Northshore Housing Initiative to Hire New Staff with Partnership Grant

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Nov 23, 2015, 05:00 ET

The Northshore Housing Initiative, a community land trust in Covington, Louisiana, received a $16,000 Partnership Grant Program award November 20, 2015 from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas, Fidelity Bank, First Bank and Trust, Home Bank, and Whitney Bank. The funds will be used to hire a new staff member.

COVINGTON, La., Nov. 23, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Northshore Housing Initiative (NHI), a community land trust in St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, last week received a $16,000 Partnership Grant Program (PGP) award from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas (FHLB Dallas), Fidelity Bank, First Bank and Trust, Home Bank, and Whitney Bank. The funds will be used to hire an additional staff member.

Ed Bee, NHI treasurer, thanked contributors at the check presentation in Covington, Louisiana.

"This is the second year that our banking partners — Karin Coleman at Fidelity Bank, Peter Link at First Bank and Trust, John Zollinger at Home Bank, and David Boudreaux at Whitney Bank have donated to NHI to help build our capacity and assist moderate-income workers into homeownership in St. Tammany," he said. "This year, a 3-to-1 match from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas brought the total donation to $16,000."

Covington Mayor Mike Cooper praised the work of NHI and the organization's contributions to the community.

"I'm extremely impressed with the vision of NHI and have been a longstanding supporter of their work in our Northshore community and in particular, Covington," he said. "The assistance of an additional staff member, for which this PGP award provides funding, directly benefits forthcoming homebuyers."

PGP funding allows FHLB Dallas member institutions to make a contribution to a community-based organization (CBO) of $500 up to $4,000, which FHLB Dallas matches at a 3:1 ratio.

"Fidelity Bank is honored to participate in the Partnership Grant Program and has long been a fan of the program," said Karin Coleman, vice president and Fair Lending & CRA officer at Fidelity Bank. "It provides necessary funding to organizations like Northshore Housing Initiative to further their commitment of providing affordable housing to areas in need."

Peter Link, chief risk officer at First Bank and Trust, said the impact of this partnership grant could influence the growth of the Northshore area for the foreseeable future.

"The grant works on many levels and is a foundation upon which NHI can build," Mr. Link said. "The new staff member guides new homebuyers through the purchase process, and permanent, affordable housing stabilizes a neighborhood and the families who call it home."

In 2015, FHLB Dallas awarded $225,000 in PGP funds to support 25 organizations across its five-state District of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, and Texas.

"Through our partnership with FHLB Dallas, Home Bank is able to make a greater impact in our community," said John Zollinger, senior vice president and Northshore Market president at Home Bank. "These funds will facilitate the growth of the Northshore Housing Initiative to support much-needed affordable housing in St. Tammany Parish."

Community land trusts, like NHI, create permanently affordable housing "by investing public funding into a property to make it affordable for a family of modest means," according to the website of the National Community Land Trust Network. A homebuyer owns the house while the community land trust owns the land underneath.

David Boudreaux, vice president and Northshore Division Retail Sales leader at Whitney Bank, said the PGP grant helps families open the door to homeownership.

"Whitney Bank was founded to help people achieve their financial goals and dreams," he said.

"The FHLB Dallas partnership grant offers an excellent opportunity for us to leverage our resources to provide the much-needed funding for community organizations, such as Northshore Housing Initiative, to help the dream of home ownership come true for local families."

Presented annually, PGP awards provide grants up to $12,000 to community-based organizations, like NHI. The funds may be used for research, organizational capacity-building, grant- and funding-application assistance, or contractual services.

Greg Hettrick, vice president and director of Community Investment at FHLB Dallas, said the PGP allows CBOs some flexibility in how funds are used.

"Nonprofits, like NHI, operate under strict guidelines for how grant monies may be spent," he said. "That means things like administrative and operational costs are not eligible expenses. It's why FHLB Dallas created the PGP with the match amount, so that our members could support nonprofits of choice, and the organization could use the funds in ways that serve it best."

About First Bank and Trust
First Bank and Trust opened for business on May 21, 1991. The Bank's headquarters is located at 909 Poydras Street in the First Bank and Trust Tower, New Orleans, Louisiana. First Bank is a state chartered, FDIC insured, New Orleans based bank with approximately $800 million in assets.

About Fidelity Bank
Founded in 1908, Fidelity Bank is a mutual financial institution chartered by the state of Louisiana. Fidelity Bank provides a full array of banking services, with high integrity and personalized service to communities throughout Southeast Louisiana. For more information, visit www.fidelityhomestead.com.

About Whitney Bank
Since the late 1800s, the Whitney Bank name has embodied core values of Honor & Integrity, Strength & Stability, Commitment to Service, Teamwork, and Personal Responsibility. Part of Hancock Holding Company's Gulf South financial services family, Whitney Bank locations in Louisiana and Texas and Hancock Bank locations in Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida offer comprehensive financial choices, including traditional and online banking; commercial and small business banking; energy banking; private banking; trust and investment services; certain insurance services; and mortgage services. More information and online banking are available at whitneybank.com.

About Home Bank
Home Bancorp, Inc. is the holding company for Home Bank, National Association, a nationally chartered bank headquartered in Lafayette, Louisiana. Home Bank, N.A. offers a full range of deposit and loan products through 27 banking centers in growing regions of Louisiana and Mississippi: Acadiana, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, the Northshore (of Lake Pontchartrain), Natchez, and Vicksburg. Home Bancorp, Inc. trades on the Nasdaq Global Market under the symbol "HBCP".

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.