Top Women in Finance 2012: Center Board Member Vicki Shipley

The Minnesota Homeownership Center congratulates US Bank Vice President, and Vice President of the Center’s Board of Directors, Vicki Shipley for being selected as one of Minnesota’s “Top Women in Finance” by Finance & Commerce Magazine.

The Top Women in Finance award is given to principals, partners, executive vice presidents, CFOs, CEOs and managing directors at corporations in the finance industry as well as small and large business leaders throughout the state who have shown innovation, leadership, or some other notable qualities in the area of finance.

In her role as Regional Manager for Community Affairs, Vicki  has worked tirelessly to build strong connections between US Bank (and other financial institutions) and local community-based nonprofits.  As just one example of Vicki’s efforts, Finance & Commerce recognized Vicki’s innovative initiative that allows several community-based organizations to utilize unused US Bank office space.  The Minnesota Homeownership Center is just one beneficiary of this program.

Vicki is not the only connection the Center has with Finance & Commerce’s annual Top Women in Finance edition.  In 2010 (and 2007), another Board Member, Muffie Gabler, was a recipient and this year Commissioner Mary Tingerthal of Minnesota Housing, the state’s Housing Finance Agency that works closely with the Minnesota Homeownership Center on affordable housing issues, was also selected.

For a complete list of honorees, visit the Finance and Commerce article here.

Filling the Foreclosure Funding Gap

The Good News:
Minnesota Housing announced a $1 million award to the Minnesota Home Ownership Center yesterday during a press conference held at a foreclosed property on Saint Paul’s east side. The award comes at a critical time when federal funding gaps threaten the ongoing work of 74 counselors across the state.

Coverage of the press conference can be seen here (Fox-9), here (Finance & Commerce) and here (MPR).
UPDATE: Star Tribune has also covered us: here.

“We’ve come too far and invested too much in foreclosure prevention across the state to let this funding gap damage our efforts and the infrastructure we’ve built together,” said Dan Bartholomay, Commissioner of Minnesota Housing. “Minnesota has benefited from a strong, statewide network of foreclosure counseling agencies, counseling nearly 16,000 households in 2009, and we’re here today to make sure that continues.”

Here's the situation... the foreclosure counseling network in Minnesota faces an immediate threat to the provision of services, even while facing continued, and in some areas, increased, demand foreclosure prevention counseling. Current funding has been exhausted and the next round of federal funding will not be available until March 2011, pending congressional authorization.

“Minnesota Housing has demonstrated outstanding leadership throughout this prolonged foreclosure crisis,” added Julie Gugin, Executive Director of the Minnesota Home Ownership Center. “Their latest contribution will help ensure that tens of thousands of Minnesotans have access to quality, nonbiased services that will help them avoid foreclosure. Their partnership is critical to stabilizing housing and communities throughout Minnesota.”

With this $1 million award, the Minnesota Home Ownership Center is prepared to work directly with counseling organizations to continue services.

The Bad News:
Center staff has calculated that it will take just over Five Million dollars to cover the cost of maintaining foreclosure counseling services in the state of Minnesota at current levels through the end of 2011.  We'll keep you informed about the fundraising process - and its impact on the counseling network over the coming months. 
 
For now... services will continue without interruption and MN Homeowners that are struggling with their mortgage payments - or think they may have difficulty making payments soon, should contact a non-profit (FREE!) foreclosure counselor TODAY.

Center Board Member Recognized: Top Woman in Finance

The Minnesota Home Ownership Center is proud to publicize the fact that Muffie Gabler, long-time Center board member, has been recognized by Finance and Commerce as one of only 50 “Top Women in Finance” in Minnesota. In addition, Muffie was chosen to join Finance and Commerce’s “Circle of Excellence” as she had previously been honored as a Top Woman in Finance in 2007.

The Top Women in Finance award is given to principals, partners, executive vice presidents, CFOs, CEOs and managing directors at not only financial institutions and lenders but also leaders of businesses small and large throughout Minnesota who have shown innovation, leadership, or some other notable qualities in the area of finance.

In addition to being one of the principal drivers of the creation of the Minnesota Home Ownership Center, Muffie has been an integral part of the Affordable Housing arena in Minnesota and countless affordable housing initiatives and community development projects would never have gotten off the ground without Muffie’s assistance.

Winners were recognized during a dinner and program on November 10th at the Hyatt Regency in Minneapolis. For a complete list of honorees, visit the Finance and Commerce article here.

Finance & Commerce Article - Mediation?

The Center's Executive Director, Julie Gugin was quoted in an article about a new program being debated by Minnesota lawmakers: require lenders to participate in a mediation session with homeowners before proceeding with foreclosure. As currently outlined, the program would be administered by the Attorney General's office.

Here are some of the highlights of the article:

Mike Thompson has a simple message for Minnesota lawmakers touting the idea of mediation between troubled homeowners and their lenders: buckle up

... mediation isn’t a panacea for every struggling homeowner.

and

“We do exactly what Michael Thompson and his group do,” said Julie Gugin, executive director of the Minnesota Home Ownership Center. “I think the remaining challenge that many of us who are working in this field are facing is, ‘What is the best way to get lenders to the table in an efficient way that gets decisions made quicker?’ I don’t believe we’ve landed on an answer to that question yet,” Gugin said.

The entire article is HERE.

As the article states, the Center does not have a position for or against the proposal... but homeowners that are struggling with payments should NOT WAIT. The Center's network of Foreclosure Prevention Specialists can help TODAY.