Community Success Stories

West Virginia Blueprint Communities Build on Successful Partnerships

Many of us take great pride in our hometowns – even if the places where we grew up have lost some of their luster over time. Have you wondered what it would take to recapture the sense of place and vitality your community once had, to attract new families and to grow new businesses? Would it involve revitalization of the town center, or event sponsorships that bring people together, or something else altogether?

How would you create a new vision and plan, and how would you fund it? Where would you begin?

Six West Virginia communities – each sponsored by one or more FHLBank Pittsburgh member financial institutions – have spent the past two years answering those questions, while working to create and implement plans to revitalize their communities.

• Kingwood in Preston County, sponsored by Clear Mountain Bank and WesBanco
• Lewis County, sponsored by Citizens Bank of Weston
• Meadow River Valley in Greenbrier County, sponsored by Summit Community Bank
• The Monticello Neighborhood of Clarksburg, sponsored by MVB Bank
• New Martinsville in Wetzel County, sponsored by Union Bank
• Parsons in Tucker County, sponsored by Citizens Bank of West Virginia

They have done this work with the support of FHLBank Pittsburgh’s Blueprint Communities® – an initiative designed to revitalize older communities and neighborhoods by developing local leadership and growing their capacity to accomplish their own goals.

“Blueprint Communities was developed in response to our members’ concerns for under-invested communities in the areas they serve,” explains John Bendel, FHLBank Pittsburgh’s Senior Director of Community Investment. “Our members are looking for ways to help their communities find opportunities for growth.” Established in 2005, Blueprint Communities has since supported 64 communities across Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia in their revitalization efforts. This program focuses on creating and building momentum, often working in concert with prior and ongoing initiatives and investments made by public and private entities. The six communities in West Virginia comprise the latest Blueprint Communities cohort.

According to Laura Rye, MVB Bank Community Reinvestment Act Officer and MVB Community Development Corporation COO, “Blueprint Communities is pivotal and sustaining for participating communities – providing the resources they need to stay on track and achieve long-term success.”

For this 2019 cohort, FHLBank Pittsburgh engaged the West Virginia Community Development Hub (The Hub) to help provide training and coaching to the six communities’ multidisciplinary teams, each of whom includes a local government official, a real estate development professional and a representative from a community organization. FHLBank Pittsburgh members also participate on the teams, contributing their financial expertise, strong community relationships and access to capital.

Additionally, FHLBank Pittsburgh provides each participating community with funding, including ‘anchor’ or ‘capacity-building’ grants for administration and training, and mini-grants awarded over a two-year period to kickstart priority projects.

“Small, rural communities often struggle to fund and execute large complex projects solely through volunteer support,” says The Hub Community Development Programs Specialist Kaycie Stushek. “Blueprint Communities’ anchor grants allow them to pay for staff and other administrative expenses that are needed to sustain their efforts. They are a critical component of the program’s success and part of what distinguishes Blueprint Communities from other community development programs.”

The program also encourages investments by public and private funders, and partners with organizations that can lend vital expertise. This enables the Blueprint Communities initiative to work alongside federal and state resources that help bring community plans to life. Blueprint Communities is just one of several community investment products offered by FHLBank Pittsburgh.

West Virginia’s Blueprint Communities teams began their work in 2019 and received their official Blueprint Communities designations in August 2020. During that time, the teams worked with their communities to better understand local needs and priorities – and worked with each community in the cohort, sharing ideas and resources that helped them build and implement their five-year strategic plans. According to Janet Preston with the Parsons team, “Working with the other teams has been energizing and inspiring because we can see possibilities for our own communities in each other’s work.”

In addition, the teams have partnered with a multitude of organizations – colleges and universities, economic development agencies, foundations, local lenders and volunteer groups – that have donated time, expertise and funding to further the revitalization efforts. According to Stushek, “Collectively, the teams have leveraged their individual $37,250 in anchor grants and approximately $15,000 of mini-grants to generate more than $2.83 million in funding, including a $750,000 Affordable Housing Program grant from FHLBank Pittsburgh and a $1.8 million Abandoned Mine Lands Program grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior.” With the additional $15,000 mini-grants in 2022, the communities can expect that leverage will grow.

Their plans and projects, while unique to their locales, address common priorities in older rural communities. Several teams have focused on revitalizing their downtowns – demolishing or repurposing older commercial buildings and creating urban parks with landscaping, seating and artwork by local artists. With West Virginia’s growing reputation as a destination for outdoor recreation, others have been working to improve regional parks and trails. Two of the communities are working to renovate former school buildings for use as community centers and affordable housing.

Marketing and advertising campaigns promoting local businesses, new business opportunities and recreational tourism complement these revitalization efforts. Events – organized hikes and 5K runs, outdoor movie nights, concerts and Second Saturday celebrations – encourage community partnerships and participation.

