In June, the District of Columbia Government announced a $6.9 million credit enhancement award to TRF towards the creation of a $20 million real estate financing pool. Known as the Neighborhoods First Fund, the pool will be used to offer predevelopment and acquisition financing in 12 priority underserved neighborhoods as designated by the District. TRF is currently in negotiations to finalize the contract and will begin capitalization efforts in the next few weeks to meet the required match. This public-private partnership will provide financing to nonprofits and locally owned businesses. For inquiries on investing in the Neighborhoods First Fund, please contact TRF's DC Market Leader, Lori Glass. Learn more about TRF's work in DC.

TRF has funding from the U.S. Employment and Training Administration to support training that will lead to employee skill building and wage progression in companies in which TRF invests. Customer service skills training is currently underway for a group of 550 employees from Brown's ShopRite, which was financed through TRF's Fresh Food Financing Initiative. The professional development workshops consist of engaging and experiential activities that address the real customer service situations, issues and problems that challenge these employees every day while performing their job responsibilities. TRF will be tracking the extent to which training improves retention and employee and customer satisfaction in these stores.

TRF recently completed a Market Value Analysis (MVA) for the City of Newark. The MVA was done as part of a multi-city analysis commissioned by New Jersey's Department of Community Affairs. The MVA looked at eight specific indicators including owner occupancy rates, percentage of home sales that were sheriff sales, vacancies and sales prices. The picture that emerged was one of a city with low homeownership rates where homeowners are increasingly cost burdened. The MVA also revealed that in some middle-income neighborhoods where homeownership rates are high, the percentage of sheriff sales are above city averages. These sheriff sales are threatening the stability of these neighborhoods. TRF has been contracted to do a foreclosure analysis to help the City evaluate the issue and create appropriate intervention strategies. The MVA is also serving as a basis for reinvestment plans TRF is creating for two Newark neighborhoods, Kent Brenner and West Market, on behalf of the City's Department of Economic and Housing Development.

TRF Policy Group's Peggy Wu will be part of a 5-member volunteer team from North America that will be working on a MacArthur Foundation-funded project of the American Association for Advancement of Sciences (AAAS) to geo-reference crime locations in Darfur and the Chad region. The team will geo-reference a range of activities from small-scale and interpersonal violence (e.g. rape, murder, theft) to larger events including village destruction, mass atrocities, and conflict between organized, armed parties. Using data from the United Nations, African Union, and other sources, the effort will result in a centralized database on reported attacks and similar events in Darfur from early 2003. This data product will allow investigators of war crimes and compensation claims to corroborate reporting and identify coincident, proximate events that otherwise may go undiscovered. It will also assist in the analyses of violent conflict in the Darfur region and elsewhere. Ms. Wu and her team are part of GISCorps, a program of the Urban and Regional Information Systems Association (URISA) that coordinates short term, volunteer GIS services to underprivileged communities worldwide.