From all across the country, affordable housing and community development practitioners convened at the NeighborWorks® Training Institute (NTI) in Chicago, Illinois, this week to learn, to grow and to help build solutions to an affordable housing crisis that continues to put homes, both rented and owned, out of reach. The training institute attracted well over 1,000 participants, though some were slowed by an East Coast snowstorm that landed just as the institute began. 

Over the past 18 months, NeighborWorks® America has partnered with seven rural-serving organizations through the USDA-funded Rural Community Development Initiative (RCDI), building their capacity to tackle some of the most pressing housing and economic development challenges they identified in their communities. More than a grant program, the RCDI program offered tailored technical assistance and access to subject matter experts, helping these organizations secure critical funding, unlock new resources and implement innovative solutions with lasting impact. NeighborWorks America coordinated the program from start to finish: recruiting eligible organizations, assessing their needs, matching them with subject matter experts, managing the one-to-one dollar match and financial and narrative reporting to USDA, and providing individualized support to ensure each project advanced toward its locally determined goals.

NeighborWorks America presented two longtime leaders with the 2025 Founders Award this month. Robert “Bobby” Calvillo, president and CEO of Affordable Homes of South Texas, Inc., and Ann Houston, former executive director of The Neighborhood Developers and founder of Opportunity Communities, received the award for their contributions in the community development field and for their legacy in innovation and dedication.

Marietta Rodriguez

Marietta Rodriguez knows what it’s like to be a new homebuyer because she was one. "I was 25 and living in a high-cost area," she says. “There was absolutely no way I could buy a home without someone holding my hand and walking me through it.” The folks holding her hand were from a NeighborWorks network organization that provided counseling and financial assistance to first-time homebuyers. Soon, Rodriguez went to work for the organization that assisted her so that she could help more people in her hometown.
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