There have been challenges along the way – the pandemic among them. But since achieving their Blueprint Communities status, the teams have made important strides in their initial goals and built on their plans to grow their communities in ways they could not have envisioned when they began their Blueprint Communities journey.

Partnerships have been fundamental to their success – and to the overall success of the Blueprint Communities initiative. According to Stushek, “The Hub's close working relationship with FHLBank Pittsburgh has been essential to the communities’ ability to achieve their goals. Even during the height of the pandemic, the strength of that partnership gave us the flexibility we needed to respond to the communities’ changing needs – while producing program deliverables and supporting communities to achieve remarkable results."   

FHLBank Pittsburgh’s Affordable Housing and Community Development Manager Rhiannon Haller concurs. “FHLBank members’ investments and partnership with The Hub, and the foundation laid by the Blueprint Communities initiative will hopefully sustain the success of these six communities for generations to come.”

 "Blueprint Communities" is a registered service mark of the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh.

West Virginia Bank Creates Housing for Seniors in Need

Monroe County lies in the heart of the picturesque Allegheny Mountains. It is rural – there are no stoplights or fast-food restaurants in the entire county – and it is economically disadvantaged. With few employers and limited access to broadband Internet, younger residents seek opportunity elsewhere, leaving behind a growing senior population.

In 2014, seniors represented approximately 16% of the county’s residents, its second largest age demographic, and most could not afford market-rate rents.

With the school district’s donation of the old Greenville School property in 2014, Monroe County Council on Aging (MCCOA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation providing meals, in-home services and transportation for seniors, had an opportunity to expand its services and create additional housing for the county’s senior citizens.

MCCOA embarked on a five-year project to develop the 11-acre property. The plan for the new Greenville Senior Living and Community Center included a senior center, a community and economic center and 16 units of affordable housing. Roughly estimated to cost $3.2 million, the project represented “a huge investment in this very rural, underserved area of West Virginia,” according to Bank of Monroe President and CEO Jim King, who would play an instrumental role in the project’s success.

MCCOA provided $100,000 in seed money and began by converting the old kindergarten annex into a senior center, while its all-volunteer project team began looking for funding to complete the full scope of the five-year project. As team member Skip Heath recalls, “We had a good mix of talent in construction, finance, cost analysis and project management, but little experience with a project of this scale.”

Undaunted, and after a few false starts, the team found the resources it needed to develop the senior housing. West Virginia Affordable Housing Trust Fund provided an initial $20,000 loan for predevelopment, and after discussion with FHLBank Pittsburgh staff, the team approached Bank of Monroe to request its sponsorship of an AHP grant for housing construction.

Established by Congress, AHP provides grants and subsidized loans for the acquisition, construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing for households with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income. Housing developers partner with FHLBank members to apply for AHP funding, which is offered through an annual competitive funding round.

King explained, “Although we were not familiar with the AHP at the time, we met with the individuals involved and got comfortable with their plan and the program. Ultimately, we are here to support the communities we serve, and the AHP offered a great opportunity to help fund and collaborate on this important project for the Greenville community.”

In 2016, MCCOA received a $650,000 AHP grant from FHLBank and, in 2017, a $700,000 HOME Program loan from West Virginia Housing Development Fund (WVHDF) to construct two apartment buildings, each with four units of affordable housing for seniors and individuals with disabilities. Construction began in August 2017, and with the successful completion of the first eight units, MCCOA received a second AHP grant of $650,000 in 2018 and a third grant of $730,000 in 2019, enabling the construction of eight more units of housing. Each of the AHP grants supported a separate phase of the project.

In addition to sponsoring the AHP applications, Bank of Monroe provided lines of credit to facilitate the construction.

Completed in 2019, Greenville Senior Living consists of four one-story buildings with four apartments each: one two-bedroom and three one-bedrooms. In addition to wheelchair access, the new homes feature private front and rear porches, energy-efficient appliances and central heating and air conditioning. Residents have easy access to meals, transportation, educational and recreational opportunities, fitness classes and counseling at the nearby senior center.

The campus is also home to Greenville Farm Kitchen, a non-profit organization that processes and distributes hand-crafted foods throughout West Virginia. MCCOA’s original plan for the site will be complete with its conversion of the old school building into a community center, replete with office space and a gym for community and school use.

Heath credits FHLBank and the WVHDF for their critical support in developing the project. “Bottom line, we could not have done this project without WVHDF and FHLBank Pittsburgh. I cannot say enough about both organizations and their staffs.”

While Greenville Senior Housing represents Bank of Monroe’s first experience with AHP, it was not its last. When FHLBank provided down payment assistance to West Virginia homeowners impacted by flooding that ravaged the area in 2016, Bank of Monroe gave loans on the properties. In 2017, King received the Council’s Award from FHLBank for his outstanding work in promoting stability and revitalization.

