NTIC staff reflect on past achievements, create strong infrastructure at NTIC office

By Amalia NietoGomez

Since the passing of its founder, Gale Cincotta, staff at the National Training and Information Center have focused on continuing to develop the strength and abilities of the NTIC office.

This mission includes developing new organizations, building a stronger national network, expanding training and technical assistance to grassroots organizing groups and exposing NTIC’s mission, services and accomplishments to the public.

This past December, NTIC staff attended a two-day retreat to reflect on the past year’s accomplishments, evaluate efforts to reach goals established last year and develop a strategic plan for 2003 to strengthen its 31-year-old organization.

Developing new organizations: In the past, NTIC has provided staff, resources, and energy, which have resulted in the creation of three award-winning community organizations—the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Blocks Together, and the Albany Park Neighborhood Council. NTIC continues to dedicate organizing staff, training staff time, funding and other resources to develop new organizations. These efforts have resulted in the establishment of the statewide parents group, Parents Alliance for Compliance in special Education (P.A.C.E.), and the Lawndale Neighborhood Organization (LNO) in Chicago. LNO leaders won their first victory on rat abatement this past fall.

Building a stronger national network and providing training and technical assistance to grassroots, community organizing groups. NTIC has had a number of accomplishments, including:

l Bringing Citigroup to the table to form a partnership to fight predatory lending;

lOrganizing a Foreclosure Crisis meeting with industry members, community groups, and public officials;

lBuilding a relationship with the Department of Labor;

lHosting a Neighborhood Safety Focus Group with NTIC affiliates, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance, and high ranking police officials to discuss crime and safety issues in our neighborhoods;

lHiring a development director to focus on fundraising efforts;

lSolidifying our partnership with the Federal Trade Commission, resulting in a record-setting settlement with Citigroup for the practices of the Associates, one of the largest predatory lenders in the U.S.;

lProducing Dr. John Weicher, Assistant Secretary and Federal Housing Commissioner to our national neighborhoods conference;

On increasing NTIC’s exposure: NTIC received media coverage in the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and local newspapers across the country for work on the Community Reinvestment Act, Federal Housing Administration and predatory lending in the past year.  It also gained media attention on its immigration and education campaigns.

 Additionally, NTIC is expanding the use of its websites and is in the process of evaluating and revamping its website to be more accesible for foundations, media, policy-makers and grassroots organizations who need technical assistance.

With the economic downturn, NTIC is retooling its funding strategies. NTIC will be focused on fundraising to meet its goal of $2.5 million which includes funding for NTIC and the Gale Cincotta Fund for Leadership and Organizational Development.

NTIC is committed to:

lStrengthening current relationships and developing new relationships with funders;

lDeveloping non-traditional funding sources;

lRaising funds for new work, including: immigrants’ rights, jobs, youth organizing, conferences, media outreach, web sites, and technology;

lContinuing to raise money on traditional housing and banking issues and for our work as a training and technical assistance provider.

New goals to strengthen NTIC’s network during the upcoming year are to:

lStrategically expand the network by finding or developing new groups;

lIncrease exposure of NTIC and its national network;

lIdentify, recruit, and hire veteran organizing staff;

lStrengthen key relationships with public officials;

lExplore a corporate campaign strategy.

Amalia NietoGomez is the Development Director and the Illinois Predatory Lending Organizer at NTIC.

Nieto Gomez has been working on Chicago and Illinois campaigns to fight  predatory mortgage practices that have devastated neighborhoods.  For the last three years, she coordinated efforts in Chicago to pass the first anti-predatory lending ordinance in the country.

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