From the President and CEO
This is a time of unprecedented change for the Foundation, in both our structure and community investing. There is nothing in our 18 years of service that matches the situation we face today.
As a result of the economic recession in general, and the housing and debt crisis in particular, we have witnessed the widespread abandonment of homes, with thousands of families uprooted, and social services and affordable housing stretched to the utmost limits. As a corollary to the distressed mortgage market and housing industry, the Foundation and our parent company, Freddie Mac, were placed under the conservatorship of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) in early September of 2008.
Yet, through this dramatic economic downturn and resulting hardship, there has been one constant – the Freddie Mac Foundation's commitment to the more than 180 nonprofit organizations and public agencies whose work we help support.
Our core mission is as important as ever, and we continue to invest financial, human and intellectual capital to move children and families from dependency to self-sufficiency and eventual prosperity – to sustain them in stable and safe housing along the way.
The Foundation already has sharpened its focus on its Stable Homes/Stable Families, housing-related investments. Over the course of the last several months, the Foundation's philanthropic investments in this focus area have grown from 30 percent to 50 percent of all of the Foundation's nonprofit funding. Indeed, this funding may continue to increase as we work to supplement and leverage federal, state and local efforts to help stem the tide of foreclosures and homelessness, and the dislocation of vulnerable families.
From late last year until now, we've made numerous grants to (or other investments in) a wide range of nonprofit organizations throughout the National Capital Region so they can provide a range of critical and necessary facilities and services to vulnerable families – from transitional housing for families and foster youth in the District of Columbia, to permanent supportive housing for vulnerable families in surrounding Maryland counties, to emergency housing and counseling services for distressed residents of Northern Virginia.
We also have continued investing in programs that provide critical supportive services for affordable housing residents of New Orleans, many of whom were displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
Equally vital, the Foundation is supporting programs that find permanent homes for foster children throughout the region and nationally, and which improve the academic performance of children (especially raising their college exam scores) and so insure the future success of our region's youth.
At the Foundation there is a continued sense of purpose and focus, along with a renewed sense of urgency as needs rapidly expand, while private (and to some extent public) funds decline as a result of recessionary pressures. Many of our nonprofit partners are operating in a climate of financial anxiety, with increasing pressure to downsize operations and cut critical programs at a time when they are needed most.
The Foundation remains a reliable funding lifeline, a bridge to help shepherd the region’s nonprofit community from economic hardship to a time of economic recovery and renewal.
While this gap in philanthropic funding exists, the Foundation remains a reliable funding lifeline, a bridge to help shepherd the region's nonprofit community from economic hardship to a time of economic recovery and renewal when additional resources and funding sources can be secured to serve families in need.
However, we too find ourselves operating in an environment of fiscal and other limitations. The result being that the Foundation has taken a number of important and necessary steps to constrain and prioritize spending so that we can continue to be an active community investor for the foreseeable future. That's why in 2009 we expect our philanthropic budget to be about 20% less than it was in 2008. And, although the Foundation's total annual financial investments may be less than in the recent past, our spending on, and engagement in the communities and people we serve, will be robust as always.
We'll continue to work very hard to discover new ways to do as much, if not more, with less resources.
Finally, we are in the midst of a reorganization effort that's intended to help us better meet today's unprecedented challenges. So far, we feel very good about the progress we've made.
We have a new board of experienced, talented, and deeply committed directors. We have improved our management, operating, and reporting structures. Also, FHFA's Office of Conservator Operations has been especially supportive of management's continuing efforts to improve our analytics, our key processes, and the quality of our financial investments specifically, and our community engagement activities more generally.
On the program side, we've already begun implementing a three-year strategic plan. Under the Plan, our investments (financial and other) will focus increasingly on creating and sustaining stable homes and families. The Foundation also will continue to provide support for effective academic programs serving vulnerable youth … make home possible for children in foster care seeking permanent adoptive homes … and move young people aging out of the foster care system to self-sufficiency.
Clearly, we are at a crossroads, and have reached an important point in our Foundation's history. Our direction, strategy, and focus reflect the continuing determination and commitment of the Freddie Mac Foundation to be an effective leader in providing the resources necessary to serve deserving people and communities in need.
We remain as engaged as ever, and I, for one, am steadfastly optimistic.
Sincerely,
Ralph F. Boyd, Jr.
Executive Vice President, Community Relations, Freddie Mac
President and CEO,
Freddie Mac Foundation