Reflecting on his experience working with FHLBank, King said, “FHLBanks play a huge role across the country. There are so many places in our area that can benefit from their funding and support, and we are fortunate that FHLBank Pittsburgh has always responded."

TD Bank Gives Unoccupied Space New Life, Creates Senior Housing

Over the past 40 years, Philadelphia’s Fairhill neighborhood has strived to revitalize. Once a blighted post-industrial district, Fairhill – served by El Centro de Oro or “The Golden Center” commercial district – is today the city’s center of Hispanic and Latino life and culture. This community comprises nearly 85% of Fairhill’s population, and the area is home to diverse businesses, arts and cultural organizations, and welcoming public spaces.

Fairhill’s growing success as a community is due in no small part to the Hispanic Association of Contractors and Enterprises (HACE), a local 501(c)(3) community development organization. Founded in 1982, HACE has invested more than $200 million to create affordable housing and promote Fairhill’s economic development, while encouraging the community’s residents to take ownership of their own economic trajectory.

In 2018, HACE began planning for Casa Indiana. The project would provide affordable rental housing for one of the community’s fastest growing populations: low-income seniors – many with language and cultural barriers limiting their access to essential services. Built on a property that had sat vacant for more than 30 years, the project was also planned to serve as an anchor for future economic development.

TD Bank helped source financing for this project by providing a $6.8 million bridge loan for construction, which along with developer fees, would be repaid with $11.4 million of low-income housing tax credits (LIHTC). Additional funding included $2 million from the City of Philadelphia, $1.8 million in Pennsylvania Housing Affordability and Rehabilitation Enhancement Fund (PHARE) and Housing Trust Fund (HTF) funds, and an additional $456,000 equity contribution by HACE. Rental subsidies are being provided by the Philadelphia Housing Authority.

The City of Philadelphia donated the abandoned property – a brownfield requiring significant environmental remediation and containment. During the LIHTC underwriting process, costs for the environmental work escalated, exceeding the project’s original estimate. Faced with paying the additional expense out-of-pocket, HACE applied for an Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh (FHLBank).

Established by Congress, AHP provides grants and subsidized loans for the acquisition, construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing for households with incomes at or below 80 percent of the area median income. Housing developers partner with FHLBank members to apply for AHP funding, which is offered through one competitive funding round each year.

TD Bank sponsored HACE’s application and the project received a $405,000 award.

“AHP is such a great resource for affordable housing,” said Amy Derstine, HACE’s relationship manager at TD Bank. “The fact that HACE was able to use these funds for environmental remediation was a huge advantage for this project.”

HACE President and CEO Maria Gonzalez concurs. “The AHP award was a timely and essential resource for making this project happen. It was absolutely critical to filling our funding gap and helping us move forward on-budget and on-schedule.”

Casa Indiana opened on June 18, 2020. All 50 one-bedroom apartments were leased within 45 days, which underscored Fairhill’s need for affordable senior housing. Eight of the units are accessible for individuals with mobility challenges and two are equipped for those with hearing and visual impairments. All are adaptable to accommodate the changing needs of residents as they age in place. The project, which includes a community room, library and garden for the residents, received a 2020 award from the Pennsylvania chapter of the American Institute of Architects for building excellence.

All of Casa Indiana’s residents earn 50% or less than the area median income. Working with community partners, HACE offers them a range of support services – from rental subsidy and utility assistance to weekly deliveries of meat and produce. A partnership with Mercy Health provides residents with medical and other services through the Life Center located just three blocks away.

As with the other properties it has developed, HACE will continue to own and maintain Casa Indiana to ensure it will be available and affordable for the next generation of Fairhill’s seniors. “In addition,” says Gonzalez, “this enables HACE to provide jobs for local residents.”

“Fairhill is an area of focus for TD Bank,” adds Derstine, “and we were eager to partner on this project – as a lender and sponsor of HACE’s AHP application. It’s truly rewarding to make a positive difference for Fairhill’s seniors and the community as a whole.”

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FHLBank Pittsburgh provides reliable funding and liquidity to its member financial institutions, which include commercial and savings banks, community development financial institutions, credit unions and insurance companies in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. FHLBank products and resources help support community lending, housing and economic development. As one of 11 Federal Home Loan Banks established by Congress, FHLBank has been an integral and reliable part of the financial system since 1932. Learn more by visiting www.fhlb-pgh.com.

Organic Snack Business Uses BOB Loan to Meet Rising National Demand

In 2018, organic snack maker Kate's Real Food was at a crossroads. With 10 employees making all products by hand, the startup could not meet increasing demand for its products from grocery chains, specialty stores and online retailers. To grow, the company would have to expand its operations or outsource production to a co-packer.

Committed to producing 100% organic products, owners Bruce Thaler and Kate Schade chose to build their own vertically integrated facility, where they could control product quality, production schedules and costs. Finding a location near a large metropolitan area with a larger pool of workers and access to major shipping corridors would be critical to increasing production and expanding distribution.

