Forward Communiyt Investments serves the State of Wisconsin with our resources targeted to assist low- and moderate-income neighborhoods.

The extent of economic distress in the target neighborhoods is significant. We find that the populations residing in our targeted neighborhoods earn almost half the median income of their peers in Dane County.

In one of our targeted areas, the median household income was $21,600 with 30% of the area residents living below the poverty line. And most compelling was that 80% of residents did not own vehicles and the particular neighborhood is served by only one bus line which seriously inhibits access to work, financial institutions and education.

Pockets of poverty like this exist because there are a disproportionate number of rental units as compared to owner-occupied dwellings. The balance between permanent residents who have a stake in the community versus apartment residents who are far more transient creates a void relative to community commitment, cohesion and commitment. That is why one of the goals of FCI is to finance projects that create owner-occupied housing, which in turn will promote stabilization and investment and encourage and grow homeownership.