NeighborWorks(R) America Distributes $530,000 in Green Grants

WASHINGTON, DC--(Marketwire - September 24, 2008) - NeighborWorks® America today announced that it distributed more than half a million dollars in grants to forty-three non-profit organizations around the country to support environmentally conscious housing rehabilitation, new construction and business retooling. The grants funded are supported in part by a contribution to NeighborWorks® America from The Home Depot Foundation.

"Community-based non-profits are aggressively seeking ways to improve the environmental footprint of the housing that they create, rehabilitate, and maintain, and to change the way that they do business," said Tom Deyo, senior advisor of NeighborWorks® America's Green Initiative. "The response of the NeighborWorks network to going green is significant. We had over 60 applications for new housing developments that sought $3.7 million in grant funding to develop over 2,800 units of new green housing."

Non-profit housing organizations rehabilitate or build thousands of homes each year and these grants will help them do that important work more environmentally friendly and at lower long-term cost for the owner, renter and the community at large. The grants will help build over 300 units of energy efficient and healthy homes, improve the heating and cooling environment and water conservation for 800 homes occupied by lower income families, and help over 20 organizations understand how to improve there carbon footprint as they conduct their business.

"We have seen firsthand how increasing access to housing that is healthy and affordable not just to move into, but to live in, changes people's lives," said Kelly Caffarelli, president, The Home Depot Foundation. In its first five years, The Home Depot Foundation granted $70 million to nonprofit organizations and supported the development of more than 50,000 affordable, healthy homes. "NeighborWorks America is an outstanding partner in the effort to create affordable, sustainable communities that bring real savings in energy, transportation and maintenance costs to U.S. families."

The grants are the most recent action by NeighborWorks® America in its effort to work with the private, non-profit and public sectors to improve the green footprint of housing in America.

This past February, NeighborWorks® America convened a national symposium on community-based green activities called "Go Green, Now." At this symposium, Ken Wade, CEO of NeighborWorks, articulated three goals under a green agenda to promote sustainable and healthy communities:

Reduce the corporation's own carbon footprint; Provide greater technical assistance and funding to the NeighborWorks network for locally targeted green projects, and engage fifty communities in a meaningful dialogue on how to be greener communities.

About NeighborWorks® America

NeighborWorks® America creates opportunities for people to improve their lives and strengthen their communities by providing access to homeownership and to safe and affordable rental housing. Since 1991, we have assisted nearly 1.2 million low- to moderate-income families with their housing needs. Much of our success is achieved through our support of the NeighborWorks® network -- more than 230 community development organizations working in more than 4,400 urban, suburban and rural communities in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. In the last five years, NeighborWorks® organizations have generated more than $15 billion in reinvestment in these communities. NeighborWorks® America is the nation's leading trainer of community development and affordable housing professionals. www.nw.org

Contact Information: Contact: Douglas Robinson 202-220-2360