Thaler, a resident of Altoona, Pennsylvania, saw opportunity in Bedford County - a Pennsylvania Keystone Opportunity Zone providing attractive tax incentives to qualified employers. In addition to private equity and bank loans, the $5.1 million project would qualify to receive more than $2.8 million in economic development funding for real estate acquisition, construction and worker training.

With competing demands for the company's own capital, a remaining challenge was funding for additional inventory. For help, the company turned to FHLBank Pittsburgh member Marion Center Bank. Deborah Krise, vice president and a business development officer, presented an attractive funding package, complementing the bank's $400,000 loan with a $200,000 loan from FHLBank's small-business financing product, Banking On Business.

Krise explains, "We typically offer 65% loan-to-value on inventory, requiring the borrower to provide 35% of the cost. Leveraging our FHLBank membership, we were able to use Banking On Business to satisfy our underwriting requirement, enabling the company to use its own equity for other expenses. In addition, because the borrower pays no interest or principal during the first year, they have time to get their business up and running before starting to repay the loan."

According to, Mark Thaler, CEO of the new manufacturing facility, The Organic Snack Company, "This project involved more than a new building and equipment. We had to make the leap from making our product entirely by hand to using automated processes. It was critical to have sufficient inventory to meet demand while growing our production capacity."

The Organic Snack Company opened its new facility in early 2020 and soon had 15 employees producing 50,000 bars per day for Kate's Real Food, with plans to add up to 45 staff by the end of 2021.

According to Thaler, "In addition to increased capacity, we now have the flexibility to innovate and to collaborate with customers on exclusive product offerings. And with new growth opportunities, we can look forward to building a company that has a positive, sustainable impact on the community we live and work in."

"Projects like this are great for our community," adds Krise. "They create jobs across the supply chain and facilitate economic development. Banking On Business helps to do that."

Home4Good Aids Relief Efforts for Delaware Renters

COVID-19 changed Delaware’s economy almost overnight. Thousands of businesses closed or dramatically downsized. Essential workers stayed on the job; those who could worked from home; others had their hours reduced or were simply out of a job. Without the income to pay their monthly bills, many Delaware renters found themselves facing eviction.

In March 2020, Delaware Governor John Carney and DSHA Director Anas Ben Addi announced the creation of the Delaware Housing Assistance Program (DEHAP) to provide rental assistance for eligible households experiencing a COVID-19 job loss or loss of income.

The first such program in the United States created by a housing finance agency, DEHAP was initially funded by a $2 million grant from DSHA and support from local governments. Community response proved overwhelming, and one month later, DSHA paused the program to assess its sources of funding and how to best support the program going forward. As part of the process, DSHA looked to FHLBank Pittsburgh’s Home4Good initiative for help.

FHLBank and its Home4Good partners quickly agreed to commit $700,000 of its 2020 Home4Good allocation to DEHAP. Twelve FHLBank members rallied to serve as co-applicants for the award. According to Jim Rovito, Vice President at co-applicant First Citizens Community Bank, “As FHLBank members, we were privileged to be in a position to support the DEHAP’s efforts fairly early in the pandemic, and we were eager to help.”

Marlena Gibson, DSHA’s Director of Policy and Planning, credits FHLBank’s early commitment as key to getting DEHAP off the ground and attracting other sources of funding. “As the pandemic continued through the spring and summer of 2020, so did the demand for DEHAP funding. We turned to our partners at FHLBank for support, so we could continue operating the program while working to assemble and confirm additional funding. FHLBank offered its assistance with no hesitation, and together, we came to a solution that allowed us to help more Delaware families stay current on their rent during the pandemic.”

By March 2021, DEHAP was in its third iteration, and with help from the federal government and a broad network of other supporters, funding had substantially increased. One year into the program, DEHAP had approved more than $19.3 million in COVID-related assistance to nearly 5,000 households. With an additional 7,400 applications submitted under the most recent version of the program, DSHA anticipated accepting DEHAP applications at least through the end of 2021.

In addition to First Citizens Community Bank, other FHLBank members who served as co-applicants included:

• Artisans’ Bank
• Community Bank Delaware
• County Bank
• Dover Federal Credit Union
• First Citizens Community Bank
• Fulton Bank,N.A.
• Meridian Bank
• Stepping Stones Community Federal Credit Union
• TD Bank, N.A.
• The Bancorp Bank
• The Bryn Mawr Trust Company
• Wilmington Svgs Fund Society, FSB

Susan Eliason, DSHA’s Director of Housing Development, explains how the funding helped to sustain Delaware renters during the pandemic. “The funding received from FHLBank allowed DSHA the opportunity to help thousands of Delaware households impacted financially by the pandemic remain in their homes. We are incredibly thankful to FHLBank for its support of DEHAP and its commitment to DSHA’s mission of helping our state’s residents avoid eviction during this difficult time.”

