Press Room

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


STATE FARM® AWARDS $15,000 GRANT TO HOUSING FUND OF CENTRAL ALABAMA FOR NEW INCUBATOR FOR NON-PROFITS THAT FOCUS ON INCREASING AFFORDABLE HOUSING SUPPLY

BIRMINGHAM AL, (Nov. 4, 2005) – The Housing Fund of Central Alabama announced today that State Farm Insurance Companies® has awarded the Fund a $15,000 grant for operation of its new Non-Profit Incubator.

The Incubator will offer classes and diagnostics to five non-profits in the Fund’s 12-county region that applied and were selected for the two-year program. The incubator is designed specifically for non-profits whose mission is to significantly increase the supply of quality housing for low- to moderate-income families. More than 30 classes in areas such as governance, agency management, resource development and housing development will be offered.

“State Farm is committed to low- and moderate- income communities, and The Housing Fund of Central Alabama's new Non-Profit Incubator will assist organizations as they provide more housing for low- and moderate- income communities,’’ said Emily Clark, Public Affairs Specialist for State Farm Insurance Companies. “The incubator creates a win-win-win situation for the residents of these communities, for The Fund and for State Farm."

“We thank State Farm for its generous support of this program. We know our founding investor banks and community foundations are thrilled to have State Farm as the first new corporate partner to join us in our mission, and we are hopeful that many others will realize the value of building sustainable communities,” said Michele Jenkins-Utomi, Chief Executive Officer of the Fund and its umbrella organization, the Housing Enterprise of Central Alabama (HECA).

These courses will expose participants to the best practices and practitioners in the industry, said Lois Chenier, the Grants Officer for HECA who oversees the incubator program, which began this week. “The curriculum and diagnostics offered in the incubator are all about increasing the capacity of these non-profits so that they can have the tools they need to build and renovate significant numbers of houses, and become agents for change in their neighborhoods and communities,” she said.

The participants selected for the incubator include:

·Alabama Community Development Corporation: Samika Peterson, Executive Director, Birmingham;

·Aletheia House: Chris Retan, Executive Director, Birmingham;

·Outreach, Inc.: Frank Dominick, Executive Director, Birmingham;

·West Anniston Community Development Corporation: Jonathan Dow, Executive Director, Anniston;

·Westside Community Development Corporation: Louis Barnett, Executive Director, Tuscaloosa.

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About State Farm: Based in Bloomington, IL, State Farm's 17,000 agents and 71,000 employees serve nearly 73 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada. State Farm also offers financial services products through State Farm Bank®. For more information, please visit statefarm.com®.

About the Housing Fund of Central Alabama: Based in Birmingham, the Fund is a non-profit affiliate of the Housing Enterprise of Central Alabama that opened in 2003 to increase the production of moderately priced housing by providing grants to non-profits for core operating support on a limited basis, technical assistance and programs related to capacity building in the non-profit affordable housing development community. The Fund also may partner with HECA, a for-profit lender, to provide financing to qualified private and non-profit developers to build and renovate single-family and multi-family housing for moderate income families. The Fund also supports ancillary services such as homebuyer training and credit counseling that help to guarantee the success and sustainability of communities.

Major investors in the Housing Fund and its incubator are: AmSouth Bank, Regions Bank, Compass Bank, New South Federal Savings Bank, The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, the Stringfellow Health Fund of the Community Foundation of Calhoun County, and the Walker Area Community Foundation. The Fund serves 12 counties in Central Alabama: Bibb, Blount, Calhoun, Chilton, Cullman, Etowah, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby, Talladega, Tuscaloosa and Walker

For more information, please contact Tabitha J Lacy, HECA and Fund Communications, 323-9888 or tlacy@housingenterprise.com; At State Farm, please contact Emily Clark, Public Affairs Specialist, at 916-6133.