Category: E-News Articles

ESL Federal Credit Union Gifts $40,000 to the NeighborWorks® Community Partners Rochester COVID-19 Relief Program

ESL Federal Credit Union has pledged $40,000 to support the Neighborly Fund, relief loans for community members in need as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. NeighborWorks® Community Partners Rochester (NCP) announced the creation of the Neighborly Fund in April 2020, and the inaugural distribution will provide no interest, deferred loans of up to $3,500 to homeowners in Monroe County who are financially impacted by COVID-19 through layoffs, furloughs, or other hardships.

“NeighborWorks Community Partners is vital to preserving the financial well-being of many residents throughout our community,” said Ajamu Kitwana, Vice President/Director of Community Impact, ESL Federal Credit Union. “We support the organization, its mission and the ‘Neighborly Fund’ because these grants are imperative to providing much needed assistance to residents throughout Greater Rochester experiencing financial hardships related to housing due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

NCP set out to raise $250,000 for these no interest, deferred loans, which can be used to pay mortgages or utilities, phone bills, buying groceries, or other urgent needs. Borrowers also receive free, one-on-one financial counseling to plan for the coming months and repay the loan when (or if) they can. Any repayments made on loans will be paid forward to continue providing affordable financing to low-income WNY residents.

Applications officially open NOW through NCP’s website.

“ESL Foundation has been a strong supporter of NeighborWorks® Community Partners and for residents of the City of Rochester for many years,” said Jerome M. Nagy, Chief Executive Officer of NCP. “We are so proud to work with the Foundation to help ensure homeowners in Rochester have a little extra support. Working together with our neighbors in the community and with partners like the ESL Foundation we will get through these troubled times stronger and more resilient.”

To date, the online fundraising campaign has raised more than $175,000 for WNY (Erie, Niagara and Monroe Counties) homeowners and Buffalo small business owners, including $100,000 in seed capital from NCP. To support the Neighborly Fund, visit the GoFundMe page or website.

About NeighborWorks® Community Partners Rochester
NeighborWorks® Community Partners Rochester is committed to providing quality services that help individuals and families with modest budgets create safe and healthy homes, build personal wealth through homeownership and grow vibrant communities across the Greater Rochester region. For more information, click here.

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A Home Energy Assessment Makes Good Cents

What is a Home Energy Assessment?

An Energy Assessment is a review of your home’s overall energy efficiency, which can be affected by many things. Roof condition, insulation levels, outdated appliances, old furnaces, leaky hot water heaters, single-pane windows, etc. all have an impact. The goal is to see where your home is losing energy so that we can formulate a plan to save on energy costs. This “big picture” view of your home’s energy efficiency can lead to significant savings on your utility bill because you won’t need to set your thermostat quite as high to stay warm, or your air conditioning as low to stay cool.

Why Should You Get a Home Energy Assessment?
Residential properties account for about 10% of carbon emissions in the US, according to the EPA, which means they are very inefficient and waste huge amounts of energy and…money!In addition to reducing your carbon footprint, you will learn how to improve your home’s comfort. It will also help you save money (woo hoo!).

How You Can Get a Home Energy Assessment
NeighborWorks Community Partners’ Energy Services team can conduct a FREE home energy audit for your home. Income-based grants are available for the Greater Rochester area. We give unbiased advice to reduce your heating and cooling bills. Our BPI-certified technicians will help you prioritize your needs:

  • Increase your home’s comfort through a Home Energy Assessment
  • Learn how you can SAVE MONEY with FREE energy saving tips you can use right now!
  • Learn about NY State grants to help pay for your home-energy projects *Income-based.

To schedule your home energy assessment today, just give our Energy Services Team a call at: (585)325-4170, Email us at: Energy@nwcommunitypartners.org, or Click Here to fill out an application.

 

NeighborWorks Rochester reveals new name

NeighborWorks Rochester is now NeighborWorks Community Partners Rochester, as part of the NeighborWorks Community Partners nonprofit collective. NeighborWorks helps build and strengthen communities by guiding individuals and families with modest budgets along their homeownership journeys. A new focus includes outreach to young professionals. The Rochester office is located at 570 South Ave. Staff partners with banks and community supporters to assist neighbors with homebuyer education, financial fitness, low-interest lending, home repair and rehab, lead testing, and energy-efficiency assessments.

Posted Nov 5, 2019 at 4:34PM via Monroe County Post

Citizens Bank helps Support The American Dream of Homeownership Via NeighborWorks® Rochester Grant

Rochester area residents wanting to fulfill the American Dream of homeownership will be supported by a recent grant from Citizens Bank to NeighborWorks Rochester. The $5,000 grant will help provide tools and resources that allow homebuyers to become mortgage-ready through NeighborWorks Rochester’s homeownership education and counseling. Participants are provided with financial coaching, education in mortgage products, and guidance on available financial assistance and first-time homebuyer grants.

