Strategic Direction-A Message From Our Chief Executive Officer
Posted on Friday, January 6th, 2012
Dear Friends,
The New Year marks a significant milestone here at NPHS as we will conclude our 20th year of working to redevelop neighborhoods.
Over the course of two decades, NPHS has developed into a multi-faceted Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), providing redevelopment services to local government partners. As the only residential CDFI in the Inland Empire, we have started to finance our own redevelopment projects by leveraging public resources with private sector capital to ensure sustainable and affordable homeownership developments.
As a NeighborWorks® HomeOwnership Center, we continue to work with local municipalities to administer and provide down payment assistance programs to first-time homebuyers and home improvement loans and grants to homeowners, especially to low-income seniors. Additionally, as a HUD-approved Housing Counseling Agency, we continue to provide free comprehensive home buying education and counseling. In partnership with Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, we are also providing free holistic financial counseling to assist distressed borrowers avoid foreclosure.
NPHS continues to stabilize and revitalize neighborhoods and lay foundations for wealth creation and economic development. Alongside our local government and development partners, we continue to renovate blighted and distressed properties and convert them into homes for first-time buyers.
These and other services have been critical in developing stronger, more economically viable communities.
As an organization that has learned to adapt with the changing market and needs of our communities, we recognize the importance of developing a strategic plan that describes the programs we expect to deliver over the next three years, while ensuring that we are able to bring the best services to our communities.
On May 14th, 2011, our Board of Directors and staff agreed on four major areas of focus for the coming three years. We undertook a well-organized and thoughtful planning exercise to develop a strategic plan that ensures the continuation of building stronger communities in the Inland Empire and Eastern Los Angeles County. During our planning process, we developed four tangible and bold initiatives. I would like to share with you our four main areas of focus which collectively lay the foundation for our strategic direction.
The first is to expand our programs and leverage services within all lines of business. NPHS will extend its home buying services by creating a non-profit real estate subsidiary. As an extension of our home buying services, NPHS Realty will specialize in serving low and moderate-income homebuyers and will facilitate the acquisition and sale of the properties that we purchase through our Neighborhood Redevelopment and Stabilization Program. In addition, we will offer our property acquisition and disposition services to our non-profit and local government partners to assist them with their redevelopment efforts. As a CDFI, we will expand our lending products offered to low and moderate-income homebuyers and homeowners. The expansion of our CDFI activities will provide a boost to hard-hit industries, helping builders keep construction workers on the job, giving lenders the chance to originate more loans, and providing real estate agents the opportunity to show and sell homes.
The second is to develop financial resources for growth, impact and sustainability. As public funding sources for redevelopment continue to decrease in our current economic climate, both at the state and federal level, the role of private sector capital is critical. As a CDFI, NPHS will engage the private sector to attract investment capital through equity and tax-credit programs and other public/private collaborations to capitalize our Community Housing Trust, which funds our redevelopment projects. The Community Housing Trust will finance the construction of additional new homes and the rehabilitation of more vacant, foreclosed properties. By attracting more private sector participation, we see a unique opportunity to create the resources that will maintain and expand redevelopment.
The third is to create and expand existing capacity and align our programs and services. NPHS recognizes the value brought by each employee’s capabilities, contributions and potential. NPHS is committed to develop these assets through retention and training in order to improve overall productivity and achieve mission success. Our operations will be realigned to focus on effective and efficient program delivery, which will enable us to deliver high-quality services and foster an ongoing commitment to innovation and system improvement throughout all of our lines of business. We recognize that we cannot succeed as an agency unless we strategically manage our programs, build capacity and invest in our workforce. We will particularly concentrate in building capacity and expertise in real estate development, project management, and loan underwriting.
Lastly, we will identify the most powerful, effective ways to promote NPHS. Our goal is to elevate our outreach efforts to better engage, support and assess the needs of our communities. We will forge strong relationships with key stakeholders, establish a positive and transparent image and build diverse coalitions that facilitate the dissemination of information to maximize outreach and garner support for local issues and initiatives.
These four goals frame our strategic direction for the next three years. The foundation we have laid over the last twenty years has enabled us to rest our vision on solid ground.
NPHS has enjoyed two decades of success and we are just getting started. We are working harder than ever to help more of our fellow citizens find and keep safe, comfortable and affordable housing. We are constantly evaluating new approaches and strategies to ensure stable and long-term homeownership solutions. We are reaching out to new partners, developing new funding sources for our real estate developments and finding unique and innovative approaches to foster effective and meaningful impact.
As we look ahead with great anticipation and some anxiety, we know that will face significant economic challenges that will impact the community development industry, and the effects of these challenges will be felt for many years to come. Working together, if we are innovative and resourceful, we can find opportunity in the face of change and uncertainty.
On behalf of the Board of Directors and staff of NPHS, I thank you for working alongside us and sharing in our collective journey toward strengthening and improving the quality of life in our neighborhoods. Many thanks go out to our funders for their financial support and continued confidence. Thank you on behalf of all those families who have enjoyed the benefit of your investment.
Together, we have built a strong foundation upon which all of our future successes will stand.
May we all continue to reach new heights.
Sincerely,
Clemente A. Mojica