NUESTRA COMUNIDAD DEVELOPMENT CORP

Programs: Affordable housing development - nuestra's theory of change for our affordable rental housing line of business is that production, asset management, service referrals and counseling of tenants at risk of losing their housing collectively help families and individuals improve their long-term economic, education and health status. Our theory of change for our homeownership business is that helping residents buy and preserve their own home helps to stabilize housing costs, helps families accumulate wealth over the years and promotes investment and stability in our neighborhoods, including foreclosure prevention. One key desired outcome in our theory of change is that the built environment contains fewer blighted properties and more attractive housing and commercial spaces. The strength of our production pipeline was evident in 2014, as we completed construction of a 40-apartment senior building (quincy commons), the construction of an 8-apartment building (109 mt. Pleasant) and the renovation of a 96-apartment complex (washington park apartments). Our most notable project in predevelopment is bartlett place, a planned 300-home development with 55,000 sf of commercial and retail uses on what is now a blighted, vacant, contaminated former bus yard in the dudley square area of boston's roxbury neighborhood. The first phase of construction (anticipated for late 2015) will include a 12,000 sf grocery store featuring fresh, healthy, local foods, along with 60 new apartments for families and individuals across a mix of incomes and 16 for-sale homes. Nuestra continually seeks to innovate the production and sustainability of our housing. In today's environment of reduced supply of housing subsidies and tax credits, the existing system of building affordable housing is essentially broken. A game-changing strategy to reduce costs can allow nuestra and other affordable housing developers to produce homes with a much reduced need for housing subsidies, increasing the total housing that can be produced in coming years. Nuestra is shifting the focus of our production pipeline away from projects requiring large subsidies, including the scarcest subsidy (so-called 9% low-income housing tax credits), with a new emphasis on for-sale homes and rental housing built with lower costs and lower subsidy needs. Nuestra seeks to reduce the cost of building housing using modular housing construction techniques, through an initiative in partnership with an established national network of community development corporations, leveraging the collective expertise and purchasing power of this network.

asset management - nuestra's theory of change, as it applies to the cdc's asset management of affordable rental housing, is that excellent stewardship of our properties combined with service referrals and counseling for tenants at risk of losing housing, helps families and individuals improve their long-term economic, education and health status. One key goal for asset management is that the community will be viewed internally and externally as a desirable place to live, work and play. Each property in a portfolio managed by nuestra's asset management department should contribute to achieving this community goal. Nuestra's asset management process is designed to achieve positive, long-term outcomes by identifying concrete action steps. The discipline starts with an analysis of historical operating data for each property and an evaluation of how financial outcomes can be improved while maintaining mission objectives for that property. A strategy is also established to support the cdc's overarching financial objectives and to understand the cdc's management of financial risk. An understanding of the larger financial environment will permit the asset manager to find opportunities and to isolate risks that are specific to the period involved. "green" objectives are always included in the process. For nuestra's rental properties, our asset management department creates an action plan detailing key challenges facing each property and proposes a strategy for addressing those challenges. In recent years, as low interest rates have provided potential for restructuring, we have aggressively refinanced first mortgages to take advantage of those rates. The results are healthier cash flow which can be diverted to reserves to address the costs of future capital needs. We seek out sources for capital funds for needed repairs, and we raise funds from each property's reserves and cash flow for these repairs. Nuestra's financial capability counselors work closely with tenants who are beginning fall behind on their rent. Our counselors screen these tenants' eligibility for 18 public benefits and assist them in securing new benefits. Participating households have increased their monthly income by over $100 through this public benefits maximization counseling. In addition, the households receive basic household budget counseling to help them better manage expenses. Credit repair assistance is also provided, a critical service if these tenants in the future want to obtain a car loan, find a new apartment or buy a home. Finally, nuestra has taken its asset management model and applied the rigor and discipline of its process to assist other cdcs. This relatively new and steadily growing line of business delivers asset management services comparable to a level available to institutional real estate investors, but with special sensitivity to the mission-driven owner. By expanding the universe of properties, organizations, and communities served, we feel that each client can gain synergies and better-managed outcomes than those available to a stand-alone asset manager. In 2011, nuestra began providing asset management services to our first client. In 2014, we acquired one additional client and are assisting our clients in asset managing 1,546 rental housing units, in addition to the 616 apartments and 60,000 sf of commercial space owned by nuestra. In 2015, we aim to acquire at least one new client.

organizing and resident services - nuestra's theory of change for our organizing and resident services line of business is that community building programs help residents improve the quality of life for their households, their neighborhoods and develop neighborhood residents' capacity to lead community development. Key desired outcomes include: residents are empowered and have pride in the community; and sustainable businesses meet the needs of community residents and attract other businesses. Our community building programs include our neighborcircles social networking and leadership development program, the annual cleanest street contest involving over 400 residents, and the mission 180 community action coalition. Our biggest and most ambitious program is mission 180. In 2014, we continued the implementation phase of mission 180 following a two-year process engaging approximately 200 residents in the creation of a comprehensive community action plan. Mission 180 focuses on four action strategies: arts, activism and community growth aimed at revitalizing our business districts through public placemaking; a public safety organizing effort recruiting and training "community connectors" to building networks of block associations along the blue hill avenue corridor; a young adults & housing group developing a model and pilot project for housing addressing the needs of a growing demographic of adults in their 20s; and an economic innovation plan. At the forefront of dudley square's renaissance, nuestra comunidad's mission 180 initiative has already resulted in significant success over the past year, including: o completion of $34 million in dudley square construction projects, resulting in creation of 300 jobs and 144 new or renovated apartments;o 50 aspiring entrepreneurs participated in our small business planning program, and of these 15 received cash prizes to turn their business concept into a marketable business plan. Over 90 people have graduated from this program since its inception in 2014; one will open a store in 2015 in the new municipal bolling building in dudley square. ; o over 140 people completed first time home buyer training and are poised for an informed future purchase. Nuestra seeks support for mission 180 through the community investment tax credit (citc). This financial support will underwrite staff time to support the following:o cultivate 50 new entrepreneurs annually through the small business planning program;o build and sell 38 homes, along with 60 apartments and a new grocery store, in dudley square in 2015 and 2016. O build another 113 for sale homes and 134 apartments, along with 55,000 square feet of commercial space in dudley square over the next five years; o manage our unique arts place-making initiative activating dudley square's public spaces, drawing over 3,000 visitors each season;o place local entrepreneurs in the small business incubator operating in dudley square;o evaluate results.

these program revenues and expenses relate to the rental activity of the rental properties which are included in nuestra's form 990 as disregarded entities.