The grant comes from the United States Department of Treasury through the Community Development Financial Institutions Equitable Recovery Program (CDFI ERP). This award assists with the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and invests in long-term prosperity.

The grant funds may be used to support lending related to small businesses and microenterprises, community facilities, affordable housing, commercial real estate and intermediary lending to non-profits and CDFIs.

The funds can also be used for financial services, development services to support borrowers and operational support for the CDFI grant recipient.

To learn more about the CDFI Fund and its programs, visit the CDFI Fund’s website at www.cdfifund.gov.

Governor Kathy Hochul Announces Launch of Homeowner Assistance Fund program

A new $539 million Homeowner Assistance Fund in New York State is aimed at helping homeowners avoid foreclosure.

The program is the first in the nation to receive the U.S. Department of the Treasury‘s approval. It will help eligible homeowners avert mortgage delinquency, default, foreclosure, and displacement. Applications will be accepted beginning Monday, January 3, 2022.

Governor Kathy Hochul also announced the launch of the state homeowner assistance fund website, an information call center, and a multi-lingual marketing campaign that will help educate homeowners about the program.

The program will target low- to moderate-income homeowners who are behind on mortgage payments, property taxes, water or sewer bills, as well as owners of cooperative or condo units behind on maintenance fees, and manufactured homeowners behind on chattel loans or retail installment contracts.

Eligible applicants may receive financial assistance to catch up on missed housing payments, to reduce mortgage debt to make monthly mortgage payments more affordable, and for homeowners who are unemployed, assistance with up to six months of future housing payments.

The program will be managed by Sustainable Neighborhoods LLC, a non-profit community development financial institution selected through a competitive Request for Proposals.