“Our goal is to prepare future homeowners for success – a key component of strengthening the Rochester area’s neighborhoods.” stated Joanne Panarisi-Bottone, NeighborWorks® Rochester’s Executive Director. “We provide the tools homebuyers need to prepare themselves and, as a member of the NeighborWorks America network, our approach is proven.”

NeighborWorks® Rochester is a HUD Housing Counseling Agency serving Rochester and the surrounding area.  The non-profit organization also creates sustainable communities by providing lead paint inspections, home improvement loans and energy services programs that improve energy efficiency, real estate values and resident wellness.

NeighborWorks® Rochester is an affiliate of NeighborWorks® America, and a member of NeighborWorks Community Partners – a consolidation with NeighborWorks organizations in Buffalo and Niagara, formed to increase the number of prospective homebuyers that can be served throughout the Greater Rochester Area, and throughout Western NY.

Is Your New Year’s Resolution To Take Control of Debt?

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution? Many people make resolutions for the New Year such as eating healthy, losing weight, increasing savings, getting out of debt, quitting smoking, etc. Was yours to make better decisions about money?

If your goal is to take better control of your finances, here are some quick tips for staying on track:

  1. Have a vision board with your written goals on it. As items are completed, check them off. A vision board is a constant reminder of your goals. People who have vision boards are reminded every day of their goals, and are most likely to complete them. It might be on your refrigerator, or on your bathroom mirror, on your car’s sun visor or at your desk at work.
  2. Know what your total debt is. Add up your total net income. Add up your current household expenses. Is there money left over after all the bills are paid? If not, then there are two options: increase income or current expenses need to be reduced.
  3. Are any of your current expenses “Want” instead of a “Need”? Is cable TV an absolute must-have for you or your family or can you cut it out of your budget? Can you make more meals at home rather than dining out? Do you purchase coffee on your way to work every day? Make a cup at home to reduce your daily expenses. It all adds up over time.
  4. Have you had an Energy Assessment done on your home? It could save you money on your monthly utility bills and cost you nothing. Visit NeighborWorks Energy Services to learn more.
  5. Look for ways to earn extra income. Working over-time, internet income opportunities, obtaining a better-paying job, selling some stored items in your attic or garage are all ways to increase your bottom line. Do you have items that are collecting dust that you do not use can be sold? Start preparing for a garage sale, virtual or real.
  6. Use any extra money you make or receive -a bonus, commissions, tax refunds – to start paying down your debt. Pay the bills with the smallest balances first and/ or pay bills with the highest interest rates first.
  7. Always make sure you pay your bills on time to avoid the extra late charges.

 

Once you start paying down your debt, your stress levels will reduce, and you will feel much better once you achieve your goal. And isn’t that what resolutions are all about?

If you feel you need more help to take charge of your debt, sign up for one of our Financial Fitness Classes by creating a Compass Account. Or give us a call at 585-325-4170.

Building Upon the Past

till-fritzschingTill Fritzsching of Rochester, NY, found his new home on Craig’s List three years ago. Although the house was set for demolition by the City of Rochester, he saw the home and felt that it was a metaphor for his own life journey – as he puts it “the home had been through hell, and so had I.”
In 2013, Mr. Fritzsching had hit rock bottom. He was divorced, and no longer employed at the successful mid-west company he had once presided over. His home of the past few years had been a jail cell due to addiction. A physical injury had set him back as well and he ended up living in his mother’s home.
When he first saw the 1920’s era house on Northview Terrace, he knew it had potential, despite years of neglect and trees growing through the roof. The only tenants for years had been rodents. As the building was scheduled for demolition the very next day, the price was affordable. However, there was much work to be done to save it from the wrecking ball.
A neighbor referred him to NeighborWorks® Rochester, as the organization had assisted several other homeowners in the neighborhood. While he had put in a lot of his own sweat-equity, and had to learn to negotiate a labyrinth of homeowner-assistance programs, he still had a long way to go to rehab the home. NeighborWorks® Rochester was able to assist on several fronts.
NeighborWorks® Rochester was able to provide Mr. Fritzsching with resources for lead testing and encapsulation in the his home, garage, and basement, a new roof, gutters and eaves, exterior and interior paint, a new porch. “The house went from the worst on the block to one of the best,” Mr. Fritzsching stated. Also added to the home were new windows and a water heater.

