborWorks America has created opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $19.5 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation's leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.  

Twitter:@neighborworks

SOURCE NeighborWorks America