LaTanya Whitehead received $1,000 toward her closing costs through an initiative to create 5,000 homeowners of color in Philadelphia. She also used $1,000 from the Urban League of Philadelphia and $10,000 from the city’s first-time home buyer grant program to purchase her rowhome in Port Richmond.
The “Philly 5 by 25 initiative” will aid home buyers and homeowners through efforts to tackle tangled titles, help diversify the real estate and home appraisal industries, support housing counselors, finance the development of affordable housing, and help individuals remain in their homes. A collaborative of Philadelphia community groups, led by the civil rights and social services nonprofit Urban League of Philadelphia, utilizes a $7.5 million grant from Wells Fargo Foundation.
Philadelphia is one of eight cities Wells Fargo selected for funding via its movement to create 40,000 homeowners of color by 2025 in places with substantial racial disparities in homeownership rates. Wells Fargo officials said the Philadelphia collaborative stood out for the strength of its collaboration and planned strategies, the organizations’ track records working with Black and Latino citizens, and community buy-in. The “Philly 5 by 25” collaborative drives to ensure that under-resourced and historically excluded populations can access the necessary resources and services.
To learn more, click the link here to read the entire article with a testimonial from a Philadelphia resident who has been aided by the “Philly 5 by 25” collaborative.