In the past 5 years, NeighborWorks® Rochester has invested $4,784,000 in loans to help 279 homeowners purchase or rehab their home. Many of these loans also had a grant as part of the assistance, which allowed homeowners even more capacity to fix their house, without having to finance all of the expense. NeighborWorks® Rochester will work with customers who may be turned away by traditional lenders due to credit issues or not having enough equity in their home. The organization is a resource to homeowners who may face losing their home or living in disrepair or unhealthy or unsafe conditions.

“NeighborWorks® Rochester left a great taste in my mouth, and was my first choice once my credit was cleaned up. The contractors were great and I’m really satisfied,” Mr. Fritzsching added.
In a neighborhood hard-hit by the city’s decades of manufacturing job loss, his home now stands out as one of the nicest on the street.
Mr. Fritzsching added, “I’m not done yet. I just built myself a new back porch, and it really satisfies me to look at where this house was and where it is now. I consider not only the house but the project as a metaphor for my own life recovery in the sense that I made a commitment to restoring a once beautiful thing, much like my own life, to not necessarily what it was before but rather a recreation of a new vision of what it could be. I believe that the past should always be recognized and the foundation on what we can build, but we should never be limited by it for its own sake. That to me at least, gives me the freedom to not only build upon the past but create a new reality from it.”
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Home For The Holidays

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Home for the Holidays….
What does that mean to you? Not just bricks and mortar but the place where you find refuge, the pride of ownership, where you feel safe, welcome and happy. NeighborWorks® Rochester’s mission is to build great communities, one homeowner at a time.
Your belief in healthy community and strong homeownership can help NeighborWorks® Rochester continue to assist hundreds of individuals each year. Help us bridge the gap for individuals who need a hand up to achieve their dream of healthy homeownership with your generous support.
Our focus is to ensure safe, healthy homes for Rochester area families. That includes educating first time homebuyers about the smart way to buy a home and assisting homeowners who need help when the roof is leaking or when they can’t afford to replace an aging furnace. We work with neighbors to develop a sense of community through our Healthy Blocks program, making streets safer and neighborhoods more stable. We help hundreds of families each year create secure, healthy homes to raise their children.

Nereida is an example of how your passion about our mission will help to keep the Rochester community strong:

As a nurse and single mom from Rochester, Nereida discovered that the NeighborWorks® Rochester’s free Home Energy Assessment wNereidaas just the beginning of a new homeowner journey and that our staff was able to help her in many additional, unexpected ways. NeighborWorks® Rochester’s professionally-trained staff were able to pin point the areas in her home where she should invest to receive the best return on her money. As a hardworking mom, she wasn’t sure how to check her credit history or weed out unscrupulous contractors. Our Homeowner Advisors were with her every step of the way, from reviewing her credit history – even finding and removing a damaging credit mistake – to working with the home improvement contractors to make sure that she received the best service possible.
Now, when Nereida’s grandchildren come through her front door, they’ll feel more than the warmth of the holidays. They’ll walk in from the cold weather, all bundled up, and feel the warm air on their rosy cheeks, in a home that’s no longer drafty. This holiday season, for the first time ever, she can enjoy entertaining family and friends in her large, eat-in kitchen due to the improvements that NeighborWorks® Rochester made to her home. Her holidays will be filled with the love and laughter of family, rather than concern about how to pay her heating bills and the deteriorating condition of her home. “I am so relieved. My utility bill is a third of what it used to be because of the improvements. I no longer have to turn to HEAP to get through the winter. My house is new to me.” And best of all, she is a partner in the improvements in her home because NeighborWorks® Rochester gave her trusted information, helped her access additional resources and educated her on how to maintain her home. NeighborWorks® Rochester “made me feel accomplished,” Nereida added. She is now a stronger homeowner, which will benefit her neighborhood and our community.

Nereida is one of hundreds of homeowners in our community that NeighborWorks® Rochester assists every year. As our partner, you can help us to continue to be a full-service shop for home owners – providing access to resources, education and trusted advice.
Your support is essential. Without your caring and generous gift, homeowners such as Nereida may not receive the helping hand needed to remain in their homes. Everyone deserves a healthy, happy home to enjoy during the holidays and beyond.
Won’t you please consider making a gift to our Home For the Holidays Annual Campaign? Your investment in our community will have a lasting impact on our community’s health through homeownership.

