Upstate Non-profit Announces New Identity for the Organization
June 27, 2012
Greenville Housing Fund becomes CommunityWorks Carolina
GREENVILLE, SC – June 27, 2012 – Greenville Housing Fund (GHF) announced at a celebratory open house event that it has outgrown its former identity both in terms of geography and services. The organization has now adopted the new name of CommunityWorks Carolina (CWC). The new name is accompanied by a new brand for the non-profit.
The new CWC logo features a celebratory figure with raised arms and a building arranged within financial graph-like bars to reflect growth and visually represent the organization’s new tagline “Building People and Places.”
The new name CommunityWorks encompasses the core of the organization: local individuals, businesses and organizations working together and collaborating for vibrant and healthy communities. The organization will increase its services in Greenville and has already started providing some services in Anderson, Spartanburg, and Pickens Counties. The organization has plans to eventually expand its services across the Upstate.
“Affordable housing remains a high priority for the organization but the recent recession helped us realize the need for a more holistic approach to community development that empowers low-wealth families and communities to be the best that they can be. Our goal is to work with other community partners to provide tools that will help change lives and build strong communities,” says Deborah McKetty, CWC President.
GHF was established in 2008 as a local housing trust fund to address the critical need for affordable housing in Greenville County. Since its inception, GHF has generated over $44 million in local economic development and has helped more than 400 families achieve their dreams of homeownership and financial stability.
In 2011, GHF became the Upstate’s first CDFI to serve communities that are typically underserved by traditional financial institutions. CDFIs invest in low-wealth individuals, small businesses, affordable housing projects, and community facilities through low-interest loans, financial education, and other financial services. The CDFI designation has helped GHF expand to counties other than Greenville and helped the launch of the Microbusiness Loan Program outside of the housing scope thus resulting in the name Greenville Housing Fund being too restricting for the organization’s increasing growth.
As a CDFI, CommunityWorks Carolina now has additional funding through Program Related Investments available to expand the fund’s lending capacity to over $1.1 million that will be reinvested back into local communities. CWC offers a variety of assistance programs including: Downpayment Assistance, Affordable Mortgages, Community Development Loans, Microbusiness Loans, and Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) for individuals interested in buying their first home, attending college, or starting their own business.
“The work of CWC goes beyond charity to really help low-wealth families and communities break the cycle of generational poverty through education, lending, and investing. This approach will lead to greater individual achievement and less dependency,” says Coleman Shouse, CWC Board Chairman.
For more information about CommunityWorks Carolina, please call 864-235-6331 or visit the CWC website at www.CommunityWorksCarolina.org.
About CommunityWorks Carolina (CWC)
Since 2008, CommunityWorks Carolina, formerly known as Greenville Housing Fund, is non-profit organization and certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) that supports affordable housing and community development as a critical vehicle for fostering stable families and healthy communities. CWC strives to build people and places in the Upstate of South Carolina through partnerships with individuals and organizations to provide financial resources, education, and employment opportunities. CWC offers a variety of assistance programs including: Downpayment Assistance, Affordable Mortgages, Community Development Loans, Microbusiness Loans, and matched savings Individual Development Accounts.
