News & Updates

CHARLESTON - Allendale County ALIVE, a non-profit Community Development Corporation, received the Palmetto Partnership and Community Development Corporation Project of the Year Award at the South Carolina Department of Commerce’s Rural Summit this year. The nonprofit was recognized for its success in gathering community leaders and businesses together to form a LLC that attracted a new grocery store to the Allendale area.

“We applaud the organization’s vision and leadership ability to form a unique partnership, which ultimately resulted in the attraction of the nation’s leading affordable grocery chain,” said Maceo Nance, director of the S.C. Department of Commerce’s Community & Rural Planning and Development Division.

“This unique partnership will positively impact the community of Allendale for years to come,” he added.

Save-A-Lot operates more than 1,150 value-oriented stores in all types of neighborhoods — urban, rural and suburban — and delivers savings up to 40 percent compared to conventional grocery stores.

“We believe this store will be an asset for our community and hope our model of collaboration can inspire other rural communities in the state,” said Wilbur Cave, director of Allendale County ALIVE.

“This project was made possible because of the investment of community leaders and partners throughout the state.”

In 2007, Allendale County ALIVE received a $100,000 grant through the Community Economic Development Fund to support this project. The CED fund is the provision of the S.C. Community Economic Development Act passed in 2000 by the State General Assembly authorizing the appropriation of $5 million over five years to state-certified community development corporations and community development financial institutions.

In 2006, Gov. Mark Sanford and the S.C. General Assembly approved the first $1 million appropriation of recurring funds.

The Fund is administered through the S.C. Department of Commerce, in partnership with the S.C. Association of Community Development Corporations. A total of nine organizations, including Allendale County ALIVE, received grants from the CED Fund last year. This year, four CDCs in South Carolina were chosen to receive grant dollars through the Fund. These organizations include Charleston Area CDC and Metanoia in Charleston, Santee Lynches CDC in Sumter and Homes of Hope in Greenville. Projects to be supported include the development of affordable housing, a youth entrepreneurship program and a farmer’s market.

These four organizations are also members of the South Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations.

“CDCs are making significant impacts in some of the most underserved communities in the state,” said Bernie Mazyck, president and CEO of SCACDC. “Collaborative efforts by state and local leaders are essential to raising the quality of life for low-wealth families and communities in South Carolina.”

SCACDC achieves its mission through the capacity building of local community development corporations, through the provision of grassroots leadership development, access to capital, advocacy and technical assistance.

To find out more about community development corporations, Allendale County ALIVE or the CED Fund, contact SCACDC at 843-579-9855.

Charleston, S.C. – The South Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations (SCACDC) has established partnerships with Family Services, Inc., South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center, NeighborWorks® America, South Carolina Legal Services, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond to launch the South Carolina Foreclosure Initiative. The purpose of the initiative is to educate target audiences about preventing foreclosures in the state of South Carolina and to connect homeowners vulnerable to foreclosure to the various institutions who have established resources to help. A training event for certified housing counselors was convened Wednesday, December 12th at the Trident One Stop Career Center located at 1930 Hanahan Road in North Charleston from 10:00 am until 3:00 pm. The non-profit organizations that commit to serve on the foreclosure delivery system will be announced at the Palmetto Affordable Housing Forum January 30, 2008.

“We are grateful these partners have taken the initiative to address the foreclosure challenge we are facing in South Carolina. We recognize their leadership in the effort to prevent and bring relief to this problem going forward,” said Bernie Mazyck, President and CEO of the SCACDC, a state-wide trade association of community-based development corporations within the state’s economically distressed communities. The SCACDC has pursued a wealth building strategy for the last 12 years and through the Foreclosure Initiative seeks to protect the assets that families and communities have built over that period of time.

