The Bold Goals Coalition’s Financial Services Network (FSN) partners with eight nonprofit financial service providers to help people in Central Alabama achieve financial stability. This month, Kelleigh Gamble, CEO at Neighborhood Housing Services of Birmingham (NHSB), offered his perspective on the increasing importance of collaboration among nonprofits.
Ever since he accepted his first job in the nonprofit sector, Mr. Gamble has been a strong advocate for the financial success of low-to-moderate-income families throughout Jefferson County. “I started my nonprofit career as a Housing Counselor then transitioned into development of affordable housing units for low-to-moderate-income families in Ensley,” he said. “From there, my time in Woodlawn expanded my understanding of larger-scale development and the importance of a mixed-income strategy to move a community forward.”
Now, as CEO at NHSB, Mr. Gamble is leveraging his considerable experience to expand NHSB’s capacity to help working families gain access to more affordable housing opportunities through programs such as NeighborhoodLIFT (in collaboration with FSN partner Wells Fargo). “NeighborhoodLIFT is a matched down-payment-assistance program that provides up to $7,500 for qualified families in Jefferson County,” he said. “From June 2017 to the end of January [2018], we have leveraged $358,500 in down-payment-assistance funding into $6.3 million in new mortgages throughout Jefferson County.”
To provide additional support to clients participating in the NeighborhoodLIFT program, NHSB has established strategic partnerships with several organizations, including Habitat for Humanity Greater Birmingham and United Way of Central Alabama (UWCA), both of which are also members of the FSN. “NHSB’s partnership with United Way’s Financial Stability Programs – specifically the Individual Development Account (IDA) program – has been immensely impactful to the families that we serve,” said Mr. Gamble. “Along with UWCA and NHSB’s partnership, our friends at Habitat for Humanity have seen an increase in homeownership as an approved lender for the NeighborhoodLIFT. Our combined resources have resulted in 10 closings thus far, with additional clients in the pipeline.”
This is another great example of collaborative efforts among organizations with complementary missions producing positive results that strengthen our community. The partnerships forged by the Bold Goals Coalition’s Financial Services Network are instrumental in this process.