(Shenandoah) The Fuller Center for Housing of Southwest Iowa has worked for many years to improve housing opportunities in the Shenandoah area. However, the group recently felt the time had come to disband their organization but wanted to find a way to make sure their remaining investments served out their mission.
To that end the City of Shenandoah helped make a connection with Southwest Iowa Planning Council (SWIPCO) which operates the Southwest Iowa Housing Trust Fund (SWIHTF) as a possible beneficiary for Fuller’s funds to help Shenandoah residents because of the trust fund’s repair program. After thorough discussions, The Fuller Center for Housing of Southwest Iowa has officially donated their remaining funds, over $175,000, to the SWIHTF for the purpose of housing rehabilitation in Shenandoah. They also transferred two mortgages on homes they constructed in Shenandoah as a previous Habitat for Humanity affiliate. SWIHTF will manage those mortgages until their terms are up.
SWIPCO Executive Director John McCurdy said, “We are incredibly grateful to the Fuller Center for their generous donation and thankful that the missions of our organizations align so well. We will be able to move quickly to put these funds into the community and help individuals who need help keeping up with repairs on their homes.”
Fuller Center for Housing of Southwest Iowa Representative Jeff Baker said, “We are just glad that these funds are going to be used in Shenandoah, to help those that need the assistance. We’re really excited and looking forward to seeing the funds used for what they were intended to be used for.”
Fuller Center’s Kris Sherman echoed the thoughts of Baker, “Shenandoah is lucky to have SWIPCO and the SWIHTF to be able to take these funds to help those in need in our community”
The trust fund already has a wait list of homeowners in Shenandoah who had requested assistance. First priority for these funds will go toward eliminating that wait list.
