NTIC staff provide training and technical assistance to grassroots organizations around the country
Bloomington, IL
In November, NTIC Predatory
Lending organizers Jason Kiely Tracy Leary took a day trip to Bloomington to
discuss ways to develop a stronger and more diverse funding base and potential
action strategies with the Central Illinois Organizing Project. The staff also
had the opportunity to meet several organizational leaders to hear their vision
for the organization.
Cleveland, OH
Cathy Klump and Gail Parson
spent a day with Cleveland’s East Side Organizing Project (ESOP) meeting with
Fannie Mae representatives from Washington DC and Cleveland. ESOP is kicking
off the Fannie Mae Anti-Predatory Lending initiative which will assist
borrowers who have been caught in the clutches of predatory lenders get into
good loans with local bank partners. Staff also advanced work on rolling out
the NTIC Experiment - a flexible CRA loan product that does not use credit
scores during the application process sponsored by Fannie Mae. Cleveland is the
first city the NTIC Experiment is expanding into after a successful pilot in
six other cities.
Cleveland, OH
NTIC staff Jason Kiely and
Cathy Klump traveled to Cleveland, OH in October to introduce NTIC staff
newcomer Tracy Leary to the East Side Organizing Project’s staff and leadership
team. The team strategized on a
collective organizing strategy around foreclosures. Cuyahoga County is in a foreclosure crisis, with over 10,000
homes processed last year alone, most of which are a result of predatory
loans. Working with ESOP organizers and
leaders, NTIC staff assisted in designing a plan of action with the culminating
event being a Housing Summit in February.
The primary demand is a moratorium on foreclosures in Cuyahoga
County. The staff attended ESOP’s
planning session with leaders who were preparing for the upcoming public
meeting being held to challenge local officials on this issue.
Des Moines, IA
NTIC Predatory Lending staff
Jason Kiely and Tracy Leary visited Des Moines CCI in October to attend the
planning meeting for the organization’s upcoming public meeting with Greentree
Financial executives. The organization,
having won an agreement with Conseco Finance, has identified Greentree as its
next target. NTIC and local staff also
took this time to reflect on the national campaign and to examine it’s impact
on their local efforts.
Indianapolis, IN
NTIC
staff Cathy Klump traveled twice to Indianapolis, IN during October and
November to help kick off the Organization for a New East Side’s (ONE)
abandoned building campaign. Cathy met
with leaders to plan a strategy for how ONE would tackle over 600 abandoned
buildings in its neighborhood. The group discussed possible targets, allies, solutions
and next steps. Priority issues include
sturdy board-ups of all vacant homes, faster re-sale and financial resources
for demolition and rehab. ONE is planning a public meeting for late January.
Syracuse, NY
The staff of Syracuse United
Neighbors (SUN) invited NTIC staff Jason Kiely and Tracy Leary to attend their
planning meeting with CitiFinancial borrowers who had predatory loans. This visit allowed them the opportunity to
tour the city, which is facing rapid retail development, and gave a clear sense
of some of SUN’s upcoming organizing challenges. When NTIC staff had been briefed on the issues SUN staff is
organizing around, time was spent discussing ways to identify and develop new
leaders around the issue of predatory lending and how to infuse energy into
their other issues.
Mexico, MO
NTIC Training Director Shannon
Bade made a trip to the state of Missouri in December. Bade spoke to a
class at Columbia College on the Models of Social Change and the strategic
niche that organizing plays in developing grassroots leaders and investing in
neighborhoods.
Bade and Robin Acree, Executive Director of Grass Roots Organizing (GRO) also met to discuss GRO’s strategic plan in its local and national campaigns throughout the year. GRO is a two-year old organization located in rural western Missouri and a recipient of the MOTT ISO grant. Bade also facilitated a training on Self- Interest with 25 GRO leaders.
Bade then met with staff from the Missouri Rural Crisis Center (MRCC), the newest recipient of the MOTT ISO grant. The purpose of the meeting was to develop a stronger relationship between MRCC and NTIC and to better understand each other’s work. NTIC is currently looking at how to connect rural and urban issues in a corporate campaign.
< Back to NTIC Organizer's Conference
Foreclosure Crisis
NTIC brings key partners
in for Chicago foreclosure crisis meeting
Lawndale Rats
New NTIC project exterminates
"rats as big as cats"
Ed Summit
Education Summit connects community
leaders and policy-makers
BJA Neighborhood Safety
NTIC convenes national
neighborhood safety focus group
NTIC Experiment
NTIC Experiment results in
$2.2 billion in CRA loans
2003 Goals
NTIC develops key goals for 2003
strategic plan