Housing Northwest ED Darcy Vincent Named in Forty Under 40

Darcy Vincent, Executive Director of Housing Northwest, was named as one of the Forty under 40 exceptional business people in Oregon by the Portland Business Journal. The Forty under 40 Award recipients are chosen by a panel of community business leaders who review applicants based on professional accomplishment, community engagement and professional and peer recognition. She was chosen from over 200 candidates to have the honor of appearing on this year’s list.

In winning the award, Vincent joined 39 other Portland-area business leaders from industries such as law, education, banking and finance, architecture, health care and communications.

“I am glad to see that so many of the winners are non-profit leaders,” said Vincent.  “I think that it shows my generation is committed to social enterprise.”

Vincent was appointed by the Board of Directors to serve as the President and CEO of Housing Northwest, Inc. in 2006.  She is responsible for the operations of the organization and new business development.

Prior to joining Housing Northwest, Ms. Vincent was Vice President for Asset Management for Homestead Capital, an organization committed to financing affordable housing in the Western US through the purchase of Low Income Housing Tax Credits. During her tenure, the portfolio of $320 million in assets was widely recognized as the best performing in the country.   Ms. Vincent brings fifteen years of property management experience including residential, mixed-use, commercial and retail.  She has the enviable record of leasing 35 properties on or ahead of schedule in the past three years and has helped Property Management companies navigate the complexities of  Section 42 of the IRS code by hosting tax credit compliance workshops in Oregon and Washington.

Vincent attended University of Hawaii with a focus on Speech Communication and Public Address. She is a licensed Property Manager and a Certified Credit Compliance Professional.  She is a Director of the Board of Innovative Housing, Inc. and the Community Development Network and volunteers for numerous organizations focused on ending homelessness.

Joint Ways and Means Committee Hearing Tonight (4/5) in Portland

Housing Alliance supporters from Portland have great opportunity to speak up in favor the Alliance’s $100 for Homes proposal TONIGHT in Portland. The Oregon Legislature’s Joint Ways and Means Committee will taking public testimony on public priorities tonight, April 5, at Portland’s Jefferson High School cafeteria at 6:30 pm.

The support of the Joint Ways and Means Committee will be crucial to the success of the $100 Million for Homes legislation. Two weeks ago, the Committee Co-Chair Representative Mary Nolan said that the $100 Million for Homes was the second most important priority of the Committee for the 2007 Legislative Session.  We need to thank the Committee for its leadership and reinforce the importance of expanding housing opportunity for working families, seniors, people with disabilities and others being priced out of their communities.

Jefferson High School is located at 5210 N. Kerby.

To learn more about the $100 Million for Homes, go to: http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org/_downloads/White_Paper-$100m.pdf

The anchor of the $100 Million for Homes, a $15 increase to the State’s existing document recording fee that would provide $60 million for housing per biennium, continues to receive strong support from Oregon legislators.  

“Senate Bill 38 [the bill advancing the increased document recording fee] marks the first significant new state investment in affordable housing since 1991,” said Senator Avel Gordly (I-Portland).   “This is Oregon’s first investment in targeted home ownership opportunities for racial and ethnic populations, those populations that have historically suffered from redlining and other discriminatory practices. Through Senate Finance and Revenue Committee Chair Senator Ryan Deckert’s leadership, the Legislature has at last addressed what has been an underinvestment in all communities.”

The Housing Alliance brings together advocates, local governments, housing authorities, community development corporations, environmentalists, service providers, business interests and all others dedicated to increasing the resources available to meet our housing needs to support a common statewide legislative and policy agenda. To find out more about the Housing Alliance, go to: http://www.oregonhousingalliance.org/

ROSE Celebrates Ten Years of Service to East Portland Seniors April 12

ROSE Community Development is celebrating 10 years of serving East Portland Seniors.  Come celebrate our 10-year Anniversary of Lents Village, a 63-unit community designed to meet a growing senior population’s need for affordable housing in southeast Portland.   

The kitchen was designed for Loaves & Fishes Centers, Inc. to provide noontime meals for seniors who live at Lents Village and for seniors living in the surrounding neighborhood.  Today, ten original residents still live at Lents Village and Loaves and Fishes is still providing noontime meals to the residents and neighbors. 

This event will be held on Thursday, April 12^th, from 4:00pm - 7:00pm at Lents Village Apartments, 10325 SE Holgate, in Portland.

Tours will be offered at 4:30pm, 6:00pm, and 6:30pm with a program at 5:30pm.  The program includes awards to 10-year residents.  Music will be provided by Alia Farah.  Snacks will be provided by Loaves & Fishes Centers, Inc.

