In the effort to provide housing opportunities statewide, the Idaho Housing and Finance Association and its 130 employees is committed to serving Idaho, the state's citizens, and the communities we live and work in. Below are a few examples:
IHFA Supports Idaho Women’s Financial Conference
IHFA helped thousands of women empower themselves financially by co-sponsoring the Idaho Women’s Financial Conference in October. The association staffed a booth at the conference and provided information about the association’s home ownership programs and other housing resources. Attendees learned how to become more financially independent by attending workshops such as Starting Your Own Business, Investing, and Retiring on Time. Robin Roberts of Good Morning America was the keynote speaker.
Morgans Volunteer with Wishing Star Foundation for Kids
Mike Morgan, housing inspector with the Coeur d' Alene branch office, his wife Linda, and daughter Michele, a leukemia survivor, are volunteering with the Wishing Star Foundation, which is planning a Golf Tournament in Coeur d'Alene on Sept. 30, 2005. The tournament will raise money to grant wishes to children who are terminally ill or who have a life-threatening illness.
If you would like to donate to the Wishing Star Foundation, the organization always needs copy paper, Polariod film and stamps. For a local branch near you, visit www.wishingstar.org.
IHFA Employees Make The Dilbert Drive a Huge Success!
Boise employees participated in a food drive August 15-26, 2005, benefiting The Idaho Foodbank. Employees donated 243 pounds of food and raised a generous $364 during the donation campaign, which was dubbed "The Dilbert Drive." Each dollar donated is worth 7 pounds of donated food, bringing the total amount raised to 2,791 pounds of food - an average of 31.7 pounds per employee!
The food drive's success far exceeded the goal set at the beginning of The Dilbert Drive, which was to raise 8.5 pounds of food per employee. IHFA will receive a certificate from the Foodbank for its accomplishments.
Woinowsky Helps Community Through IHFA, Resource Network, Habitat for Humanity
Bette Woinowsky, IHFA Family Self-Sufficiency Specialist in Coeur d'Alene, participates in a number of community activities in the North Idaho area. She is part of the Community Resource Network, a group of local service providers that meets quarterly to discuss ways to assist people with employment, education, heath, and other issues. Through the Family Self-Sufficiency Program, Bette works with families receiving rental assistance to set goals related to employment, education and money management.
Bette works with the public on pre-occupancy and rental delinquency issues. She also helps families work toward home ownership by referring them to IHFA's Finally Home! classes, reviewing credit reports, discussing down-payment plans, and making additional referrals to appropriate lending institutions and resources in the community.
Woinowsky is also past president (2 years) and vice president (1 year) of Habitat for Humanity of North Idaho and currently serves on the Board of Directors (she takes over as Secretary on July 1), as well as the Budgeting and Site Selection committees. She is the Escrow manager and Chair of the Family Partnership committee with that organization. Bette also teaches a financial class for families.
Hunter Named National Legislative Whip for NCSHA
Gerald Hunter, president and executive director, is also the National Legislative Whip for the National Council of State Housing Agencies. Essentially, the whip is a party manager, who secures attendance for voting and directs other members. The head whip oversees the four regional whips (West, Midwest, Southeast and Northeast) and serves a one-year term. Hunter, who was previously the western regional whip for two years, was named the head whip just prior to the recent NCSHA Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. in early March.
"There will be a lot of important federal housing issues debated in the coming year," Hunter said, "and I'm looking forward to helping ensure the best results possible for our association and other housing organizations across the country."
Rector Named to Administrative Posts with FUNDSY, Boise Chamber, Legislative Advisors
Steve Rector, Public Affairs director, has been elected to serve on the board of directors for FUNDSY of Idaho. FUNDSY, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that raises funds for charitable and community capital improvement projects. FUNDSY is celebrating its 40th year in the Treasure Valley.
Rector was also recently named to a two-year appointment as legislative committee chairman for the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, and will serve two years as president of the Legislative Advisors statewide lobbyist group, comprised of more than 150 businesses and organizations from throughout the state. Rector will serve in that capacity through 2007.
"It is my privilege to contribute to community activities," Rector said. "I'm proud to be able to represent IHFA within these groups."
IHFA Employees Gear Up for Heart Walk 2006
Everyone knows someone who has been touched by heart disease or stroke. IHFA employees will try to make a difference in memory of a loved one and to help raise money for cardiovascular disease research and education. Once again, IHFA is forming a team to participate in the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk on Saturday, April 1, 2006.IHFA's walkers raised $985 in the 2005 Heart Walk.