Family Services, Inc. is a human service company that seeks new opportunities to provide innovative services to consumer problems through qualified professionals who create and restore the realization of dreams. South Carolina Appleseed Legal Justice Center is dedicated to advocacy for low income people in South Carolina to effect systemic change by acting in and through the courts, legislature, administrative agencies, community and the media, and helping others do the same through education, training and co-counseling. South Carolina Appleseed led the efforts in 2003 for the passage of the High Cost and Consumer Home Loan Act, one of the nation’s toughest anti-predatory lending laws. Its staff provides training, consultation and analysis for attorneys and social service organizations around the state that are representing clients facing foreclosure. NeighborWorks® America is a national nonprofit organization created by Congress to provide financial support, technical assistance, and training for community-based revitalization efforts. South Carolina Legal Services (SCLS) provides free legal services in a wide variety of civil (non-criminal) legal matters to eligible low income residents of South Carolina. The Federal Reserve System comprises the Board of Governors in Washington D.C. and 12 Federal Reserve Districts located nationwide. The Fifth District, which is headquartered in Richmond, Va., serves the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and most of West Virginia. As the nation’s central bank, the Federal Reserve sets monetary policy, supervises and regulates member financial institutions and provides an array of financial services.

For more information on foreclosures, visit www.communitydevelopmentsc.org or contact the SCACDC office at (843) 579-9855.

Powerpoints and Articles:
•South Carolina Foreclosure Process, Sue Berkowitz, SC Appleseed Legal Justice Center
•Fighting Foreclosure: Neighborworks America Innovations in Foreclosure Prevention
•Financial Institutions and Foreclosure Intervention
•Single Family Mortgage Default Process: A Discussion on the Value of Interventions on Non Profit Programs

article from the Post and Courier - November 2, 2007

The state Legislative Black Caucus held its annual retreat Thursday and outlined priorities for 2008. Here are some of the topics discussed:

Mortgage lending disparity: Examine the situation and potential solutions such as legislation requiring data to track possible practices steering blacks toward high-interest loans.

Foreclosures: Educate public about the dangers of subprime loans and potential foreclosures and seek allocations for finance counselors and rescue funds.

Payday lending and banking: Continue to pressure payday lenders to stop predatory practices that trap customers in a cycle of poverty with short-term, high-interest loans while finding other ways to provide the service.

Health care: Continue effort to provide programs that address education and prevention. Also, look at a potential cigarette tax increase to help fund health costs.

Voting: Early polling places, registering 17-year-old high school students, same-day registration and publicly financing elections are among the considerations to get more people out to vote.

Proposed government spending cap: Provide information about the harm that could be caused by tying the hands of government.

WEST COLUMBIA — Stopping foreclosures, halting the cycle of debt perpetuated by payday lenders, ensuring blacks get the same mortgage rates as whites and guaranteeing government has the final say in what money is needed to provide services are among the 2008 legislative priorities for the state’s black lawmakers.

The Legislative Black Caucus on Thursday discussed problems stemming from poverty and those unique to minorities and working poor. The lawmakers set a plan of action, including crafting potential legislation, establishing public- private partnerships and developing ways to raise awareness.

“A lot of the problems have to do with economics in the African-American community,” Rep. David Mack, D-North Charleston, said during the retreat at Brookland Baptist Church. “The old saying in the black community is, when America catches a cold, black folk catch pneumonia. It’s something we have to be very aware of.”

Bernie Mazyck, president of the South Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations, called on the legislators to watch the foreclosure rate. The state ranks in the top five for the number of foreclosures, he said.

The association requested $500,000 from the Legislature to hire 15 financial counselors and $3 million in rescue funds to help those in foreclosure save their homes.

Another way to address the foreclosure rate is by discovering why more blacks than whites in Charleston and North Charleston were identified as having high-interest loans. A recent national survey found the area had the highest disparity in the nation between what whites and minorities pay.

John Ruoff, director of research for South Carolina Fair Share, recommended the lawmakers consider expanding reporting data, including race and credit history, for mortgage loans, and provide more authority to the state Department of Consumer Affairs and regulatory agencies.

Data collection would allow agencies to track whether minorities were being steered into high-interest mortgages, Ruoff said.