Please come join ROSE CDC in celebrating the Lents Village Apartments!

For more information or to RSVP, please contact:

Mackendree Thompson at 503-788-8052 x100 or mackendree@rosecdc.org

HUD Section 202/811 Program Applications Workshop on April 12

Recently, HUD awarded $11.2 Million in Fiscal Year 2006 Section 202 funds to faith-based organizations to construct 100 units of housing for the elderly poor in Springfield and Lake Oswego.  St. Vincent de Paul of Lane County will build 55 units in Springfield and Lake Grove Presbyterian Church will partner with Northwest Housing Alternatives to build 45 units in Lake Oswego.  The Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Fiscal Year 2007 Section 202 and 811 programs was published on March 13 and is available here.  

Region X, Seattle Multifamily Hub, will be offering Section 202/811 NOFA workshops throughout the Region. This is a good opportunity to learn more about the programs, changes in this funding round, how to submit an application, and local information that pertains to the programs.

The workshops will be held at the HUD Portland Field Office on Thursday, April 12^th, 9:00 AM to 11:30AM.

If you are interested in attending, please contact Toni Morse at (971) 222-2652 to reserve a space.

Community Partners for Affordable Housing will host its 9^th Annual HomeWord Bound: An Event of Literary Proportions fundraiser on Friday, April 13, 2007, from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Embassy Suites Washington Square. The entertaining evening includes 12 local authors, dinner, a no-host bar, a silent auction, and book signings and sales – all to support the development of safe, healthy affordable housing for low-income families in our community.

Shawn Levy (Oregonian movie critic and author of “The Last Playboy”), will serve as the event’s Master of Ceremonies, and the evening’s featured speakers include Brian Doyle, “The Grail” and Bart King, “The Big Book of Girl Stuff.” Guest authors include Kassten Alonso, Jan Baross, Susan Sokol Blosser, Gabriel Boehmer, Monica Drake, Steve Duin, Andrew Holtz, Joe Kurmaskie and Cheryl Strayed. Dr. Donna Beegle, author and international consultant on poverty issues, also will present an affordable housing testimonial.

Reservations are required. Tickets are $50 and include dinner with a no-host bar, and are available by calling 503-968-2724 or online at www.cpahinc.org. Books by all authors in attendance will be available for sale and authors will be signing before and after the program. Event sponsors include: Washington Mutual, Oregon Medical Evaluations, Enterprise, Carleton Hart Architecture, Key Bank, LMC Inc., Walsh Construction, Alder Geotechnical Services, Bateman Seidel Miner Blomgren Chellis & Gram PC, Hagerman Frick O’Brien LLC, Housing Development Center, Network for Oregon Affordable Housing, Seabold Construction Co., Inc., Wells Fargo and William Wilson Architects PC.

Proceeds benefit Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH). Founded in 1993, CPAH is a nonprofit community development corporation serving Southeast Washington County and Southwest Portland. CPAH’s mission is to promote a healthy community through the development of permanent affordable housing, sustainable economic growth and community-based partnerships. CPAH currently owns four multi-family apartment communities and one single-family home in the Tigard area (175 units) with rents affordable to families and individuals of modest means. In addition, CPAH provides programs and activities at their properties for residents and their children. Also under construction is CPAH’s first housing project for low-income seniors, The Watershed at Hillsdale in SW Portland.

The CNRG conference for small and emerging nonprofits is April 20. The conference schedule and session descriptions are below. To register for the conference, please check out our website at http://www.nonprofitcontinuum.org.

*Nonprofit Continuum Schedule*

8:30 - 8:50: Coffee

9:15 - 10:45: Session I:

Mission-Based Micro-Enterprise or Nonprofit -- What Are You, Really?

Grant Writing 211 (English)

Founders and Other Gods: Leadership Transitions

Is Your Organization Financially Sustainable?

11 - 12:30: Session II:

All that Boring Stuff: Keeping the Momentum Going in an All-Volunteer

Organization

Grant Writing 211 (Spanish)

Defining and Marketing to Your Niche

Cultural Norms and Your Nonprofit Organization

12:30 - 1:30: Lunch: How to Schmooze (or Networking 101)

1:45 - 3:00: What are the Real Needs of Portland’s Small-Scale Nonprofits?

3:15 - 4:45: Session III:

The Joys and Challenges of Being a Friends Group

Founders and Other Gods: Leadership Transitions

Is Your Organization Financially Sustainable?