The Heart Walk features a 1-mile or 5-k fun walk along the Boise Greenbelt. Team members are encouraged to raise a minimum of $100, but no entry fee or fund-raising is required to participate in the walk. Friends and family also are welcome to join IHFA’s team.
IHFA Shares Housing Information at Fiesta Idaho and Counties Conference
Hundreds of people attended Fiesta Idaho in Nampa on September 17 and 18, to watch cultural dancers, listen to Mariachi bands, visit informational and craft booths, and enjoy traditional Mexican food. Kate Brussé, promotions and community relations officer, staffed a booth with information about IHFA programs. Pictured at left is a Mariachi band and on the right is a booth where people could watch colorful piñatas being made.
IHFA also sponsored a refreshment break at the Idaho Association of Counties Annual Conference in Boise September 19-21, and Brusse staffed an information booth . Hundreds of county commissioners, assessors, clerks, treasurers, sheriffs, and coroners attended the conference.
Farmworkers Learn About IHFA Home Loans
Information about IHFA home loans, down payment assistance, and housing services was provided to hundreds of people at Farmworker Appreciation Day at Caldwell Memorial Park on August 28, 2005. Community Relations Officer Kate Brusse staffed a booth along with an interpreter, Marisela Pesina of Stewart Title. An estimated 4,000-5,000 people attended the celebration, according to IHFA Grant Program Construction Specialist Tom Newton, an organizer of the event and longtime volunteer with the Canyon Area Human Rights Task Force. "We went through 4,400 hamburger patties," Newton said.
IHFA's Public Affairs Department Earns 9 Communications Awards
IHFA's Public Affairs Department recently garnered five awards from the Idaho Press Club in Public Relations, two from The Communicator, and two Awards of Excellence from APEX 2005. Both the Communicator and APEX awards were international competitions with more than 5,000 entries.
The Public Affairs Department has now won 83 Public Relations/Communications awards in the last decade.
IHFA Participates in Caldwell's Cinco de Mayo Fiesta
Hundreds of families received information about IHFA from our information booth at the Cinco de Mayo fiesta at the Caldwell Events Center on May 7. IHFA was a sponsor of the event, put on by the Caldwell Chamber of Commerce. A Spanish interpreter, Marisela Pesina of Stewart Title, assisted Kate Brussé at the event, which featured Mexican food, a youth talent show, a car show, and many booths representing local businesses and organizations.
Morgans Champion Cancer Research in Coeur d'Alene
Mike Morgan, housing inspector with the Coeur d' Alene branch office, and his wife, Linda, participated in the Relay for Life on May 13-14 with their daughter, Michele, a leukemia survivor. Michele was a team captain for the Post Falls event, which raised money for the American Cancer Society.
Mike said his daughter's monthly health checkups in Spokane are looking good, and she recently got her drivers license. "She's finishing up her junior year on the computer at home, and that's because with her immune system she can't be around kids who are sick," said Mike.
Michele's goal is to return to the classroom for her senior year.
IHFA Walkers Raise Money for American Heart Association
IHFA employees raised $985 for the American Heart Association and walked either 3.1 miles or 1 mile in the Heart Walk on April 2 in Boise. Our top walker was Pat Apperson, Section 8 Program Development Specialist, who raised $360!
Other walkers who raised money for heart and stroke research and education programs include Cindy Bengal, Loan Underwriting Officer; Kate Brussé, Promotions and Community Relations Officer, and her husband, Chad; Jan Johnson, Secretary for The Housing Company; Tom Newton, Grant Programs Construction Specialist, and his granddaughter, Tanisha; and Lisa Stevens, Rental Assistance Programs Manager.
Special thanks to Lydia Aguirre, Marianne Bafaro, Kyle Kitterman, Becky Miller-Coleman, Bob Reed, John Sager, Susan Semba and Ernie Watkins for their generous donations to IHFA walkers
IHFA Offers Tools For Life
The Public Affairs Department staffed an information booth Jan. 13-14, 2005 at a conference designed to help individuals with disabilities as they transition from high school to the "real world." The "Tools for Life: Secondary Transition and Technology Fair" was sponsored by the Idaho State Department of Education, the Idaho Assistive Technology Project and the Idaho Council on Secondary Transition. An estimated 275 high school students with disabilities, their parents, educators, service providers, rehabilitation specialists and others attended the conference.
IHFA Employees Continue Giving
For the fourth year in a row, IHFA employees contributed the equivalent of more than 2,000 pounds of food to The Idaho Foodbank, and employees also adopted a family for the holidays.
