HUD AWARDS $4.5 MILLION IN 'SWEAT EQUITY' GRANTS TO COMMUNITY FRAMEWORKS TO HELP FAMILIES BUILD THEIR OWN HOME
270 affordable homes to be built with SHOP grants

SEATTLE - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development announced a $4.5 million grant to Community Frameworks through the Department's Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP). This award is part of $24.8 million in SHOP grants awarded nationally to "sweat equity programs" at four nonprofit national and regional organizations.

"Community Frameworks is very excited to receive this SHOP award from HUD," said Christopher Holden, Director of Regional Initiatives, at Frameworks. "We appreciate the ongoing support of our SHOP affiliates throughout the Northwest, and are pleased that our program will help 270 low-income households achieve the dream of homeownership."

Community Frameworks, headquartered in Spokane with a branch office in Bremerton, has 26 affiliate organizations
in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

COMMUNITY FRAMEWORKS SHOP 2005 IDAHO AFFILIATES

• Eastern Idaho Special Services Agency (EISSA), Idaho Falls, ID
• Idaho Development and Housing Organization (IDAHO), Caldwell, ID
• Mercy Housing Idaho (MHID), Eagle, ID
• South Eastern Idaho Community Action Agency (SEICAA), Pocatello, ID

Frameworks, which has administered SHOP funding since the program's inception in 1996, provides 10-year, zero-interest, forgivable loans to nonprofit organizations, public agencies and tribes sponsoring mutual self-help homeownership programs. The funds are used to buy land and make necessary infrastructure improvements that support new construction and rehabilitation. Prior to this grant award, Frameworks received over $11 million in HUD SHOP funding supporting development of 1,021 affordable owner-occupied units.

The other nonprofit organizations awarded SHOP grants are:

ACORN Housing Corporation -- $572,000
Housing Assistance Council -- $9,000,000
Habitat for Humanity International -- $10,773,000

SHOP grants are provided to national and regional nonprofit organizations that have experience in providing self-help housing. These funds are used to purchase land and make improvements on infrastructure, which together may not exceed an average investment of $15,000 per dwelling. These non-profit organizations propose to distribute SHOP funds to several hundred local affiliates that will acquire the land, select homebuyers, coordinate the homebuyer
and volunteer efforts for sweat equity, and assist in the arrangement of interim and permanent financing for the homebuyers.

Homebuyers contribute a minimum of 100 hours of sweat equity on the construction of their homes and/or the
homes of other homebuyers participating in the local self-help housing program. Self-help housing or sweat equity involves the homebuyer's participation in the construction of the housing, which can include, but is not limited to, assisting in the painting, carpentry, trim work, drywall, roofing and siding for the housing.

Labor contributed by volunteers also helps buyers who are unable to perform their sweat equity tasks due to disabilities or other reasons. Frequently persons with disabilities are able to substitute tasks by performing administrative tasks. The sweat equity and labor contributions by the homebuyers and volunteers significantly
reduce the cost of the housing.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities, creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans, supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as
enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet
and espanol.hud.gov.

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