On Nov. 29th, the Initiative received a historic $10 million investment from State Farm Insurance Company, an influx of money that will boost the Initiative’s ever-growing capacity to fund affordable-housing developments and other programs for low-income residents throughout North Carolina.

While all of the details were not made public, the duration of the investment will be 10 years.

“We cannot call it a gift, because we’ll pay it back,” said Abdul Rasheed, CEO of the Initiative. “But to say that the rate is reasonable is an enormous understatement. This is very, very generous of State Farm. It’s a great day for the Initiative and low-income communities across North Carolina.”

The site of the announcement – the Happy Hollow affordable housing neighborhood in Kannapolis – was

chosen with purpose. This city-funded redevelopment project is being managed by Prosperity Unlimited, a local CDC
and Initiative grantee working to ensure that affordable housing is available for the opening of the community’s muchanticipated $1.5 billion North Carolina Research Campus.

While the community anticipates a general windfall from the campus, leaders at the Initiative and Prosperity Unlimited want to ensure that average citizens are not excluded from new, higher-paying jobs or displaced by the increase in housing prices. Rasheed said the Happy Hollow neighborhood, which includes about two-dozen singlefamily homes, is a prime example of the work the Initiative will continue to support with State Farm’s investment.

That philosophy played a role in the decision by State Farm to support the

Raleigh-based Initiative, said Duane Farrington, Senior Vice President of State Farm.

“State Farm understands the importance of strong community: It is part of our brand,” Farrington said. “Supporting the Initiative and its grantee organizations, such as Prosperity Unlimited, gives us an opportunity to be good [Cont. on page3]