PORTLAND, Ore., May 1, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today NeighborWorks America, which creates opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives and strengthen their communities, announced it will hold its quarterly NeighborWorks Training Institute in downtown Portland on May 6-10, 2013. The weeklong event will provide training to more than 2,100 affordable housing and community development professionals from around the country. The Training Institute is expected to deliver an estimated $4 million in economic impact citywide.
NeighborWorks America selected Portland for its Training Institute because it has a strong track record in community development and affordable housing work. NeighborWorks America provides training to thousands of community development professionals from more than 3,000 organizations annually, including the more than 235 organizations that belong to the NeighborWorks network located in every state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The Training Institute is open to community development professionals, housing counselors, realtors, and others from nonprofit and for-profit organizations from around the country.
In addition to the many training courses being offered during the week, nearly 200 community leaders, policymakers, researchers and funders have registered for a special May 8 symposium, "Engaging Customers and Community through Social Technology," which highlights digital tools that make it possible for individuals to listen, support and engage their stakeholders. Topics include: building resident to resident and resident to community relationships, raising funds and awareness, and delivering services to new audiences using new technologies.
The NeighborWorks Training Institute in Portland is supported by a variety of partners, including The Wells Fargo Housing Foundation, The Atlantic Philanthropies, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citi and the Citi Foundation, Fannie Mae, US Department of Housing and Urban Development, and USDA Rural Development.
In addition to the NeighborWorks Training Institute held in Portland, NeighborWorks organizations are at work every day on the ground, serving Portland and the surrounding community. NeighborWorks organizations in Oregon generated $4.7 billion in total direct investment, served 305,000 individuals and families, and created and maintained 26,700 jobs for fiscal year 2012. To read more about NeighborWorks organizations' impact in Oregon and other states, go to the NeighborWorks America interactive map at http://nw.org/network/stateimpactasp/interactive_map.asp.
The following NeighborWorks organizations are in Oregon: NeighborImpact (Bend, OR); NeighborWorks Umpqua (Roseburg, OR); Portland Housing Center (Portland, OR); REACH Community Development, Inc. (Portland, OR); and Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services (Corvallis, OR).
"We are proud to bring the NeighborWorks Training Institute to Portland, "said Eileen Fitzgerald, chief executive officer of NeighborWorks America. "Our training institutes bring together community development professionals from around the country for top-notch training and the opportunity to network and share best practices."
"It is an honor to have the NeighborWorks Training Institute in Portland so we can share in the best practices happening across the nation and showcase Portland's natural and built environment," said Peg Malloy, executive director of Portland Housing Center. "Portland is a city that plans and implements its vision of livability for all its citizens because we believe home matters."
"REACH Community Development is proud to help host the NeighborWorks Training Institute and our community development colleagues from around the nation. This is a great opportunity for Portland to showcase its innovative affordable housing developments, renowned transit-oriented planning, and myriad sustainability initiatives," said Kathy Kniep, executive director of REACH CDC.
NeighborWorks America has held national Training Institutes since 1987. In 2012, the NeighborWorks Training Institute trained more than 6,000 professionals from 2,100 organizations, and awarded more than 10,000 training certificates. In addition to the national Training Institutes, NeighborWorks America offers a variety of training opportunities for professionals throughout the year, including online learning offerings and regional "place-based" training that allows colleagues to learn together. In total, NeighborWorks America trained nearly 13,000 professionals from more than 3,000 organizations, and awarded more than 20,000 training certificates in 2012.
For more information about NeighborWorks America, and to register for the Training Institute, visit www.nw.org.
About NeighborWorks America
For 35 years, NeighborWorks America has created opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. In the last five years, NeighborWorks organizations have generated more than $19.5 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks America is the nation's leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals.