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Mission First has accessed more than $15 million in grants in support of affordable housing from four Federal Home Loan Banks

Philadelphia, PA, October 12, 2023 – In 1999, Mission First Housing Group (“Mission First”) was awarded its first Affordable Housing Program (“AHP”) grant from a Federal Home Loan Bank (“FHLBank”) – receiving a $465,000 grant from FHLBank Atlanta to help build 78 affordable apartments in the Fox Chase neighborhood in Northeast Philadelphia. In the nearly 25 years since, Mission First has established additional partnerships with FHLBanks of New York, Pittsburgh and San Francisco, working with the cooperative wholesale banks’ member financial institutions to successfully apply for more than $15 million in AHP grants that have been put to work creating and preserving safe, sustainable and affordable homes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.  

Today, ahead of Mission First’s “Welcome Home 2023” annual fundraiser event, leaders of these four FHLBanks joined with Mission First to tour the Parkside Preservation and New Market West developments to see the positive impact this partnership has had on residents and the Philadelphia community, and to congratulate the organization on passing the $15 million funding milestone. 

“Our decades long partnership with the FHLBanks has resulted in providing homes for thousands of people in need throughout our Mid-Atlantic portfolio,” said Thomas Queenan, Chief Executive Officer for Mission First Housing Group. “I was pleased to showcase our most recent projects in West Philadelphia this morning to the FHLBanks and their stakeholders, and provide a glimpse of how valuable our partnership with the FHLBanks is to our residents.”

“Mission First is a prime example of the direct and long-term impact the FHLBanks are able to have through our commitment to housing and community development,” said Winthrop Watson, president and CEO of FHLBank Pittsburgh. “Since its implementation in 1990, AHP has grown to become a large and reliable source of grant funds for affordable housing. Each FHLBank funds its AHP directly from earnings and housing developers across the country have access to AHP in all economic cycles. We see that clearly in our partnership with Mission First, a relationship which spans four decades, crosses four FHLBank districts, and has leveraged more than $15 million in grants to provide nearly 1,700 affordable homes that allow our neighbors and communities to thrive.”

Every year, as mandated by Congress when it created the AHP in 1989, each FHLBank commits at least 10% of its private net income to fund its AHP grants. In total, the 11 FHLBanks have awarded more than $7.6 billion in AHP funds since the first grants were distributed in 1990. AHP provides grants for the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of affordable housing to offer households with incomes at or below 80% of the area median income a place to call home. FHLBank members, working in partnership with community-based housing sponsors or developers, compete for AHP grants by submitting applications for specific projects. AHP-funded projects represent a wide range of strategies and solutions, from historic preservation and adaptive reuse to new construction and rehabilitation. Where AHP projects are developed, local economies also get a boost, as these projects create jobs, increase construction and consumer spending, and generate new tax revenues. AHP grants are awarded annually through a competitive application process to FHLBank members working in partnership with housing developers and community organizations.

“The FHLBanks’ Affordable Housing Program stands as a reminder that our ability to execute on our foundational liquidity mission delivers more than funding to our nation’s local lenders and stability to our financial system: we provide real, tangible support for vital housing initiatives across each FHLBank district, and beyond,” said José R. González, president and CEO of FHLBank New York. “In meeting our mission to deliver liquidity to America’s local lenders, we position ourselves to make an even greater impact each year with our AHP and other initiatives through our partnerships with dedicated organizations such as Mission First.”

“While the AHP is the FHLBank System’s flagship grant program, each FHLBank offers a wide range of programs and products to support housing and community development that are tailored to its specific region,” said Teresa Bryce Bazemore, president and CEO of FHLBank San Francisco. “In all of these initiatives, it is the participation of each FHLBank’s members, who are active and involved local lenders committed to growing and strengthening the communities they serve, that drive the success of our efforts. These regional and local lenders develop and build strong relationships within these communities, working in partnership with local housing organizations to directly address local housing needs and we are proud to provide a whole host of other community investment products and programs in addition to AHP grants.”

“Reliability is central to the value proposition that the Federal Home Loan Banks offer,” said Kirk Malmberg, president and CEO of FHLBank Atlanta. “Our members know that they can rely on their FHLBank to be there with funding in a variety of economic environments, whether in times of stress like we saw in March 2023 or for everyday funding needs during calm periods. And for more than 30 years, our housing partners have benefited from millions of dollars in grants available across the nation each year through the Affordable Housing Program, as well as additional support through the individual products and programs each FHLBank offers in its region. Through our reliability, we help foster stability for our members, for the financial markets, and in the communities our cooperatives have proudly served for more than nine decades.”

The FHLBank System is comprised of 11 regional banks that are privately capitalized and cooperatively owned by their members, which include approximately 6,600 of America’s banks, credit unions, insurance companies, and community development financial institutions. This regional structure enables each FHLBank to focus on the distinct needs of the communities its members serve. While only financial institutions may belong to an FHLBank, people everywhere benefit from them: each year, the FHLBanks provide access to billions of dollars in low-cost funding to America’s local lenders, expanding consumer access to credit. By executing on their foundational liquidity mission and providing members with a reliable source of funding in all market environments, the FHLBanks play a key stabilizing role in the U.S. financial system. The FHLBanks are critical during times of crisis, stable during calm markets, and dependable during all economic cycles.

Mission First Housing Group
Mission First Housing Group develops and manages affordable, equitable, safe, sustainable homes that support residents and strengthen communities. Mission First currently provides affordable housing and services to more than 5,500 people in nearly 4,000 apartments across the Mid-Atlantic region, serving populations in need, such as veterans, survivors of domestic violence, seniors and the disabled.

Federal Home Loan Bank of Atlanta
FHLBank Atlanta offers competitively-priced financing, community development grants, and other banking services to help member financial institutions make affordable home mortgages and provide economic development credit to neighborhoods and communities. The Bank's members—its shareholders and customers—-are commercial banks, credit unions, savings institutions, community development financial institutions, and insurance companies located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and the District of Columbia. FHLBank Atlanta is one of 11 district banks in the Federal Home Loan Bank System. Since 1990, the FHLBanks have awarded approximately $7.6 billion in Affordable Housing Program funds, assisting more than one million households.

Federal Home Loan Bank of New York
The Federal Home Loan Bank of New York is a Congressionally chartered, wholesale Bank. It is part of the Federal Home Loan Bank System, a national wholesale banking network of 11 regional, stockholder-owned banks.  As of June 30, 2023, the FHLBNY serves 335 financial institutions in New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.  The mission of the FHLBNY is to provide members with reliable liquidity in support of housing and local community development.

Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh
FHLBank Pittsburgh provides reliable funding and liquidity to its member financial institutions, which include commercial and savings banks, community development financial institutions, credit unions and insurance companies in Delaware, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. FHLBank products and resources help support community lending, housing and economic development. As one of 11 Federal Home Loan Banks established by Congress, FHLBank has been an integral and reliable part of the financial system since 1932. Learn more by visiting www.fhlb-pgh.com.

Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco
FHLBank San Francisco is a member-driven cooperative helping local lenders in Arizona, California, and Nevada build strong communities, create opportunity, and change lives for the better. The tools and resources we provide to our member financial institutions propel homeownership, finance quality affordable housing, drive economic vitality, and revitalize whole neighborhoods. Together with our members and other partners, we are making the communities we serve more vibrant, equitable, and resilient.