The Greenlining Fund launched its pilot round of zero interest home equity loan funds on Monday, July 19, 2023! We are happy to share some recent media about the launch:
Front Porch Investments Greenlining Fund, Which Could Lead to Financial Freedom, Launches on Juneteenth – Maxwell Morgan Explains, KIOS – Nebraska Public Radio [tap to listen]
“The Community Advisory Committee are members of the community, engaged to share decision making power. We believe in bringing people, who have been historically excluded, to the table,” said Maxwell Morgan. “As important as the development and preservation of affordable housing is, equally important is funding made available to keep people in their homes, in neighborhoods that were previously redlined.”
Zero-interest loans for home improvement available for some in Omaha. The program is intended for homeowners in formerly redlined areas of Omaha, WOWT [tap to watch]
Surrounded by vacant lots or dilapidated buildings, Davielle Phillips sees paralells in the communities of North Omaha, which is where he lives now, and the southside of Chicago, which is where he's from.
“Dealing with that growing up, I saw an opportunity to make a difference here in Omaha,” said Davielle Phillips, Chair of the Community Advisory Community, Greenlining Fund
It’s an opportunity to address redlining — the now illegal, discriminatory practice of deeming certain neighborhoods as a poor financial risk for lenders, which was seen as being based on race. “What we’re doing at Front Porch is intentionally reinvesting in areas that have been historically disinvested in,” said Maxwell Morgan with Front Porch Investments, the company responsible for a new program called the Greenlining Fund.
In the 1930s, U.S. government surveyors color-coded areas of cities for financial lenders to guide where and to whom to provide financial services to. Red-coded areas were considered the most “hazardous” neighborhoods for lenders, often associated with Black and brown populations but also other minorities such as immigrants from Asia, southern Europe, Jews, and Catholics. Yellow-coded areas were considered “declining”; blue “desirable”; and green “best.”
'Greenlining Fund' to provide no-interest home repair loans in Omaha's redlined neighborhoods, KMTV [tap to watch]
Redlining refers to the practice of denying loans to residents in parts of cities where people of color largely reside. In 1968, the practice was banned. But as Front Porch's Maxwell Morgan says, there is a lasting impact. "Those issues have not been addressed," he said.
Kim Bradford, a member of the community advisory board for the fund, said the fund is important to make sure the community flourishes. She says she grew up in a redlined area but now understands more about the impact.
"We missed out on a lot of things. Greenlining is to un-design the red line, to give people in this community the opportunity that other people in other communities receive," said Kim Bradford, Community Advisory Committee member
Who qualifies and how to apply for zero interest home equity loans in North and South Omaha, Nebraska Public Media