Working Effectively with Your Board

4:45 - ?: Closing: Practice your newfound networking skills with the helpful additions of beer, cheese and chocolate.

*Nonprofit Continuum Session Descriptions*

All that Boring Stuff

The nonprofit sector has strong roots in the “voluntary” world and many nonprofits continue to rely solely on volunteers to get ALL the work done. This session will examine the “boring” administrative and governance work that your organization needs to do to keep its feet on the ground so that the mission-driven work is possible. Learn why the “boring” work matters and some creative solutions for recruiting and retaining the right kind of volunteers to get the work done.

Cultural Norms and Your Nonprofit Organization

Have your ever wondered why your organization has been unsuccessful at recruiting staff, volunteers or board members of color, despite your best intentions and efforts? It is likely because you are unaware of the cultural norms of the communities where you are targeting your outreach. We have put together a panel who will share their experiences from the inside, and offer guidance and suggestions to improve your outreach efforts by working within cultural norms.

Defining and Marketing to Your Niche

How successful if your nonprofit organization at marketing to your customers? Your potential funders? Your supporters? Do you even know who they are? This session will introduce you to some of the ways to identify and define the people that you would like to reach as well as some useful marketing suggestions.

Founders and other Gods: Leadership Transitions

Are your organization’s leaders getting tired and burnt out? Are you wondering how to prepare your organization for change, but don’t know where to start? Change is always hard, but preparation and transition planning can make it easier Explore the elements of leadership transition, the influence of organizational lifecycle, and what can be done to support a positive, healthy change at the top.

Grantwriting 211 (offered in both English & Spanish)

Are you looking for some ideas and tips on how to increase your success at grantwriting? Perhaps you are thinking of tackling your first grant proposal? This session will get you thinking about the big (and little) things that can make or break a good funding proposal. Bring your questions and ideas for discussion.

How to Schmooze (or Networking 101)

Networking often creates the most powerful connections, but those of us that are not natural networkers find the prospect of daunting. Are the best networkers born that way, or is it a learnable skill? We actually argue for the latter and will teach you some techniques and strategies for even the most introverted folks. You will also have an opportunity to practice your newly learned skills at the networking event at the end of the day.

Is Your Organization Financially Sustainable?

Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs illustrates that until an organization can assure its basic survival, the capacity for addressing higher order issues is severely limited. Achieving financial sustainability is a constant struggle for small nonprofits and can really inhibit the long-range planning organizations need to thrive. This session will explore some of the successes and “learning moments” one organization has experienced in their path towards organizational sustainability.

Mission-Based Micro-Enterprise or Nonprofit -- What Are You, Really?

The grey area between the private and nonprofit sectors has grown recently as business-owners direct more attention to supporting social change and reducing environmental impact. At the same time, increasing numbers of nonprofit organizations are looking towards entrepreneurial ventures to offset the fluctuations and restrictions that come with more traditional fundraising efforts. This session will explore the opportunities, challenges and rationale for choosing one sector over another.

The Joys and Challenges of Being a Friends Group

There is a long and rich history of nonprofit organizations that support, advocate and assist public-sector entities. These include parent-teacher organizations, public garden/park and recreation friends groups and the like. Increasingly, the public sector has begin to rely on their friends groups for more and more as budgets grow smaller and smaller. This session will include a discussion on the rights, roles and responsibilities that need to be addressed in this ever-evolving relationship

What’s your board got to do with it?

Why are nonprofit organizations required to have boards? Wouldn’t the organizations be more efficient and effective without them? Boards serve an important role in an organization, and board members are often the strongest boosters of an organization, giving freely of their money and time. Learn why boards are important and some tips on ensuring that your board is both dynamic and effective.

Bridges to Housing RFP Workshop April 23

The Multnomah County Bridges to Housing Jurisdictional Implementation Team is hosting an informational session for housing and service providers interested in applying for Bridges to Housing funds in the spring funding cycle.  The Neighborhood Partnership Fund, the regional administrator of the program,  has issued a Request for Proposals with a response deadline of May 18th.  Funds can be requested for housing or services that adhere to the Bridges to Housing program model for high resource using homeless families.  A copy of the RFP is attached.   You can also learn more about the Bridges to Housing program by visiting the website at www.bridgestohousing.org.
 
The information session will provide more information about the Bridges to Housing program, the Request for Proposals, selection process, and expectations of participating partners.
 
Bridges to Housing Program RFP Information Session:
Date:              Monday,  April 23,  2007
Time:             9:30-11:00 a.m.
Location:      Multnomah County,  421 SW Oak Street,  Oak Conference Room (1st Floor)
 
 
For more information on the meeting, please contact Rose Bak.

