Please provide a brief update on your progress toward your proposed CWB goals in the last reporting period:
During this reporting period, The Resurrection Project (TRP) has been able to convene with our CCWB network partners, community stakeholders, cooperative housing members, existing cooperatives, and consulting as we furthered defined our scope of work and began to plan activities toward our proposed CWB goals. An important milestone was met in September when we hired Ray Arroyo as the Program Manager for Housing Cooperatives. We feel positive about the progress we have made toward our goals, which include the development of a housing cooperative share loan product and building a pipeline of buyer-ready cooperative candidates.
What constraints or limitations, if any, did you experience in the last reporting period?
One major challenge we have identified is the lack of share loans and share loan resources in Chicago for cooperative buyers. Not only is there a lack of share loan lending, there are few people, organizations, and institutions that have expertise on the topic. To address this challenge, we have been resourceful and persistent in our search for information. We have tapped into the housing cooperative network, identifying key relationships and resources along the way. Additionally, the trend we have identified is the need for financial wellness education for prospective cooperative buyers. Folks are struggling to manage their income and need financial stabilization. Many interested folks also have zero to low percentage of credit history, which prevents them from accessing lending products. Ineligibility because of legal status is also another big barrier for folks who are undocumented or have not received their ITIN numbers or work permits. There is also a lack of community level resources for housing cooperatives, such as. These resources are grants, and supporting programs that can help address the financial challenges faced by potential cooperative housing participants.
What opportunities, if any, did you take advantage of in the last reporting period?
We attended the launch gathering to meet our partners and collaborators in our network. We have also met with partners, including PIHCO, Fresh-Start, UHAB, and CWBE partner leads. We have also engaged with community partners and professionals who are experienced and knowledgeable in cooperative housing, including staff from CCLF. This engagement involved discussions, sharing of insights, and exploring potential collaboration opportunities. Finally, we are in the process of finalizing TRP’s HUD Community Project Funding grant, which awarded $1M to TRP for share loan capital and $1M to PIHCO for building acquisition. We look forward to executing that contract and incorporating those grant activities into our housing cooperative initiative.
Did you establish new CWB relationships/partnerships in the last reporting period?
Yes
Please describe the relationships you established pertaining to your CWB work.
TRP has been expanding its network and engaging with various organizations, consultants, and partners in cooperative housing. Here is a breakdown of the connections and interactions pertaining to our CWB work: With our headquarters in Pilsen, TRP has been in relationship with PIHCO for many years, including a recent grant collaboration where TRP and PIHCO were awarded a $2M HUD Community Project Funding (CPF) grant. More recently, We met with PIHCO representatives for cooperative housing resources, advance our plan to develop share loans, and finalize our CPF grant. We have also established communication and networking with Sol House. This is may be another organization or entity with relevance significance to the cooperative housing field, and TRP is actively engaging and establishing 'communicationand networking with Sol House. This is another orgaanization with significance to the cooperative housing field, and trp is actively engagning and establish working relations with Sol House. TRP also consulted with Upside Down consulting for more information regarding policy and sharing tenant bylaws examples used in the city. TRP has also received various referrals from other partners and has established a contact base and check in with them. Additionally, we are working hard to activate other established relationships with housing cooperative players, including CCLF (David Feinberg), UHAB, Center for Shared Ownership, Chicago Rehab Network (Rachel Johnston), Shared Capital Cooperative (Mark Fick), and the Little Village Cooperative (Robin Semer), among others.
Did you collaborate with other TA providers in the last reporting period?
Yes
Which TA provider(s) did you work with?
David Feinberg, CCLF TA provider
Please share on behalf of whom / which projects you collaborated with the TA providers above:
TRP consulted with David regarding lending resource knowledge, guidance and connections to other key partners who will support us in identifying and formalizing a share loan product.
Did you attend the Working Group meeting last month?
Yes
How would you rate the usefulness of the working group to your project last month? (on a scale of 1-5)
5 extremely useful
Optional Space
Gender identity of Participants (select all that apply)
Age Range of Participants (select all that apply)
How many sessions of one-on-one consulting to Limited Equity Housing Cooperatives (LEHCs) did you conduct this reporting period? (e.g. one group or individual with one training provider)?
1
How many group workshops for Limited Equity Housing Cooperatives did you conduct this reporting period? (e.g. convenings, workshops, events, etc.) 
3
How many hours of support to CWB Pre-Development Limited Equity Housing Cooperatives did you provide this reporting period?
3
How many hours of support to existing Limited Equity Housing Cooperatives did you provide this reporting period?
4
Please list the LEHCs you worked with this reporting period.
What type(s) of Technical Assistance did you provide to LEHCs this reporting period? Select all that apply.
Number of AFFORDABLE housing units preserved or developed this period
0
Number of AFFORDABLE housing units added to the pipeline this period
0
Did you provide education to any LEHCs this reporting period?
No
What are the greatest needs that your LEHC clients/partners expressed in this reporting period?
Readily accessible loan products.
What are the greatest gaps in service or resources in Chicago's CWB ecosystem?
he need for readily accessible share loan products, and affordability challenges faced by prospective housing cooperative buyers and Access to housing cooperative share loans and prequalification due to poor to no credit history and immigration status. Additionally, there are few individuals and lenders who have knowledge in this area.
Please share any direct testimonials from LEHC clients or storytelling about the impact of your work this period:
When TRP started thinking about housing cooperatives more than three years ago, we understood there was a need for share loans in Chicago and we thought there was a role for TRP as a CDFI. Today, as we dive into this work more deeply, the need for share loans is felt even more acutely. We heard this from partners at CCLF who provide housing cooperative umbrella loans, but not individual share loans. We heard it from housing cooperative organizers at PIHCO and La Villita Housing Cooperative who are working with low-income residents, many of whom are immigrants. And we heard it from housing cooperative experts at UHAB, Shared Capital Cooperative, and Center for Shared Ownership who have long recognized this gap in the housing cooperative ecosystem. We are happy to be working in this space and look forward to developing as needed loan product. With 33 years of experience providing homeownership and financial education, TRP is excited to contribute to the coop ecosystem.
Please upload media (document with testimonials, photos, or video links) from LEHC workshops or events held.
