1.10.2007 - 09:54am ET

(CSRwire) COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 10, 2007--Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit affordable housing organization that facilitates urban revitalization across the country, has been awarded a $2 million, three-year grant from Capital One Financial Corporation.

The grant will support Enterprise's Gulf Coast rebuilding initiatives including the funding of a Rose Architectural Fellow in New Orleans, further affordable housing initiatives in Washington, D.C., and Dallas and fund research to examine the link between school improvement initiatives and local community development.

"We welcome Capital One's growing partnership in low-income neighborhoods," said Doris Koo, president and chief executive officer, Enterprise. "Their synergistic investment makes it possible to help our network of local partners across the country build healthy, thriving neighborhoods."

"At Capital One, we are proud to partner with such a high-impact organization as Enterprise to develop and strengthen low- and moderate-income neighborhoods," said Dorothy Broadman, managing vice president, Capital One. "We want to rebuild not only the brick and mortar structures of local neighborhoods, but also help revitalize the social and economic well-being of our local communities."

Over the last four years, Capital One has made loans and investments totaling $29 million to Enterprise to promote the creation and preservation of affordable housing in the communities it serves.

This new grant builds upon the partnership by focusing on the following programmatic areas:

Community Development and Schools Initiative will examine the link between school achievement and neighborhood sustainability using Enterprise's successful models in Atlanta and Baltimore as a platform.

Enterprise and Abt Associates will analyze school improvement initiatives tied to local community development, resulting in a practitioner toolkit and Web site comprised of best practices and case studies. These tools will be available for widespread distribution to community development organizations, developers, nonprofit organizations, community institutions and school districts so they can utilize their unique neighborhood and school improvement model. In addition, Enterprise is planning to convene several symposia in select cities to encourage national dialogue and systemic change.

The Gulf Coast Recovery and Rebuilding Initiative supports Enterprise's extensive efforts currently underway to rebuild devastated neighborhoods across New Orleans, including the Gentilly community where Capital One has previously invested capital. The grant will also provide a stipend for one Rose Architectural Fellow to work with a local nonprofit host organization to design high quality, affordable housing properties that meet Green Communities(SM) standards. Named for the late developer Frederick P. Rose, 19 young architects have created more than 550 green affordable homes and many mixed-used community facilities and public spaces since the Rose fellowship was created in 2000. In addition to providing financial and technical resources, Enterprise will also continue to ensure that low- and moderate-income families have a voice in rebuilding their communities. To learn about Enterprise's work in the Gulf Coast, visit http://www.enterprisecommunity.org/katrina/HurricaneKatrina.asp.

The Community Reinvestment component enables Enterprise to provide general operating support for the preservation and production of affordable housing in Washington, D.C. and Dallas. The Washington office works throughout the metropolitan region to create affordable housing through training, local capital, grants and technical assistance to grassroots organizations, businesses, local government and residents.

In Dallas, Enterprise will increase the pool of low- and moderate-income homeownership opportunities through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Asset Control Area program, by acquiring and rehabilitating existing housing in targeted neighborhoods at below-market prices.

Enterprise Community Partners is a leading provider of the development capital and expertise it takes to create decent, affordable homes and rebuild communities. For more than two decades, Enterprise has pioneered neighborhood solutions through public-private partnerships with financial institutions, governments, community organizations and others that share our vision. Enterprise has raised and invested $7 billion in equity, grants and loans and is currently investing in communities at a rate of $1 billion a year. Visit www.enterprisecommunity.org to learn more about Enterprise's efforts to build communities and opportunity, and to meet some of the half a million people we have helped.

Capital One Financial Corporation (www.capitalone.com), headquartered in McLean, Virginia, is a financial holding company, with more than 693 locations in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Texas and Louisiana that offer a broad spectrum of financial products and services to consumers, small businesses and commercial clients. As of September 30, 2006, Capital One Bank, Capital One, F.S.B., Capital One Auto Finance, Inc., and Capital One, N.A. collectively had $112.2 billion in managed loans and $47.6 billion in deposits. Its newly acquired subsidiary, North Fork Bank, had $40.9 billion in managed loans and $36.5 billion in deposits. Capital One, a Fortune 500 company, trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "COF" and is included in the S&P 100 index.


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