Going Green: Oregon's Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy April 24

Businesses are increasingly finding that reducing their impact on the planet is not only the right thing to do for the environment, but that it also benefits their bottom lines. At the Oregon Business Summit in January, nearly a thousand business and elected leaders from across Oregon discussed this trend as an economic development niche for Oregon. This event -- cosponsored by Metro -- will feature a panel of area professionals who specialize in helping businesses around the world "go green," including business practices that lower carbon emissions. Dennis Wilde, a principal with Gerding Edlen, Wally Van Valkenberg, a partner with Stoel Rives, Phil Welker, Executive Director of Portland Energy Conservation Inc and Steve Kokes, Strategic Director at Coates Kokes Advertising, will comprise the panel.

When: Tuesday, April 24th, 7:30 AM

Where: Multnomah Athletic Club, Portland (1849 SW Salmon St.)

To Register: Visit www.oeconline.org to register, or contact Cheryl Bristah at cherylb@oeconline.org, or 503-123-0456 x100. 

Breakfast is provided. Cost is $25, $20 for OEC Members or nonprofit and governmental agencies. 

Rethinking Shelter – Adobe Homes Project Workshop on April 26

Rethinking Shelter – Adobe Homes Project uses landfill paper and cardboard to build homes at free or low-cost for those in need of shelter.  Papercrete, made from locally sourced materials, is a simple, easy, sustainable process even children can make.  To find out more about this exciting project attend organization meeting: 7PM April 26^th, 2007 at St. Francis Church 303 SE Oak (between 11^th and 12^th off Burnside).  Bus #12, #20 Contact: Leah at leahmaka@hotmail.com.

Second Annual Metropolitan Diversity Institute on April 26-27

Mt Hood Community College & Portland State University present the second annual Metropolitan Diversity Institute on April 26-27, 2007.

Fostering Diversity

Theory, Tools & Techniques

Moving Beyond Discussion

The success of last years 1st annual Metropolitan Diversity Institute, hosted by Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, inspired collaboration efforts that will bring you even more opportunities to move diversity beyond discussion and into action.

Mt. Hood Community College in Gresham, Oregon and Portland State University in Portland, Oregon are excited to host the 2007 Metropolitan Diversity Institute on April 26th (at PSU) and 27th(at MHCC). This year’s institute is dedicated to giving you the theory, tools and techniques you need to foster diversity in action.

This innovative Metropolitan Diversity Institute will feature leaders from business, government, and education. Among these leaders, Dr. Daryl Smith from Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California will be Thursday’s keynote speaker at PSU and Mohammed Bilal, National Diversity speaker will be Friday’s Keynote Speaker at MHCC. These leaders hope to show how the Greater Portland Metro region’s neighborhood businesses, educational institutions and other organizations can learn to weave diversity into the fabric of our work community.

Rather than fear the changes that may come from growing diversity in our area, the conference seeks to show how the greater Portland Metro area can embrace diversity and benefit from a multi-cultural community.

Business and educational leaders, students and community members are encouraged to attend this two day institute. We hope to see you there. Please feel free to tell anyone you think might also be interested about this conference.

Click here to Register  <http://home.mhcc.edu/intranet/HR/mdi.htm>  

$195 general or $55 students for both days

After March 30 - $225 general or $75 student

Includes meals and diversity reception – call for discounted group rates

***CEU’s and HRCI Credits Available***

Load up your tool box, expand your mind and change your community!  Check out the Presenter Line Up <http://home.mhcc.edu/intranet/HR/mdi/mdi_workshops.htm#1w>

Help Families Become Homeowners: Portland Habitat Needs You May 2

You can help! Are you caring and compassionate with strong interpersonal skills? Looking for an engaging volunteer opportunity? Want to make a difference in the life of a local family?

Become a family partner with Portland Habitat for Humanity.

What is a family partner?

Family Partners help newly selected Habitat families become successful homeowners by providing support, information and encouragement during the construction of their future home, the move-in process, and the first year of homeownership.

What is the time commitment?

Each family partner volunteers an average of seven hours per month.

How can I become a family partner?

Come to a Family Partner Training Thursday May 3^rd from 6:00 to 8:30 at the Portland Habitat office on 1478 NE Killingsworth.

Bilingual/bicultural volunteers are especially needed!

To sign up for the training or for more information please contact Matina Kauffman at 503-287-9529 ext. 22 or via email.

For more information about Portland Habitat please visit our website.