In concert with community members, CHFA established three strategic “pillars” under which fall a host of initiatives aimed at closing the homeownership gap. Those pillars are Outreach, Education, and Resources. Outreach One recommendation we heard repeatedly was to share available homebuying resources with community members. In our Outreach work, we seek to increase awareness and engagement with CHFA as well as the overall housing ecosystem. This includes sponsorship of community-led Black and African American events, one-on-one meetings with community leaders to share CHFA resources and converse about solutions, increased representation on CHFA’s Lender Advisory Group, and a marketing campaign centered around increasing Black and African American homeownership called Own Your Tomorrow.
Throughout 2023, CHFA had the privilege of taking part in numerous community events, including the Colorado Black Arts Festival, The Drop Block Party, Park Hill Day of Legends, the Montebello Wellness Fair, and the Denver and Colorado Springs Juneteenth celebrations. In-community events like these allow folks to get acquainted with CHFA and its homebuying programs and services, often for the first time. These valuable introductions and conversations have also helped lay a path for prospective homebuyers to take the next steps toward purchasing a home when the time is right for them. Finally, part of CHFA’s outreach initiative included the addition of my role as a Community Liaison and Business Development Specialist. I joined the CHFA team in Summer 2023, leveraging my history of working in the mortgage industry, as well as my personal experience of using a CHFA loan to purchase my own home, and I’m proud to help spearhead outreach efforts and make the dream of homeownership a reality for my community.
CHFA presents a Homebuyer Education workshop. (Photo: Colorado Housing and Finance Authority)
18 The Acumen
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