About Home4Good

Home4Good is a flexible grant product that supports projects, programs and activities that lead to stable housing for those who are experiencing homelessness or at risk of homelessness. In 2020, FHLBank Pittsburgh and its Home4Good partners—Delaware State Housing Authority, Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency and the West Virginia Housing Development Fund—changed the 2020 Home4Good process so that funding could quickly reach communities, families and individuals facing homelessness as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. FHLBank Pittsburgh contributed $4.8 million to the 2020 Home4Good initiative, and its housing finance agency partners contributed an additional $2 million, for a total $6.8 million. In addition to Delaware’s emergency rental relief program, the funding provided 20 block grants to Continuum of Care organizations in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Blighted Hotel Transformed into Affordable Housing Units, Social Service and Medical Center

The newly renovated Declaration House, formerly known as the Denver House, resides in the center of town on Main Street in Denver, Pennsylvania, where it’s home to 10 affordable housing units, social service offices, retail space and a medical center.

The new Declaration House, however, came a long way from what it used to be.

Built in 1863, the iconic Denver House served as a welcoming venue for food and a clean place to stay for more than 150 years. In recent years, the property had become blighted to the point of condemnation. With the highest crime rate in the borough, it became an economic drag and hindered further downtown development.

That’s when the community united on a project that would eventually revitalize the downtown area. After the land was secured by REAL Life Community Services (REAL) and the Lancaster Housing Opportunity Partnership (LHOP), the Lancaster County Redevelopment Authority (LCRA) provided $600,000 in funding to jumpstart the project. Even with this initial investment and all the right partners at the table, the project was short $750,000 in funding to complete the $2.2 million renovation.

To close the funding gap, REAL partnered with Ephrata National Bank to apply for an Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant from FHLBank Pittsburgh. The project was awarded the grant in 2018 and the Declaration House opened their doors to tenants on Sept. 1, 2019.

“Ephrata National Bank’s focus on reinvesting in the local community is also modeled by FHLBank through its Affordable Housing Program and other programs designed to bridge the gap in allowing individuals to obtain affordable housing or enter their very first home,” said Scott E. Lied, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Ephrata National Bank.

FHLBank’s AHP provides grants and subsidized advances for the acquisition, construction and rehabilitation of affordable housing for households with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income (AMI). Housing developers partner with FHLBank members to apply for AHP funding, which is offered through a competitive funding round each year. Grants are awarded to the highest scoring projects until the round’s funds are exhausted.

Lied continues, “The opportunity to personally serve as Chairman of the Capital Funds Committee for the Declaration House was a natural fit, which allowed Ephrata National Bank to use its resources and membership with FHLBank to benefit the local community. The pursuit of the AHP grant occurred during the height of fundraising, when things appeared the most difficult. The possibility of garnering the grant provided a second wind to this challenging effort. It truly was the AHP grant that ensured the completion of the project and was the highlight of the fundraising efforts. We thank FHLBank for their commitment to affordable housing and the lives that have been positively changed as result of their efforts."

Justin Eby, Deputy Director at LCRA, agrees that this grant was instrumental to the project. "The Lancaster County Redevelopment Authority was proud to partner with FHLBank Pittsburgh and many others to bring this exciting project to reality,” said Eby. “The Affordable Housing Program was instrumental in not only creating needed housing units, but also helped kickstart other development projects in Denver's downtown."

Today, the Denver House has a new name, a new look, and a tenant with a new start on life. When Patricia Dean saw her apartment for the very first time, she was full of emotions. "It's been a struggle on the family," Dean said. "It's been struggle on our relationships, especially on the kids so this was just a fresh start."

BOB Supports Barbershop Owners in Southeast Pennsylvania

Andre Gonzalez always had a plan to open multiple barbershops and, eventually, to own the business properties. He’s been working toward that goal since he started cutting hair at age 13. In 2016, Gonzalez and his friend Joel Carcamo opened The Vintage Clipper barbershop in New Holland, Pennsylvania. Eleven months later, they launched their second location in nearby Millersville.

When the Millersville property they were renting went up for sale, Gonzalez and Carcamo had their chance to become property owners. Having been in business for only a year, financing was a challenge. For help, they turned to the lenders at Pennsylvania-based Community First Fund, who leveraged FHLBank Pittsburgh's small-business financing product, Banking On Business, to assemble a funding package.

Community First Fund provides financial and technical assistance to underserved populations in 15 counties across eastern Pennsylvania. Angel Rosario, the organizations Senior Community Lender who managed the loan, notes, "When Andre and Joel came to us, they were doing well, but had only a 5 percent down payment – not enough equity to qualify for a loan. Banking On Business provided a second unsecured loan to close the gap between their down payment and the financing we could provide."

After closing on the Millersville property, Gonzalez and Carcamo remodeled, expanding the shop from four to eight customer chairs and creating two three-bedroom apartments in the building to generate rental income.

