PRG, Inc
Knowledge that helps. Homes that fit.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
In order to address Minnesota's homeownership and wealth disparities, particularly the racial gap (current racial homeownership gap is 37% in the state), PRG combines affordable housing development with education and counseling to support underserved communities that have traditionally low rates of homeownership.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Homebuyer & Foreclosure Education & Advising
This program provides three services:
Free, one-on-one advising for households worried about making their mortgage payments or going through foreclosure.
Eight-hour workshops to teach first-time and first-generation homebuyers about the home buying process: what to consider, what questions to ask, and basic information about special programs available for first-time buyers.
Free, one-on-one advising to assist new homebuyers in implementing the information learned in the homebuyer workshops.
All of these services are available without income or geographical restrictions. We charge a $40 fee to cover the cost of the homebuyer workshops; the other services are provided free.
Affordable Housing Development
PRG develops affordable single-family and multi-family housing in response to requests from neighborhoods, community organizations, and social service providers. Instead of taking a one-size-fits-all approach, we place a priority on sensitivity to what our partner groups want and need, and we engage with the community throughout the development process. Often, this means we take on projects that are small scale, multi-use, process-intensive, or funded in complex ways—projects that many other developers refuse to undertake. As a result of our willingness to confront these challenges—and our commitment to community engagement— we create housing that really fits the communities it serves.
Where we work
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Our Sustainable Development Goals
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Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Organizational Goals:
Continue to expand our services in communities of color
Minnesota's racial homeownership gap is 37 percent, the worst in the nation. While 76 percent of white households own their homes, just 22 percent of black households do. PRG is committed to addressing this gap by being thoughtful and purposeful about our services and outreach.
Meet demand for homebuyer education/counseling
Homebuyer education and counseling services play an important role in addressing the homeownership gap and helping households sustain ownership especially for first-time buyers. Recent data shows that, in 2016, 76 percent of first-time home buyers nationwide were white while only 7 percent of first-time buyers were black. Housing counseling is a proven tool to help families become financially stable, and a study from Fannie Mae has shown that the odds of foreclosure were 42 percent lower for those who completed housing education. PRG aims to increase our capacity, educate more homebuyers, and evolve our programs to move our clients toward long-term financial self-sufficiency.
Rehabilitation and rebuilding housing in the hardest-hit communities
PRG is committed to rehabilitating existing housing and building on vacant lots to ensure that high-quality, green, affordable housing is available to first-time buyers, particularly households of color. We focus our development in underserved areas such as in Minneapolis' north side where 87 percent of city-owned vacant lots are located. PRG's rehabilitation and building of new houses in the hardest-hit areas contribute to the recovery of these neighborhoods by helping to stabilize home values and build stronger communities.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
PRG combines affordable housing development and housing-related counseling and education to help achieve our goals.
Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Workshops:
Workshops (Home Stretch curriculum) help households—particularly first-time and first-generation buyers—gain a big picture overview of the homebuying process.
Pre-Purchase Counseling:
Free, individual counseling with a homeownership advisor provides potential buyers with a personalized plan.
Financial Coaching
Free, ongoing coaching was introduced in response to a need and is designed to change behaviors and attitudes related to money management.
Foreclosure Prevention Counseling:
Free foreclosure prevention counseling helps current homeowners understand and access options to keep their homes or transition to other housing.
Single-Family Housing:
PRG builds or renovates single-family homes for low- and moderate-income owner occupants, stabilizing neighborhoods and creating high-quality, affordable homeownership opportunities.
Multi-Family Housing:
PRG's development capacity includes providing housing expertise to those seeking multi-family affordable housing to meet the needs of special populations.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Pre-Purchase Homebuyer Workshops:
Our homeownership advisors, alongside volunteers of industry professionals, offer approximately 16 workshops per year serving over 400 households. In 2016, 61 percent of workshop attendees were households of color and 69 percent had incomes under 80% AMI.
Pre-Purchase Counseling:
Our homeownership advisors serve over 200 households annually. In 2016, 64 percent of these were households of color and 76 percent had incomes under 80% AMI.
Financial Coaching:
We work with over 30 low-income households providing personalized plans and access to credit builder loans and individual development accounts.
Foreclosure Prevention Counseling:
In 2016, our foreclosure prevention cousnelors helped 73 percent of clients with resolved cases avoid foreclosure. Forty-two percent of foreclosure counseling clients were households of color.
Single-Family Housing:
Ninety percent of our homes were sold to households of color in 2016 and all were either built or rehabbed by contractors of color or women-owned and operated businesses. These actions help to address racial economic gaps.
Multi-Family Housing:
We currently own 88 units of affordable rental housing at Greenway Heights, our apartment building in the Phillips neighborhood which is fully leased up to large families earning less than 50% AMI.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
PRG is focused on issues of equity and the troubling racial homeownership gap in Minnesota (currently 37%). With increased outreach to communities of color and purposeful management of our resources, PRG has seen a 40% increase in the number of households of color purchasing our homes and a 22% increase in households of color accessing our homeownership services. Eighty percent of the homes we developed and sold in the past two years were purchased by households of color. Over the past seven years, PRG has awarded $8.3 million in construction contracts to small, minority- and women-owned businesses.
As a small and nimble organization, PRG is currently partnering with Minneapolis Public Housing Authority to reach renters (89% households of color) who may benefit from homeownership. To date, four households have moved from public housing to homeownership, saving these families an average of $119 per month over renting. This effort has ripple effects across the housing ecosystem as these households vacate public housing units, making room for low-income households on the waiting list (almost 13,000). In addition, first-time and first-generation homebuyers show their children and grandchildren that homeownership is a viable option for low- and moderate-income families.
As we look ahead, access to affordable housing will play a key role in the region's wellbeing both for individual families and the broader community. PRG's role has been and will continue to be to address the availability and affordability of housing.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
PRG, Inc
Board of directorsas of 03/11/2024
Akisha Everett
Minneapolis Climate Action
Term: 2023 - 2024
Cate Kuria
Lynn Camp
Akisha Everett
Luis Pereira
Portia Jackson
Albert Brisco
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
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Disability
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