INDIANAPOLIS — Cummins announced this week it would be giving more than $1,000,000 to Renew Indianapolis to help build Black homeowner equity in a near northeast side neighborhood.
The grant will support the creation of affordable mortgages for new, low-income homeowners in the Martindale-Brightwood neighborhood, according to a release from Cummins.
The grant kickstarts the "Cummins-Renew" program, which will fund the mortgages of 12 newly-constructed houses to low-income homebuyers in Martindale-Brightwood, a historically Black neighborhood.
According to Renew — a nonprofit organization working to increase access to housing and neighborhood stabilization — the homeownership opportunities will be marketed to current residents of the neighborhood to build generational wealth and address gentrification.
“Through this program, Cummins is addressing the historical gap in wealth building through homeownership experienced by Black people,” Mary Titsworth Chandler, Cummins' vice president of community relations, stated in a release. “We hope programs like this will inspire other private and non-profit funders to contribute to innovative problem-solving, which in turn will attract matching federal, state, and local dollars over time."
Construction on the 12 homes will begin this month on vacant properties in the neighborhood. The first home will be available for purchase this spring.
The Edna Martin Christian Center, an anchor in the community, will also be working with Renew and Cummins to assure the housing strategies "authentically incorporate the will and desires of our neighborhood residents and stakeholders."
“The grant we celebrate today serves as further indication that Martindale-Brightwood is a neighborhood worthy of the significant investment. We look forward to working with Renew and Cummins to ensure that alignment is community-inclusive, meaningful, and transformative," Barato Britt, the president and CEO of Edna Martin, stated in the grant announcement.
Homebuyers interested in the program can contact Renew Indianapolis at 317-924-8116 or info@renewindy.org for more information.
WRTV Digital Reporter Shakkira Harris can be reached at shakkira.harris@wrtv.com. You can follow her on Twitter, @shakkirasays.