During a two-week donation drive in November, $330 was raised and 218 pounds of food was collected - a total of 2,574 pounds of food. Food collected is weighed on a pound-per-pound basis, while money collected is weighted according to a formula that gives 7.14 pounds of food for every dollar.
In December, staff members raised more than $500 for a mother and three children who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban killed their husband and father. Employees used the money to purchase gifts for the family members. They delivered the presents to the family on Dec. 21.
IHFA Employees Rake Up Boise
IHFA employees participated in Rake Up Boise on Saturday, Nov. 13, 2004, bagging up more than 20 sacks of leaves for a senior citizen in Northwest Boise. Executive Receptionist Colleen Smith and Federal Programs Accountant Mark Nail teamed up with Public Affairs Manager Lynette Berriochoa, her daughters Hailey and Chelsea, and Community Relations Officer Kate BrussŽ and her husband, Chad.
Emergency Shelter Grants Provide 75,000 Bed Nights
The holiday season is a time when the weather turns colder, and the plight of the homeless population in our state is once again at the forefront of our thoughts. IHFA takes an active role in homeless assistance, administering $419,528 in Emergency Shelter Grants statewide in Fiscal Year 2004. That means we helped convert buildings into homeless shelters, assisted shelter operations and funded related social services and homeless prevention activities.
Emergency Shelter Grants were spread through 16 providers statewide, helping nearly 2,500 people in almost 1,000 households. The funding provided for more than 75,000 shelter bed nights.
IHFA Loan Business Creates 2,350 Jobs, $80.9 Million in Personal Income
In Fiscal Year 2004, IHFA's Single-Family Mortgage Loan activity generated more than 2,350 jobs in the construction industry within the state, while creating nearly $80.9 million in Idaho personal income. IHFA's activities also increased state tax revenue by more than $8.6 million.
More Than 8,000 Callers Assisted Through Housing Hotline
Since starting in Oct. 1998, IHFA's Housing Hotline has fielded more than 8,000 calls from Idaho consumers, providers and advocates. The toll-free hotline serves as a central clearinghouse of housing information while creating a dynamic and accurate picture of Idaho's housing needs and resources.
The hotline is part of the Housing Information and Resource Center.
"The hotline offers consumers helpful information on housing options and availability as well as referrals," said HIRC's coordinator, Erik Kingston. While answering calls, the hotline also collects data to better define the housing needs of Idaho's communities. "The public, private and nonprofit sectors can use this information to help target and secure resources for areas with the greatest need," he said.
During the last fiscal year, the hotline assisted an estimated 2,500 callers.
IHFA Financial Management Wins "Whole Enchilada" in NCSHA Awards
IHFA won a Program Excellence award at the 34th Annual NCSHA Conference in Chicago on Oct. 18. IHFA won its award in the category of Management Innovation: Financial Management, for IHFA's Web site information library for investors, which CFO John Sager calls the "Whole Enchilada."
"The award recognizes that IHFA has all of the information that an investor might need to analyze an investment in IHFA Mortgage Revenue Bonds posted on its Web site," said Sager. IHFA is the only HFA in the country to have all of its disclosure information, including prepayment speeds for all bond issues, official statements, financial reports and historical and future bond issues listed at any investor's fingertips. "This has been very valuable for investors and has been a popular innovation that other HFAs are struggling to imitate," added Sager. IHFA won this award in the financial management area in 2001 for the prepayment speed calculations.
IHFA Participates in Governor's Conference on Aging
IHFA was a sponsor and one of several exhibitors at the 2004 Idaho Governor's Conference on Aging in mid-September at the Doubletree Riverside Hotel.
The three-day event drew well over 400 seniors to discuss issues including housing, health care, transportation, physical and financial fitness and fraud alert.
Brandy Nipper, Becca Howell and James Vo of Grant Programs, Vicki Schaffer of Rental Assistance Programs, and Reed Hollinshead of Public Affairs manned the IHFA booth during the conference.
IHFA Web Site Wins Third Award
IHFA's redesigned Web site has won its third award, the Advanced Web Design Award, from a Web design firm in Miami.
"We have found that your site is well thought out, very pleasant to look at, and serves a definite purpose. It is compelling to its viewers, has informative content, originality, excellent design, and leaves in its visitor's mind the image of a quality site," said the firm in its citation.
The site had previously won the Golden Web Award from the International Association of Web Masters and Designers, and the American Association of Webmasters Gold Award.
Housing Info & Resource Center, Roundtables Win NAHRO Awards
Recently, IHFA's Housing Information and Resource Center and regional housing roundtables received recognition from the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials.