"These loans have helped us take our business to the next level,” says Gonzalez. “We’re paying $700 more per month than we were as renters, but we’re making an additional $2,500 per month in income.” Gonzalez has leveraged the additional income to open a third barbershop location in Lancaster – on a lease, but with a goal to purchase.

"Since 2015, we've provided 27 Banking On Business loans, totaling $1.2 million," says Jim Buerger, Community First Fund’s Executive Vice President and Chief Lending Officer. "It's a great program because it gives people like Andre and Joel an opportunity to grow their business, own real estate and build their own wealth. This is how we lift up communities – one loan and one business at a time."

Brentwood Bank Uses CLP to Support Housing and Businesses in Pittsburgh

Brentwood Bank is a state-chartered savings bank that has served the South Hills area of Pittsburgh for nearly 100 years. Now the community bank is looking to expand its footprint with some help from FHLBank Pittsburgh’s Community Lending Program (CLP).

Providing reduced-rate funding for a broad range of economic development purposes – and with terms up to 30 years – CLP benefits both the bank and its customers.

"Particularly in this environment, where deposits are not keeping up with loan growth, having access to this affordable funding is a tremendous advantage," says the bank's SVP of Loan Operations, Carrie Havas. "It gives us the flexibility to fund a broad range of projects, and because we know what our funding cost will be, we can better price our loans to match, which often saves our customers money."

In the past three years, Brentwood Bank has used nearly $56 million of CLP funds to support six multi-family rental housing projects and 11 small businesses. The funding included $5.4 million used to purchase a 90-unit, multi-family complex in Wilkinsburg, a low-income part of Pittsburgh. The units are priced at fair-market rents.

Brentwood Bank uses CLP to fund loans for multi-family housing in low- and moderate-income areas because, as Havas says, "The need for affordable housing is everywhere. Rents are going up, and lower-income families can't afford as much. Property owners want to make improvements while keeping rents affordable. CLP gives us the ability to help." Brentwood Bank uses CLP to support small businesses and economic development in much the same way. A recent $1 million CLP loan was used to refinance debt and improve the cash flow for a shopping center in suburban Penn Hills, just east of Pittsburgh. Another $4.6 million CLP loan facilitated the purchase of a seven-unit shopping plaza in Pittsburgh's Lawrenceville neighborhood. The tenants in both retail centers provide goods and services that are vital to the residents of these moderate-income communities.

According to Havas, "Our partnership with FHLBank helps us support these investments in our communities. FHLBank gives us the kind of tools we need to provide our customers the type of funding they're looking for. That, in turn, helps us grow."

FFD Helps Kish Bank Support First-Time Homebuyers

If asked to list life's major milestones, most people would put buying a first home near the top. Homeownership offers safety and stability and a chance to build financial equity. For many residents of Mifflin County, Pennsylvania, however, buying a home seems an impossible dream.

Nestled between the Ridge and Appalachian Mountains, Mifflin County (pop. 46,000) is a largely rural, working-class area. Many residents live paycheck to paycheck, making it hard to save for a home.

Kish Bank, based in central Pennsylvania, is working to help by using FHLBank Pittsburgh's First Front Door (FFD) product to provide down payment and closing cost assistance to first-time homebuyers.

"First Front Door gives us a huge step up in serving first-time homebuyers," says Kish Bank VP and Residential Lender Penny Zesiger. "Because it works in combination with our other products, we can use it to qualify a wider range of buyers. The FFD grant is often the difference in a customer’s ability to close a loan."

Since starting with the program in 2016, Kish Bank has provided $169,000 in FFD grants to 37 first-time homebuyers, including a single teacher, a young working couple with two small children, and a 74-year-old woman whose landlord sold the building where she had been living for years.

"Buying a house has been life changing for these people," added Zesiger. "For many of our clients, FFD is their only chance to buy a home, and I don’t want them to miss it." Each year, Zesiger proactively contacts prospective homebuyers before the FFD funding is available so that they will be ready when the funds are. "Kish Bank is about helping customers achieve their goals," she says, “and that includes their dream of being a homeowner."

Home4Good Helps St. Martin Center Reduce Homelessness in Erie, Pa.

Like many communities in the mid-Atlantic region, the city of Erie and Erie County, Pennsylvania have lost a significant number of jobs in recent years as large manufacturers have downsized or relocated operations. Many residents have suffered. Some are now, and others are at risk of, experiencing homelessness.

For the past two years, long-time Erie-based partners Marquette Bank and St. Martin Center have been growing their capacity to help, leveraging FHLBank Pittsburgh's Home4Good product.

"Our mission at St. Martin Center is to reduce homelessness and improve long-term housing stability by linking clients to needed services and support," says the Center's CEO, David Gonzalez. "As an organization," he adds, "our biggest challenge is obtaining funding."

Ed Drexler, SVP of Residential Lending for Marquette Bank and a St. Martin Center board member, was confident FHLBank’s Home4Good, offered through the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, could help.

