Nehemiah: Making the American Dream possible for first-time homeowners

From CBS News: The Nehemiah project began in the 1980s building privately-owned homes on land that nobody wanted in East Brooklyn and sold the homes at prices that were affordable to working class families. Church and community organizers mobilized local politicians to sell the land for almost nothing and provide subsidies for community members and raise money that could be used for loans. The program has built 6,500 homes and created an estimated $1.5 billion of wealth for first time Black and Latino homeowners.

Click here to read the original story.

Issue Areas:

Housing, Land Use, Sustainable Development

Impact Areas:

Distributed Trust and Power, Equity

Actors:

BIPOC Communities, Lending, Banking, and Financial Institutions

Communities Served:

BIPOC Communities, Communities Experiencing Economic Hardship

Strategies:

Collective Action, Easing Economic Burdens for Individuals, Redefining Land / Land Ownership

Success Factors:

Building Distribution Systems, Eliminating Barriers, Embracing the Power of Relationships, Leveling the Playing Field, Meeting People Where They Are At, Overcoming the Big Challenges

Geographic Region:

North America

Countries:

United Kingdom

Date:

September 11, 2022

More Resources:

Conversation with Philip Rosedale

Philip Rosedale is a co-founder and advisor of High Fidelity, a company devoted to exploring the future of next-generation shared virtual reality. Prior to High Fidelity, Rosedale created the virtual civilization Second Life and has also worked on experiments in...

New Indonesia climate fund backs Indigenous forest guardians

From Asad Asnawi / Context: The Nusantra Fund provides financial support directly to community-led projects in Indonesia. The aim is to improve the livelihoods of Indigenous and local people while tackling climate change impacts and protecting biodiversity. Click here to...

Less is more: Lithuanian company’s experiment with shorter working hours

From Domantė Platūkytė / LRT: A company in Lithuania cut back the work day from eight to six hours and noted an increase in morale without any negative impact on productivity. Employees reported a better work-life balance, reducing their stress...

Conversation with Gopal Patel

Gopal Patel is the co-founder and director of Bhumi Global, a non-profit mobilizing Hindu communities worldwide for environmental action. Over the last decade, he has advised global interfaith and environmental initiatives, working to include faith voices in local and international...

A revolution in helping Africa’s poor: Cash with no strings attached

From Katharine Houreld / The Washington Post: GiveDirectly runs a program that gives a lump sum of cash directly to those in need, without needing to qualify with other specifications (such as school enrollment or vaccination status). Lump sum funds...

Conversation with Matt Prewitt

Matthew Prewitt is RadicalxChange Foundation’s president, a writer and blockchain industry advisor, and a former plaintiff’s side antitrust and consumer class action litigator and federal law clerk. Prewitt spoke with Ashley Hopkinson on January 25, 2024. Click here to read the...