New
to North County: A 'faith-based' credit union
OCEANSIDE ---- Say goodbye to check-cashing outfits, payday loans
and living paycheck-to-paycheck. Start learning about financial
stability, establishing credit and even buying a home. That is the
message North County's newest credit union, Faith Based Federal
Credit Union, is talking to lower-income people who live or work
in Oceanside, or who have an interest in helping reduce poverty
through better education and financial services.
For more of this story, click on or type the URL below:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2003/09/20/business/news/9_20_0323_06_02.txt
NEW
PROGRAMS
FAITH
BASED FINANCIAL EDUCATION PROGRAM
The Faith Based Financial Education Program (FBFEP) began on July
19, 2003. Our program is one that reaches out to the “un-banked”
(those with little or no banking experience) in order to build their
confidence in the banking world. Our program also teaches how to
become better stewards of the resources that we have.
We use the Money Smart Curriculum, which was developed by the Federal
Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The curriculum starts out
teaching the fundamentals of banking. We also educate people in
the basics of borrowing, credit management, budgeting, the fundamentals
of home ownership and more.
If you are interested in participating in the Financial Education
Program, or know someone that is, please contact Morris Woods at
760.435.0600.
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EMPLOYER
ASSISTED HOUSING PROGRAM
Over the years there has been an ongoing conversation concerning affordable
housing. One of the key players, however, has been missing –
the employer. As the result of a new program pioneered by Fannie Mae,
that is about to change.
Faith Based Community Development Corporation (FBCDC) has formed relationships
with agencies that historically have worked closely with employers.
Those agencies include the San Diego North Economic Development Council
(formerly the North County Economic Development Council), the Workforce
Partnership, and fifteen Chambers of Commerce representing North San
Diego County. Also included in the collaboration are the City of Oceanside,
Cox Communications and Fannie Mae.
The purpose for the alliance is to plan and conduct a seminar that
will bring together the major employers of north San Diego County
in order to introduce them to new resources to help them with their
employee recruitment and retention. As a direct result of the high
cost of housing in San Diego County, employers are having problems
with their workforce, such as tardiness, increased stress, illness,
absenteeism, turnover, training costs, and ultimately profitability.
This is because employees have to drive farther and farther from their
jobs to find housing they can afford.
The planning group met recently and decided to reschedule the event,
which was originally planned for September 25, in Oceanside. The group
decided to take more time in order to meet with interested employers
and provide them with tools to help them to determine, identify, and
verify their employees’ interest in participating in a program
that would help them to become homeowners.
For more information please call 760.435.0600.
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Faith
Based Homes Development
By Daniel Scott, December 7, 2002
“I want to own my own home is Oceanside campaign 2003”
In response to the alarming trend of graduates from our homebuyer
education classes having to buy homes in Riverside County and
other communities, Faith Based Community Development Corporation
has established an affordable housing development division. The
division is headed by one of the agencies newest additions to
the staff, Stasi Williams, as Project Manager. Her mission is
to create an affordable housing division for the agency that will
plan and manage affordable housing development activities for
the agency. The division is called Faith Based Homes Development
and will produce homes that are affordable for first homebuyers
in Oceanside and the surrounding North San Diego County Communities.
Faith Based Homes Development division has identified its first
project site in Oceanside located on the corner of Crouch Street
and Canyon Drive. The project will provide homes that are affordable
for working families in Oceanside. The agency has the site in
escrow and is currently going through the process of determining
the financial feasibility of the site. As part of that process,
the agency is seeking a $30,000 predevelopment loan from the City
of Oceanside to help cover the costs associated with this critical
first step of the process.
The loan will help the agency to maintain site control and to
hire consultants to conduct soils and environmental testing to
determine if the site can be developed and if so, to what extent.
During this predevelopment phase of a project, all of the data
obtained from the planning department and project conceptual ideas
can be analyzed to determine if a project is financially feasible.
In response to ‘Spiritual Warfare’ lead by those that
seek to pray on the fear and ignorance of people, the leadership
of the agency went on their knees in prayer. On Sunday November
31st the agency conducted a ‘Prayer Vigil’ on the
proposed site for the first project. In response to a request
for local pastors to bring at least 10 members from their church
to participate in the ‘Prayer Vigil’, over 150 people
turned out. We blessed the site and prayers for Gods favor on
the project and the successful completion of the project.
The prayer vigil served as a beginning of an ongoing campaign
to engage all of the community in the conversation related to
the broader issue of increasing affordable homeownership opportunities
in Oceanside. The campaign is called the “I want to own
my own home in Oceanside campaign 2003”. The purpose of
this ongoing campaign is to gain attention and provide a solution
to the problem of a lack of homes that first time homebuyers can
afford buy in Oceanside.
In this campaign, we encourage those that want increased stability
for their neighborhoods through increased homeownership to join
with us. We invite those that want to see diverse communities
that are safer and revitalized by increased homeownership to join
with us. Homeowners are invested and engaged in helping to preserve
and protect their shared value that comes with pride of ownership.
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