Community First February 2024 Newsletter

  • February 4, 2025

FHLBank Chicago Welcomes Fern Orie to Community Investment Advisory Council, Strengthening Support for Native Communities

Fern Orie to Community Investment Advisory Council, Strengthening Support for Native Communities
FHLBank Chicago welcomes Fern Orie, CEO of the Wisconsin Indigenous Housing and Economic Development Corporation, to its Community Investment Advisory Council. A dedicated advocate for Native homeownership and economic development, Orie brings valuable expertise in community lending and finance. Additionally, Allison Clements, Sharon Legenza, and David Porterfield have been reappointed to three-year terms to continue their service on the Advisory Council. Read the full announcement here. 


2025 Downpayment Plus® (DPP®) Programs Opening on February 18

Our 2025 DPP Programs open on February 18, featuring a new DPP Online platform for a more streamlined experience. This upgraded system simplifies applications, enhances self-service options, and improves document management, making it easier than ever for members to access funding to support homebuyers in their community. Sign up now for one of our training webinars to get hands-on guidance on platform navigation, setup, and administrator requirements.

While the platform is evolving, the DPP program remains unchanged— members can still reserve $1 million to provide $10,000 in down payment assistance per income-eligible homebuyer. 

 

Register for a 2025 AHP Learning Opportunity

It’s time to start planning for the 2025 Affordable Housing Program (AHP) general fund, which will open on May 5. The 2025 AHP Implementation Plan is available on our website.  

We will be offering two identical AHP webinars covering project eligibility, financial feasibility, and scoring. Potential AHP project sponsors, FHLBank Chicago member institutions, real estate developers, and consultants are encouraged to attend. See registration information below. 

Those with previous AHP experience can register for our Experienced Users Webinar on Tuesday, April 8 from 10 – 11 a.m. This webinar will focus on significant changes for this year’s program. For those unable to attend, we will also be producing a series of recorded webinar presentations covering the same content, which will be available on our website in early April.

Community Small Business Advance Opening This Month

FHLBank Chicago members can access the Community Small Business Advance with 0% financing to support small business lending in income-eligible communities throughout Illinois and Wisconsin beginning Tuesday, February 18 at 10 a.m. CT. Designed to empower small businesses in your communities with the funding and support they need to grow and thrive, this funding opportunity is provided on a first-come, first-served basis until our $15 million subsidy is exhausted.  

Key Program Highlights and Enhancements include:  
  • A 0% advance rate to finance a customer’s loan of up to 4.5% interest rate  
  • Interest subsidy limit of $500,000 per member holding company
  • Small businesses located in a census tract at or below 100% area median income (AMI) 
  • Simplified application process for your convenience  
    • Decreased the required documentation needed to apply – only need application and promissory note 
  • Members will only certify up front at time of application  
Reach out to our Member Transaction Desk at mtd@fhlbc.com or 855.345.2244, option 1, with questions. 


Community Support Statements – Request for Public Comments

To maintain access to FHLBank long-term credit and Community Investment products, FHLBank members are required to submit a Community Support Statement (CSS) to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) every two years to document their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) performance and record of lending to first-time homebuyers. As part of the Community Support Program review, the FHFA accepts public comments, both positive and negative, concerning individual FHLBank members. Public comments may be submitted to the FHFA via email at HMGCommunitySupportProgram@fhfa.gov between February 20, and March 21, 2025. 
 
To access a list of FHLBank Chicago members subject to Community Support Program review and for additional member resources please visit the CSS webpage.  If you have any questions, please email  CommunitySupportProgram@fhlbc.com.

 

Upcoming Events

February 26 - 27 | Illinois Housing Council 2025 Illinois Affordable Housing Forum 

February 26 - 27 | Illinois Institute for Rural Affairs 36th Annual Rural Community and Economic Development Conference 

March 3-4 | Habitat for Humanity of Wisconsin | 2025 WI HAUS Training Conference

March 15 | NHS | 2025 Annual Award Gala – Celebrating 50 Years of Service

April 1-3 | Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota | 2025 Habitat for Humanity Midwest Regional Conference

 

 

Contact Us

Please direct all media inquiries to:

Casey Reidy 
Director, Communications 
creidy@fhlbc.com
312.565.5291

Heather Bockstruck
Assistant Director, Communications
hbockstruck@fhlbc.com
312.565.5282