St. Martin Center received a $96,600 Home4Good grant in 2018 to fund services to help a number of clients transition to self-sufficiency, including individuals experiencing homelessness and those at imminent risk of homelessness, veterans and ex-offenders. The grant enabled St. Martin Center to hire a dedicated case manager to direct clients to needed services, including financial literacy and tenant education. It also helped the Center address common support requests – rapid re-housing, rental and utility assistance, transportation, clothing, and IDs and/or tools for employment purposes – as well as refer clients to other support agencies in the community. A 2019 Home4Good award of $40,000 enabled St. Martin Center to continue the efforts begun in 2018.

Housing Case Manager Joshua Jaeger notes, "One of the best things about Home4Good funding is its flexibility. Because it doesn't have the restrictions that come with other funding sources, we don’t have to deny service to someone who may be $1 over other programs' established eligibility thresholds."

Home4Good is one example of Marquette Bank and St. Martin Center’s long-standing partnership. St. Martin also provides financial literacy training to Marquette's first-time homebuyers, and the bank's employees volunteer at St. Martin’s food pantry. Employees from both organizations exchange program information with each other at their annual "Lunch and Learn" event. "I will support St. Martin’s use of Home4Good as long as it is available," says Drexler. "The Center’s work promotes stability. Helping people rebound from hard times makes Erie a better place to be. It lifts the entire community."

Life Lines Provides Housing for Homeless Youth in Delaware

Each year, approximately 65 youth are discharged from Delaware’s foster care system. Many cannot return to their biological families and are at high risk of homelessness. West End Neighborhood House – the state’s primary provider of housing and support services for this vulnerable population – is using FHLBank Pittsburgh's Affordable Housing Program (AHP) to grow its capacity to help.

Since 2008, the organization's Life Lines Program has been awarded three AHP grants totaling $1.05 million to help create transitional and permanent housing for dozens of youth aging out of the foster care system.

The most recent, in 2019, was a $750,000 AHP grant awarded through a partnership with Pennsylvania-based FHLBank member Fulton Bank. The grant will be used in combination with funding from other sources to create 10 new single-occupancy residences and a Resource Center space to support homeless youth with everyday tasks that are difficult when you do not have support or housing stability. Services such as washing machines and dryers, meals, mailboxes and more will be available to the youth as they develop their plan forward for housing and job stability. One of the new homes will be Life Line’s first fully handicapped-accessible residence, and the Resource Center will be the first of its kind serving this population in the state.

According to Life Lines Program Director Stacy Shamburger, "The total cost of all phases of this project will be about $2.4 million, and the AHP grants have been a significant portion of that funding. The most recent grant has also helped us attract other funding. The fact that AHP is supporting this effort for the third time is meaningful to other investors."

Tracy Fletcher, Fulton Bank's VP of Commercial Community Development Lending, concurs. "Projects like Life Lines need some kind of subsidy to make them viable," he says. "AHP can be used with other programs, and it is often AHP that closes the funding gap to make a project viable."

The new homes will be constructed adjacent to the existing Life Lines homes and will replace the last portion of vacant and blighted properties in a four-block radius on Wilmington’s West Side. The site is located near a bus line, a hospital, a shopping area, West End Neighborhood House and other services. The design is also consistent with the West Side Blueprint Communities^® revitalization efforts, which is also supported by FHLBank Pittsburgh.

Fulton Bank helped Life Lines apply for AHP funding through its Fulton Forward™ initiative, which was created to stimulate economic empowerment, break the cycle of generational poverty and revive underserved communities. Nicole Earle, Fulton Bank's Commercial Community Development Officer, expressed her belief that without AHP, this population would be homeless. "We are fortunate to have access to AHP," she says, "and a strategic partner like FHLBank to help projects like this come to fruition."

Vacant High-Rise Building is Transformed into Housing for Seniors

As a member of FHLBank Pittsburgh, Fulton Bank collaborated with the Harrisburg Housing Authority (HHA) to apply for an Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grant. The project was seeking a grant to help support an affordable housing development for seniors in the heart of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania – a property known as Jackson Tower.

The high-rise building had been vacant for nearly 13 years, and it took four years and $22 million for HHA to complete the renovation. To get the job done, HHA patched together multiple sources of funding, including capital improvement funds, the Public Housing Operating Fund and Community Development Block Grants. Together, HHA and Fulton Bank applied for an AHP grant, and the project received a $500,000 grant.

Senghor Manns, HHA’s Chief Executive Officer, explained that the AHP grant was significant to the overall project. “We used the AHP funds to install a private freight elevator that accommodates motorized wheelchairs and access for emergency personnel,” said Manns, adding that this is an important feature for a senior living complex.

The AHP funds were also used to add an insulated, energy-efficient building shell. “It’s doubtful,” said Manns, “that these enhancements would have been possible without the AHP grant.”

