RHCDA

RHCDA announced today that it has awarded two scholarships to pay 75% of the cost for staff members at local nonprofit community development corporations (CDC's) to attend the Real Estate and Community Development Program at Saint Louis University's School of Professional Studies. The University awards a Certificate to students completing the intensive, 6-course program.

The two scholarship recipients are Karen Heet, Real Estate Development Coordinator at Old North St. Louis Restoration Group, and Cassandra Scott, Executive Assistant to the Executive Director at Wellston Community Support Association. The organizations they work for will pay a 25% match for the remaining program tuition.

The CDC Capacity Building Scholarship Program was established this year with support from Bank of America, Citigroup, Commerce Bank, Enterprise Community Partners, First Bank, National City Bank, Southwest Bank, and UMB Bank.

In announcing the scholarships, Stephen Acree, President of RHCDA, said "A CDC's success in carrying out its neighborhood revitalization mission is directly linked to the professional capacity of its staff. Certification from the RECD Program will demonstrate an increased level of education and skill in professional real estate development and management."

Cassandra Scott said that the scholarship will enable her "to become an invaluable resource and key player in physical development within my present employment with the Wellston Community Support Association," while Karen Heet said the scholarship "would give me the professional experience and capacity to better serve Old North St. Louis."

RHCDA is a nonprofit organization that provides technical assistance to help neighborhood organizations realize and maintain improvements in their communities. RHCDA undertakes redevelopment projects in partnership with neighborhood organizations, provides development consulting services, including historic preservation and mapping and database management, and provides predevelopment financing to enable nonprofit organizations to begin work on difficult, important redevelopment projects where conventional financing is not available. The scholarship program is part of RHCDA's CDC Capacity Building Program, which provides technical assistance and training to the staff and board members of local CDC's.