A CONVERGENCE Initiative Update
(CONVERGENCE Columbus and Homeport launched the Maude Hill Growing Homeownership Fund, a $1 million investment that will provide financial assistance to help close Columbus, Ohio’s homeownership gaps. Image courtesy of CONVERGENCE Columbus)
The Mortgage Bankers Association recently announced the launch of the CONVERGENCE Collaborative, a new charitable organization to help address the racial homeownership gap. The Collaborative will deploy more than $1 million over each of the next three years to build on the existing network of place-based CONVERGENCE sites focused on expanding minority homeownership.
The CONVERGENCE Collaborative will create tools, templates and road maps to help lenders in all markets reach new consumers and close the racial homeownership gap.
CONVERGENCE Columbus
• Early this year, CONVERGENCE Columbus launched the Maude Hill Growing Homeownership Fund. The Fund raised $1 million from grants and philanthropic contributions. Providing up to $15,000 per household, the fund has no debt-to-income or credit score requirement, is stackable with other programs, is forgivable after three years of owner occupancy and includes homebuyer education.
• CONVERGENCE Columbus also celebrated the launch of Rise Up, a program funded by $5.5 million from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati. The program offers $25,000 grants for down payment, closing cost or principal reduction assistance for households in Franklin County, Ohio.
• CONVERGENCE Columbus, FHLB Cincinnati and MBA worked closely for over a year to build the infrastructure of the program, which will be administered by Homeport, a CONVERGENCE Columbus stakeholder. This major investment by FHLB Cincinnati underscores how CONVERGENCE is a platform for attracting stakeholder investments and engagement aligned with our mission of closing the racial homeownership gap.
• CONVERGENCE Columbus made impressive progress with its Bloom614 Homebuyer Readiness Program in partnership with CredEvolv. During the first six months of the program, 20% of the 166 participants experienced a double- or triple-digit increase in their credit scores, with the highest increase being 273 points.
CONVERGENCE Memphis
• The ALTA Good Deeds Foundation produced a video about CONVERGENCE Memphis that highlighted how the initiative provides tools to support the homeownership journey. The award-winning video underscores the value of collaboration and captures the spirit of what CONVERGENCE stakeholders in every city are working towards.
• United Housing became the local host of CONVERGENCE Memphis, which launched in March 2020. UH has been an engaged stakeholder in CONVERGENCE Memphis since the place-based initiative began and its mission closely aligns with the goals of CONVERGENCE. UH has served Memphis residents for 30 years and brings a wealth of local knowledge, community relationships and staff leadership that will support the ongoing work of CONVERGENCE Memphis.
CONVERGENCE Philadelphia
• CONVERGENCE Philadelphia conducted a successful educational and networking event series for loan officers, real estate professionals and housing counselors. The series also included a partnership with Lincoln University, a local historically Black university, to introduce the school’s adult learners to careers in the mortgage and real estate industries.
• CONVERGENCE Philadelphia also held a Homeownership Summit that convened key stakeholders addressing racial disparities in the Philadelphia housing market. The summit showcased the new mayoral administration’s housing priorities and demonstrated how CONVERGENCE Philadelphia bolsters local efforts.
To learn more about CONVERGENCE visit www.mba.org/CONVERGENCE or contact Wendy Penn at wpenn@mba.org.
