Mission Statement: To improve the vitality of Iowa’s rural communities by providing financial and other development services.
Homeward, Inc. was established in 1997 by four rural electric cooperatives (RECs) in Iowa. Today eight RECs are members, including Butler County REC, Franklin REC, Humboldt County REC, Glidden REC, Grundy County REC, Heartland Power Cooperative, Prairie Energy Cooperative and Sac County REC.
Bob Bauman, CEO and general manager of Butler County REC in Allison, is the president of Homeward. Deb Prehm serves as Homeward’s program manager. Additional board members include Vice President Darrell Goff of Prairie Energy Cooperative; Secretary Fran Buckel of Franklin Rural Electric Cooperative; Treasurer Garry Hintz of Sac County Rural Electric Cooperative; Assistant Secretary-Treasurer Bruce Bailey of Glidden Rural Electric Cooperative; Larry Marske of Grundy County Rural Electric Cooperative; Jon Leerar of Heartland Power Cooperative; and Steve Long of Humboldt County Rural Electric Cooperative.
Our purpose is to assist rural Iowa families with their housing needs and to help small communities and employers in rural Iowa.
We accomplish this through our programs, which focus on making homes more affordable and easier to maintain.
Energy-Efficiency Loan Program: These loans, for REC members in good standing, can be used for windows, doors, insulation, electric water heater, air source heat pumps or geothermal heat pumps and can be used for more than one improvement. Click here for more information.
HomeBuyer and HomeOwner Programs: The HomeBuyer program offers low-interest loans to help low- to moderate-income (LMI) individuals and families purchase a home. Click here for more information. The HomeOwner program offers low-interest loans to help LMI individuals and families improve their home. Click here for more information. Both programs are offered in 25 Iowa counties.
Employer-Assisted Down Payment and Rehab Housing Program: Although similar to our HomeBuyer and HomeOwner programs (but without the LMI restriction), this program is designed to help small rural employers with employee attraction and retention. We are working with several local employers at this time. This program is available in 40 Iowa counties.
At Homeward we are proud of our accomplishments, which show how committed we are to improving the lives of those we serve. We have:
Assisted over 700 rural families in north central Iowa since 1997, with this figure increasing monthly
Assisted with 255 down-payment loans, 242 rehab loans, 73 construction loans and 143 energy-efficiency loans since 1997
Awarded over two-thirds of our loans to families living outside of city limits
Totaled over $2,134,068 in new rehab and down payment loans since 1997
Totaled $3,082,965 in loans since 1997
Received certification by the U.S. Treasury Certified Development Finance Institution program in 2001
Established, with sources, a revolving loan fund totaling over $3 million
Our funding and support has come from the following sources:
1997 State of Iowa LHAP grant for $150,000
1998 HUD HIRE grant for $500,000
2001 State of Iowa LHAP grant for $200,000
2001 HUD RHED grant for $600,000
2001 CDFI grant for $350,000
2001 CDFI zero-interest loan for $240,000
2002 EDI grant for $500,000
2003 RHED grant for $400,000
2003 IFA grant for $150,000
2004 CDFI grant for $100,000
2005 NIPCO loan for $35,000
2005 IHOEP grant for $5,000
2005 EDI grant for $198,400
2005 FHLB grant for $159,500
2006 Housing Trust Fund grant for $132,044
Zero-interest loans from the members of Homeward for $240,000
Line of credit secured by Homeward for $200,000
Line of credit guaranteed by the members of Homeward for $480,000
At Homeward we look forward to helping Iowans achieve their dreams of home ownership and home remodeling. Contact Deb Prehm if you have questions.
HOMEWARD, INC. DOES NOT DISCRIMINIATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, NATIONAL ORIGIN, RELIGION, AGE, SEX, DISABILITY, FAMILIAL STATUS OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION. WE DO BUSINESS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FEDERAL FAIR HOUSING LAW.