The committee cited the HIRC program's collaborative and preventative nature, saying that it "has clearly made a difference in the lives of many housing consumers by helping them make use of existing resources and programs that prevent more serious and costly outcomes," like homelessness or foreclosure.
Of the roundtables, the committee spoke of the value of this communication tool for problem-solving and resource identification, and the ability to harvest input from diverse and far-flung housing stakeholders.
Best of all, the committee said, in both cases the programs could be easily replicated by other states and organizations working toward similar goals.
Public Affairs Garners Additional Awards
Idaho Housing and Finance Association's Public Affairs Department recently garnered five awards from the Idaho Press Club in Public Relations, two from The Communicator, an international competition featuring more than 3,700 entries, and two Awards of Distinction from International APEX 2004, which received 5,500 entries.
IHFA's most prestigious awards were for the quarterly Cornerstones newsletter on housing issues (media_cornerstones.asp) and for the 2003 Idaho Governor's Conference on Housing last fall. IHFA has received 71 Public Relations awards in the last decade for its Web site (www.ihfa.org), newsletters (about_newsletters.asp), news releases (media_releasescombined04.asp) and various organizational efforts.
Semba Named President of Professional Mortgage Women
Susan Semba, mortgage services senior manager for the Idaho Housing and Finance Association, has been elected national president of the National Association of Professional Mortgage Women (NAPMW) for the period May 2005-May 2006. Semba, current president of the Idaho Mortgage Bankers Association, has been active in NAPMW for several years -- she is a past president of the local chapter of the organization, and was recently national vice president of the Northwestern Region. Semba has been with IHFA for 20 years and in the mortgage banking industry since 1976. She began at IHFA as a Loan Administration Officer in 1984.
IHFA Helps Paint the Town
IHFA and Idaho Trust National Bank teamed up to participate in Idaho's largest volunteer effort, Paint The Town. Over the course of three weeks, team members completed yard work and cleanup, made small repairs, scraped, primed, and on June 12 painted their assigned house on Bethel Street. Valley-wide, volunteers help seniors and the disabled who could neither physically manage nor afford routine maintenance and repairs to their homes. IHFA team members included Jo Ann Behr, Kate Bell, Lynette Berriochoa, Erik Kingston, Brandy Nipper, Tom Palazzo, Susan Semba, and eight family members of employees
IHFA Employees Race for the Cure
On Saturday, May 8, 13 IHFA employees, family members and friends in Boise participated in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure, benefiting breast cancer research.
IHFA Answers SOS For Working Women
Idaho Housing and Finance Association employees in Boise helped local women start down the road to self-sufficiency with confidence by donating clothing to the Boise Valley Dress for Success program during S.O.S. (Send One Suit) Week in March. Sixteen suits were donated along with numerous separates, dresses, shoes and handbags. All clothing collected will help low-income women enter the work force by providing them with a job-interview-appropriate outfit.
40/40 Club
IHFA Public Affairs Manager Lynette Berriochoa was among 40 bold, young achievers recognized by the Idaho Business Review as "Accomplished Under 40." in a luncheon March 22. All nominations were graded on leadership, professional accomplishment and community involvement.
IHFA Named one of Idaho's Brightest Stars
IHFA was among 42 businesses, individuals and organizations that received Brightest Star Awards during a ceremony Feb. 3, 2004 at the Statehouse. Governor and First Lady Kempthorne presented the awards (a certificate and lapel pin) to recognize those who work to better the lives of Idaho's families and children. IHFA was recognized for offering mortgage loans and assistance to first-time and limited-income home buyers and for administering affordable housing resources to help families obtain safe, decent housing.
The Housing Company Adopts Family for Christmas
Instead of exchanging gifts, employees of The Housing Company, a nonprofit organized by IHFA in 1990, opted to adopt a family in need this past Christmas. They obtained the name of a family from the Department of Health and Welfare who otherwise would not have gifts. THC employees provided each of the three boys with a new outfit, including a new pair of shoes, along with a toy or game. Each parent received a requested gift, and the grandmother received books and knitting supplies. Employees also provided a gift certificate so the family could purchase a turkey and a ham. Additional food was donated to cover Christmas dinner and beyond.
Keeping Kids Warm
Often, it does not take an expensive donation to warm someone's heart! Boise employees donated nine coats, three pairs of snowpants, six pairs of gloves and five hats to the "Keep Kids Warm" winter clothing drive. Radio station KIZN "Kissin' 92", in partnership with several valley businesses, organized the clothing drive to help kids and families in need this winter.
