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 (see list below). 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- and moderate-income Americans; and supporting the housing needs of the homeless, elderly, and of people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promote
s 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 at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov.

COMMUNITY FRAMEWORKS SHOP 2005 AFFILIATES

1. Community Action Team (CAT), St. Helens, OR
2. Community Services Consortium (CSC), Corvallis, OR
3. Columbia Valley Housing Association (CVHA), Wenatchee, WA
4. District 6 Human Resource Development Council (D6HRDC), Lewistown, MT
5. Diocese of Yakima Housing Services (DYHS), Yakima, WA
6. Eastern Idaho Special Services Agency (EISSA), Idaho Falls, ID
7. Community Frameworks' HomeStarts Program (Frameworks), Spokane, WA
8. Housing Authority of the County of Clallam (HACC), Port Angeles, WA
9. Housing Hope Properties (HHP), Everett, WA
10. Idaho Development and Housing Organization (IDAHO), Caldwell, ID
11. Lower Columbia Community Action Council (LCCAC), Longview, WA
12. Lopez Community Land Trust (LCLT), Lopez Island, WA
13. Laurel Development Corporation (LDC), Laurel, MT
14. Mercy Housing Idaho (MHID), Eagle, ID
15. National Affordable Housing Network (NAHN), Butte, MT
16. Northwest Housing Development (NHD), Sumner, WA
17. Northwest Montana Human Resources (NMHR), Kalispell, MT
18. OPAL Community Land Trust (OPAL), Eastsound, WA
19. Rogue Valley Community Development Corporation (RVCDC), Medford, OR
20. South Eastern Idaho Community Action Agency (SEICAA), Pocatello, ID
21. San Juan Community Home Trust (SJCHT), Friday Harbor, WA
22. Saint Vincent DePaul Society of Lane County (SVDP), Eugene, OR
23. Umpqua Community Development Corporation (UCDC), Roseburg, OR
24. Upper Valley MEND/SHARE Community Land Trust (UVM), Leavenworth, WA
25. Whatcom-Skagit Housing (WSH), Bellingham, WA
26. Yamhill Community Development Corporation (YCDC), McMinnville, OR

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