All of us at NeighborWorks® Rochester would like to express our sincere wishes that your home is filled with joy throughout the holiday season,

Maureen K. Murphy
Executive Director

Make a Gift Now

Grant from JP Morgan Chase & Co. to Support Financial Fitness

NeighborWorks® Rochester is pleased to announce that they are the recipient of a $60,000 grant from JPMorgan Chase to support enhancement of technological systems for its Financial Fitness Program. The grant will allow NeighborWorks® Rochester to build capacity and efficiency through technology and will have a tremendous impact on the financial health of its customers. Individual successes through the NeighborWorks® Rochester Financial Fitness Program will increase with the organization’s ability to more effectively track, monitor and manage their progress. The JP Morgan Chase Foundation’s partnership in this initiative is instrumental to its success.

Maureen Murphy, Executive Director of NeighborWorks® Rochester stated, “Assisting those who strive to improve their lives by increasing their financial skills and providing education for successful homeownership is the core of the NeighborWorks® Rochester mission. We’re extremely pleased to partner with JPMorgan Chase with an innovative approach to provide those in need with tools and resources to make a better path for themselves. In turn, this will also help to build strong neighborhoods in the Rochester community by providing educated, financially-stable, long-term homeowners.”

The support of community partners like JPMorgan Chase allows NeighborWorks® Rochester to continue to provide these services and more. The community-based organization builds strong neighborhoods by educating and counseling new homeowners, providing resources to individuals who may be turned away by traditional lenders, energy-savings programs and targeted neighborhood revitalization through the Healthy Blocks Neighborhood Initiative.

NeighborWorks® Rochester and First Niagara Bank Celebrate Partnership during NeighborWorks® Week

Equity Builder Celebration
From Left: Migdalia Toro NeighborWorks® Rochester Homeownership Coordinator, Ted Colucci, NeighborWorks® Rochester Lending Program Manager, Maureen Murphy, NeighborWorks® Rochester Executive Director, homeowners Jaime Rivera and Danielle McDonald, Phil Swetz and Bridget Campbell, First Niagara Bank.

NeighborWorks® Rochester recently celebrated the success of its Equity Builder Loan program by recognizing the first recipient of the loan and our bank partner, First Niagara Bank. The loan helps new homeowners save money on their home by providing closing cost assistance, up to 105% Loan to Value of the home. Homeowners Jamie Rivera and Danielle McDonald, of Rochester, were on hand, along with Phil Swetz and Bridget Campbell of First Niagara to be part of the celebration.

The event was part of the local celebration of NeighborWorks® Week, a nationally-recognized celebration of neighborhood revitalization activities.

“First Niagara is a huge proponent of initiatives that increase self-sufficiency, stabilize housing and improve our neighborhoods,” said Phil Swetz, First Niagara Vice President of Mortgage Banking. “We’re proud to work with Neighborworks® to contribute to stronger, more diverse and thriving communities.”

The Equity Builder Loan helps future homeowners purchase a home with a down payment of more than 20%, avoiding a monthly Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI) payment. Over the course of home ownership, this can result in substantial savings.

“We are so thrilled to be able to offer this loan product in conjunction with our bank partner,” said Maureen Murphy, Executive Director of NeighborWorks® Rochester. “It provides money for closing costs and long-term savings for the homeowner. And, as any homeowner can tell you, buying the home is just the beginning – you need to be able to maintain and sustain it throughout the years. We are pleased to be able to help those homeowners stay in it for the long run and make our community stronger as well.

During NeighborWorks® Week, NeighborWorks® Rochester and other NeighborWorks® organizations across the country will mobilize people for neighborhood change and awareness, rehab and repair homes, paint and landscape properties, conduct neighborhood tours, recognize successful partnerships and host a number of events that educate, train and inform.

NeighborWorks® Rochester is part of the national NeighborWorks® network, an affiliation of more than 245 nonprofit organizations located in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In 2014, the NeighborWorks® network helped­ 300,000 individuals and families with affordable housing and counseling. The NeighborWorks network was founded and is supported by NeighborWorks America, which creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities.

Want to learn more about the Equity Builder or NeighborWorks® Rochester loans? Give us a call at 325-4170.

NeighborWorks® Rochester’s 2014 Award Recipients

Congratulations to our NeighborWorks® Rochester award recipients! After all of your hard work in the community, you deserve it! Below are pictures of our award recipients in front of our “Home is…” wall where individuals write post-its of what home means to them. Read up on Home Matters, a national movement to make “home” a reality for everyone.

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The “Employee of the Year” award went to Allan Rayburn in recognition & appreciation for his dedication & efforts throughout his time here. Thank you for all your hard work!

John Price

John Borek received the “Edline Chun, Volunteer of the Year” award for his dedication to volunteering in the community, creating  art projects that inspire others. Thank you for your dedication!

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Nancy Johns-Price, City of Rochester Neighborhood Service Center,  received “Partner of the Year”  for her outstanding efforts in the community. Thank you for continuing to build strong neighborhoods!