Ruoff also detailed concerns associated with payday lenders, which provide small, short-term loans. The companies, however, charge 391 percent in annual interest and trap low-income clients who often get multiple loans to pay back the lender, he said.

At least two lawsuits have been filed in the state by legislators who are working as lawyers in a private capacity. The basis of the lawsuits is that payday lenders do not consider a person’s ability to repay a loan when issuing one, said Rep. Chris Hart, D-Columbia.

Hart said the lawsuit combined with legislation introduced in both the House and Senate to address predatory lending issues should put pressure on the industry.

Larcey Simpson, a graduate student at the University of South Carolina, noted, however, that payday lenders provide a service that is in demand, especially for those who earn less than $20,000 a year and cannot get a bank account.

“What’s the alternative, because I haven’t heard one yet,” she said.

The legislators also heard about the need to provide more health care and the difficulty of doing so when confronted with rising rates. Additionally, they discussed a proposed cap on state spending and a call for local governments to limit spending. Ruoff told the caucus legislators that, for example, with rising health care costs, artificially shrinking government could force cuts in education or infrastructure improvements.

To end the day, the National Black Caucus of States Institute presented the “South Carolina Community Economic Empowerment Forum.” The two-hour presentation provided details about buying power in the black community, the impact of a low credit score and gave the legislators information about how to help educate the public.

Rep. Joe Jefferson, D-Pineville, said the retreat helped the black legislators come together to develop strategies and review accomplishments and goals.

“If we come together as a group and decide on certain issues, we know in numbers there is strength,” he said.

Reach Yvonne M. Wenger at 803-799-9051 or ywenger@postandcourier.com.

Charleston, SC – The South Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations, Inc. announced the winners of its “Eagle Award of Excellence in Community Economic Development” during the first North/South Carolinas Conference on Community Economic Development (CED) September 25 – 27, 2007. The winners were three community development corporations (CDCs) that have excelled in advancing economic development in some of the state’s most distressed communities. The three winners were:

• Allendale County Alive - A rural CDC based in Allendale County who, among other efforts, developed a commercial space to attract a Sav-a-Lot grocery store site as part of a local neighborhood revitalization project,

• Community Assistance Provider – A multi-county CDC has plans to develop and rehabilitated over 100 unites of affordable housing in 5 counties in South Carolina, and

• Midlands CDC – A rural CDC based in Richland County who is a partner in a multi-use development in lower Richland County. Midlands CDC is currently developing the job/career development center that will focus on careers in the health care field.

All three of the winners are also grantees under the South Carolina Community Economic Development Fund, managed jointly by the South Carolina Department of Commerce and the South Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations. Awards were made to nine grantees receiving $770,500 in state funds provided through the South Carolina Legislature’s initial appropriation in 2006 of $1 million in funds pursuant to the South Carolina Community Economic Development Act of 2000.

The grant funds were awarded to state-certified community-based organizations to advance a host of projects designed to benefit the low-wealth communities of South Carolina. Allendale County ALIVE and Community Assistance Providers each received $100,000 through the CED Fund and Midlands CDC received $79,800 in state funds.
The other grantees include:

• Camden First CDC - $30,000 for creation of a business development center.

• Charleston Area CDC - $100,000 for an affordable housing development

• Metanoia CDC (Charleston)- $60,700 for a “building green” entrepreneurship program

• Santee Lynches CDC (Sumter) - $100,000 for a rental housing development

• Soteria CDC (Greenville) - $100,000 for its Vance Street housing development

• Sumter County CDC - $100,000 for its North/South Zone housing development

The South Carolina Legislature has appropriated $1.4 million in the 2007/08 State Budget. Final proposals are due on October 11, 2007. Eligible applicants include organizations certified by the South Carolina Department of Commerce as “community-based organizations.”

The South Carolina Association of Community Development Corporations (SCACDC) serves as the grant administrator for the program”, said Bernie Mazyck, President and CEO of SCACDC. “These grant awards represent our State’s investment and confidence in the work of grassroots organizations. Our low-wealth communities will reap the benefits of these funds for many years to come.”