Congress Building America (CBA) is a recent initiative that represents a cooperative effort between Habitat for Humanity International, the U.S. Congress, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and national corporate and non-profit sponsors.  The program will produce new, affordable single-family homes and strengthen the network of affordable housing supporters.

Read more about ACB’s partnership with Congress Building America.

Learn more about the Congress Building America program as well as Habitat for Humanity International.

Click here for ACB Housing Partners Fact Sheet

PLAY VIDEO
(run time is approximately 4 min.)
 

Beginning with a fundraising project to support a soup kitchen in Washington, D.C. in 1991, the ACB Housing Partners Foundation has been enriching the communities that have hosted our annual conventions. Over the last 15 years, the Foundation has honed its mission to promote and provide affordable housing in our local communities across the country.

In the 15 years since Housing Partners was created, ACB Members have donated over $1.5 million to improve the quality of life in our host communities.

In 2001, The Housing Partners Foundation formed a partnership with Habitat for Humanity International that perfectly reflects the roots of community banking – the American dream of home ownership. That partnership enables HPF to partner with Habitat for Humanity International and its local affiliates to fully sponsor and help build a Habitat home in our convention cities.

The Foundation, which is an IRS 501 © (3) organization, seeks donations from our member banks to fund the Habitat house that HPF will build. Member banks contribute generously, and bankers and their spouses are eager volunteers who enjoy working at the build site. Since 2001, the Foundation has fully funded and helped construct Habitat Houses in New Orleans, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C. and Orlando.

ACB Housing Partners Foundation, formed in 1991, is an IRS 501(c)(3) organization that provides resources for housing and related support services through volunteer fundraising efforts of ACB members, their spouses, families and institutions.  The Foundation was built on the traditions of the industry… giving something back to the community.

Housing Partners Sustaining Fund

In 2006 we will take on our biggest Habitat for Humanity challenge yet – a $110,000 property outside of San Diego, Calif. One of the hottest real estate markets in the country, Southern California has an enormous need for affordable housing. Join us in helping to make one family’s dream of home ownership a reality by making a tax-deductible contribution to the 2006 Sustaining Fund or through volunteering your time at ACB’s Convention on Saturday, October 14.

Bankers Helping Bankers

In response to the emergency created by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, ACB formed the Bankers-Helping-Bankers program as part of the ACB Housing Partners Foundation. It was in response to concerns by members of America’s Community Bankers who contacted ACB wanting to know what they could do to assist their industry colleagues on the Gulf Coast.

ACB launched the Bankers-Helping-Bankers program as a clearinghouse for Housing Partners Foundation donations designated for bank employees in the Gulf Coast Region. ACB provided $25,000 in “seed money,” and then ACB members began to contribute.

Banks and bank employees across the U.S., from tellers to CEOs, have contributed in a range from $100 to as much as $25,000 to benefit people they’ve never met. Bank presidents in the Gulf Coast Region recommend individual employees to the Foundation for a grant of up to $1,000 to defray disaster expenses such as home repair, evacuation transportation expenses, food and shelter.

By mid-February 2006, the Foundation has distributed over $115,000 to 300 bank employees in need. Grants of up to $1,000 per bank employee help offset expenses incurred during the evacuations, and to begin the arduous process of rebuilding. Because of the ongoing generosity of ACB members, the Foundation has not had to turn away anyone in need.

New Orleans Habitat for Humanity Affiliate

After the ACB Housing Partners Foundation officially partnered with Habitat for Humanity International in 2001, we built our first fully sponsored house in New Orleans. That house was damaged by the floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina that also damaged or destroyed 81 Habitat homes in the New Orleans region. The New Orleans Habitat affiliate itself lost its office space, records, copiers, tools, and more – everything they needed to jumpstart the rebuilding process.

In response to member requests to help, America’s Community Bankers set up the “New Orleans Habitat for Humanity” fund with $25,000. Member banks contributed funds designated specifically to rebuild the New Orleans Habitat Affiliate so it could take on the mammoth construction projects facing the city. On January 23, 2006, Housing Partners Foundation Board Member Cindy Nolan presented a check to the New Orleans Habitat Affiliate for over $58,000 from ACB and its members to start the process of rebuilding. ACB Chairman F. Weller Meyer, and president and CEO Diane Casey- Landry, were in New Orleans for the presentation and a first-hand look at the devastation and the work needed to rebuild the city.

The ACB Housing Partners Foundation Sustaining Fund allows both individuals and institutions to make tax-deductible contributions to Housing Partners’ 2004 charity.