Debbie Winchester of Lewiston Branch Office & Family Self Sufficiency Program Promote HEROs
Family Self Sufficiency Specialist Debbie Winchester from the Lewiston branch recently developed the HERO (Human Employment Resource Options) team to provide opportunities for participants in the FSS program to enter/re-enter the workforce or make progress in the working world.
Through HERO, FSS caseworkers and others familiar with these individuals become advocates, meeting with employers to discuss partnerships with any of more than a hundred potential workers in the program.
"We search the community's employment needs and match up those openings with workers in the HERO program who have the needed skills," Winchester explained.
The HERO program had its first large meeting with area employers on Jan. 22, as about 35 human resource/personnel professionals met with Winchester and her partners in the HERO program. Winchester expects to meet with a minimum of one or two employers each month as the program develops over the coming months.
IHFA Standout: Susan Carter, Twin Falls Branch Office
"When you ask if anyone in our office goes above and beyond in giving back via charity work, my mind immediately leaps to Susan Carter," says Sunny Jensen, branch supervisor. "She and her husband, Gordon, founded an organization called Charity Anywhere about 10 years ago, and they literally provide 'charity anywhere.'" Jensen explains that "they raise funds and then use those funds in many different ways." Examples include providing heating oil to families in the Twin Falls area and making Christmas possible for families in need. They also added a hot tub room onto a house for a 7-year-old who has severe rheumatoid arthritis and needed the therapy pool for treatments.
On a much larger and 'anywhere' level, they put together several trips a year with volunteers and go for a week at a time into Third-World countries and do service work.
"These trips have resulted in orphanages being built, water systems being created and latrines being built, just to name a few things," adds Jensen.
In the organization's most recent service mission over the Thanksgiving holiday, a group of 150 doctors and dentists and members of their staffs and families treated thousands of patients on the Galapagos Islands in 10 days.
"Susan is a true example of a giving heart," Jensen says.
Charity Anywhere's relief missions, staffed by volunteers, involve dental and medical expeditions, as well as construction and re-construction projects. The foundation has organized expeditions to Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua and Ecuador. For more information, visit the organization's Web site at charityanywhere.org.
IHFA Departments Serve Homeless
IHFA employees in the Community Housing Services, Grant Programs and Rental Assistance departments and the Housing Information and Resource Center serve lunch at the Nampa Community Family Shelter on the second Friday of every month of 2004. IHFA purchases the food and contributes the staff's time to the support activity. The employees plan the menu, set up for serving, and serve the lunch. Last year, after volunteering on a couple of uncovered days, they decided to make a yearlong commitment.
IHFA Gives Children a Head Start
In the last two years, IHFA has invested just over $10.8 million in 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organizations across the state. Nearly $2 million went to Friends of Children and Families, Inc. (FCF) to refinance a number of Head Start centers in Ada and Elmore counties. In the two counties, eight facilities serve 434 children in Glenns Ferry, Mountain Home, Boise, Meridian and Garden City. The Garden City facility, off East 36th Street, serves 75 kids and nine teachers and assistants. Ground was broken on the new facility March 10, 2003. On Oct. 24, they opened their doors for new classes.
Academic curriculum is taught, along with a health-services component, including dental, developmental and disability screenings and referrals, says Executive Director Marc Swinney. An Early Head Start program is also in place, serving 44 children and families from pregnancy through age 3. The regular Head Start program serves children ages 4-5. More than 826,000 children are served nationwide by Head Start, which began in the early '60s.
FCF has provided services in Garden City for over a decade and will be there for quite a lot longer. FCF signed a 50-year lease for space in Centennial Park for the new 9,100-square-foot, four-classroom Head Start Center.
Idaho Foodbank Gives IHFA Two-Ton Thank You
The Idaho Foodbank received the equivalent of more than 4,200 pounds of food from IHFA and its employees during the two-week 2003 Holiday Food Drive held in November.
During the Holiday Food Drive, employees gave $545. According to the Idaho Foodbank, each dollar donated translates into 7.14 pounds of food. That means IHFA dollars equated to 3,891 pounds of food. The collection barrels, stationed in the association's Boise administration office, weighed in at 342 pounds, bringing the total donation to 4,233 pounds of food!
IHFA has traditionally risen to the occasion during the food drive. Using the same formula ($1 = 7.14 lbs. of food) for 2002, the $264 raised and 624 pounds of food donated equated to 2,273 pounds of food. In 2001, IHFA contributed about 2,200 pounds of food, winning the Idaho Business Food Drive Challenge recognition from the Foodbank.
In addition, IHFA raised $260 for the Foodbank through a silent auction of Christmas wreaths this past November.