Resident Jane West doesn’t see Jackson Tower – which now provides 159 units of affordable housing for seniors with middle-, low- and very low incomes – through the eyes of a bank or a housing authority. She sees it through the eyes of a hard-working, retired woman, a mother of five, and a great-grandmother of 40, and someone who says she is fortunate to call Jackson Tower home.

"This is very important,” said Miss West, referencing the development of affordable housing for seniors. “A lot of us worked all of our lives, and we don’t get a lot. We need some help, and we need to feel safe.” Jackson Tower, she says, does that.

Tracy Fletcher, Fulton Bank’s Vice President of Commercial Community Development Lending, said that safe and affordable housing changes lives for the better. “When we partner with FHLBank and developers like HHA,” he said, “we become part of the solution.”

AHP helps FHLBank members participate in the development of affordable housing in the communities they serve. Learn more about AHP.

Taking Behavioral Health Services to the Streets

Allegheny County’s Community Human Services (CHS) is using a $100,000 Home4Good grant to double its outreach to individuals who are struggling with homelessness and behavioral health disorders.

The expansion of services would not be possible without five FHLBank Pittsburgh members who served as Home4Good co-applicants: Brentwood Bank, S&T Bank, SSB Bank, Standard Bank and WesBanco Bank.

The Home4Good grant is helping CHS stretch beyond traditional affordable housing services to provide behavioral health assessments, medication management and psychiatric services to individuals who are homeless. CHS expects to double its outreach by increasing its hours of operation and hiring additional qualified staff.

Colin McWhertor, Chief Service Officer for CHS, explained the need for program expansion. “Individuals dealing with mental illness and homelessness live in a cycle that is hard to break,” he said. “The Home4Good grant is allowing us to take behavioral health services to the streets, with the goal of transitioning people to more traditional behavioral health treatment and eventually to stable housing.”

Kate Swanson, Community Investment Manager for FHLBank Pittsburgh, explained how Home4Good grants often support innovative solutions that might not be addressed by traditional funding sources. “Home4Good’s flexibility puts problem-solving into the hands of local providers who best understand the needs of their communities,” said Swanson. “As a result, we are seeing homeless solutions that are both innovative and targeted to the most critical needs in various geographic areas.”

About Home4Good: Home4Good is a unique partnership between FHLBank Pittsburgh and the state housing finance agencies (HFAs) in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. It provides grants for activities, programs and services that aid the prevention and diversion of homelessness.

In 2018, Home4Good’s inaugural year, $4.8 million in grant money from FHLBank Pittsburgh was boosted by partial matching grants from participating HFAs, pushing the total funds earmarked for homeless services to more than $7 million and funding 80 projects that might not have occurred otherwise.

Home4Good Provides Housing Support to Delaware Families

YWCA Delaware provides diversion and rapid re-housing services to help local families who are on the brink of homelessness or have recently become homeless. These services offer temporary support most often to those who do not require emergency shelter but do need short-term rental assistance to help regain self-sufficiency.

Participating local landlords make leasing accommodations for tenants, such as more lenient credit or income requirements. Tenants also receive case-management assistance and financial help from YWCA to cover initial deposits, utilities and rental payments.

Through FHLBank’s Home4Good initiative, which was introduced in 2018 to support homeless services, FHLBank member Artisans’ Bank helped YWCA acquire funding to support its diversion and rapid re-housing services.

“Home4Good is a new tool in our toolbox,” said Stephanie Staats, Chief Executive Officer of YWCA Delaware. “The program helps us keep more Delaware families off the streets.” Joel Schiller, Artisans’ Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Officer, and Compliance & Community Reinvestment Act Officer, knows it is difficult for Delaware nonprofits to find funding and is happy that Artisans’ could assist.

“The YWCA is really engaged in helping the community,” Schiller said. “By supporting an organization already helping people stay in homes, Home4Good funding is going to a great place.”

AHP Gives Philadelphia Families a Place to Call Home

In 2015, FHLBank member Customers Bank began partnering with Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia to create affordable homes in Philadelphia.

Together, the two organizations have accessed more than $1.9 million in FHLBank Affordable Housing Program (AHP) grants to help support 22 new homes in previously vacant and blighted areas of the city.

Five of the homes were built in Hope Village, located in the neighborhood of Sharswood, using sustainable construction methods. The remaining energy-efficient homes are being built in Diamond Park in Lower North Philadelphia. All homeowners invest time and effort to assist in the construction process. AHP provides additional funding to housing projects that need it most. "Our partnership with Customers Bank allows us to serve more Philadelphians by giving us access to AHP," said Carrie Rathmann, the Habitat chapter’s Director of Strategic Partnerships.

Joseph Schupp, Customers' Senior Vice President and Community Development Officer, believes AHP is a win-win for the bank and the city. "Our goal was to help get funding back into the community," he said, “and these housing projects would not have been possible without AHP."