Opportunity Finance Sector Social Impact Communications

CDFIs democratize access to capital by saying "yes" when traditional sources say "no".

I work with primarily Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) that are non-depository loan funds and their nonprofit partners. These organizations prioritize lending to low-resource individuals underserved by the mainstream banking industry, focusing on democratizing access to capital for home buying, foreclosure prevention, business startup and operations, and clean energy upgrades.

Their overarching goal is not only to help mitigate the racialized wealth gap, but also to stabilize all low and moderate income rural and urban communities, regardless of demographic makeup.

As a content strategist, I develop comprehensive impact messaging strategies to support my clients' goals. Blog posts are an integral part of this strategy, enhancing organizational reputation and recognition through solid thought leadership.

However, I'm more than just a writer drafting blog posts to fill your content calendar. I'm your thought partner, collaborating to create a distinct people-first content strategy based on EEAT (Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness) and YMYL (Your Money or Your Life) concepts for each cornerstone piece of content. 

Because it's adapted to fit your overarching strategic communications needs, this content will help your organization convey its impact, communicate effectively with its core audiences, and build its content library.

My unique combination of a corporate communications background and significant experience in content writing and strategy about residential mortgages, small business development, operations, and lending, and personal finance enables me to offer these solutions.

My understanding of the legal aspects of developing finance industry communications and content allows me to help you guide my deliverables through your legal review process, barring exceptional circumstances.

So, if you need a professional strategic communicator to work with the leadership in your organization to develop an impact messaging campaign or write the cornerstone content that helps you achieve its goals, contact me for a complimentary 30-45-minute introductory call.

Expert advice on bankruptcy and foreclosure

Attorney Theresa DeGray has dedicated her law practice, Consumer Legal Services, LLC, to helping homeowners in Connecticut navigate the complex world of bankruptcy and foreclosure. She’s equally dedicated to ending the stigma surrounding the decision to file bankruptcy, especially to save your home. Here is what she told BlueHub Capital SUN about how her purpose-driven law practice helps homeowners—and how she sees BlueHub Capital SUN as a miracle program that supports her work.

The Hidden Mental Health Toll of Foreclosure: What Housing Professionals Need to Know

Foreclosure can be a devastating experience, affecting homeowners not just financially but also emotionally and psychologically. As a housing professional, recognizing the mental health challenges your clients may face is crucial.

By acting with empathy and connecting clients with appropriate resources, you can help them navigate this difficult process. I wrote this deeply researched blog post for my client to explore the common mental health effects of foreclosure. It offers insights from scholarly research and industry experts to help housing providers support their clients in or facing foreclosure. It also provides national mental health resources and state-specific support resources for the 11 states SUN serves. (This blog post shows my ability to turn scholarly research into accessible, compelling thought leadership. It's meant to advance the nonprofit's objective to ehance its reputation as an expert in all aspects of foreclosure prevention and help it gain recognition for addressing these issues thoughtfully. Most importantly, the blog post is meant to enhance core audience reach to facilitate new strategic partnerships and help homeowners avoid foreclosure.)

The State of US Housing Market in Spring 2024: What's in store for buyers and sellers?

This blog post overviews the spring 2024 U.S. housing market where mortgage rates dip, boosting optimism. Inventory rises with Fed's rate cut plans, but high home values present affordability challenges. Opportunities emerge for buyers and sellers in this shifting market landscape. (This deeply researched story intends to position BlueHub SUN as thought leaders in the real estate market, particularly the foreclosure prevention space. This is a key aspect of its strategic impact communications plan and its overall organizational objectives, which I must consider with each blog post.)

Helping Homeowners in Chapter 13 Bankruptcy Prevent Foreclosure

As bankruptcy filings rise, it's imperative that non-lawyer foreclosure prevention professionals commit to collaborating with their homeowner clients' Chapter 13 bankruptcy attorneys. This blog post provides a general overview of Chapter 13 as a tool to help prevent foreclosure. It also explains how you can support your homeowner clients in successfully preserving their home through the process. [Meeting SUN's strategic communications objectives with robust content and underlying content strategy is imperative with all I deliver to them. The goal of this blog post is to position BlueHub SUN as a thought leader in helping homeowners prevent foreclosure that also understands how to work with clients in Chapter 13 bankruptcy. It's also meant to amplify their organizational reputation as collaborators with legal and non-legal housing professionals and their homeowner clients working to keep their homes and grow generational wealth. Positioning SUN as an empathetic, helpful expert in this space that offers innovative mortgage refinancing solutions to people who don't have equitable access to mortgage capital was key for this post, too.]

(Image: Tierra Mallorca, Unsplash)

Case Studies: How SUN Helped Two Families Refinance Out of Foreclosure

The goal of this blog post is to show how SUN achieves sustainable impact in the foreclosure prevention space by working with clients using its adaptive strategies to lending. With the subjects of these case studies, Lauren Taylor* and Kevin Russell*, who each experienced unique and complicated financial situations that lead to foreclosure on their homes, when they applied to SUN, the lender its adaptive strategies to mortgage financing to surmount Taylor’s and Russell’s extenuating circumstances. That gave them both a second chance to stay in their homes and increase their home’s equity. Here are their stories.
[*The names of clients featured here have been changed to protect their privacy. But the specifics and timelines of events depicted are factual representations of their experiences working with SUN.]

(I constructed and wrote these case studies from notes about these clients provided by SUN. I applied my extensive understanding of residential mortgage lending and knowledge of Chapter 13 bankruptcy law to this process.)

HomeFree-USA's Collaborative Approach to Homeownership Counseling

A core part of the strategic communications strategy for BlueHub SUN is to become "go-to" experts in foreclosure prevention and show they are advocates for homeowners facing foreclosure. To achieve a true impact in the foreclosure prevention space, SUN collaborates with housing counselors like Gary Plummer.

I wrote this story to show that SUN is not only a homeowner advocate but also is an innovator the foreclosure prevention sector. SUN also commissioned this story to thank one of its most supportive partners, HomeFree-USA for their hard work collaborating with SUN for homeowners facing foreclosure who have no other lender options. SUN also wanted to feature and thank Gary Plummer, a staunch advocate for foreclosure prevention and Black wealth preservation for his work with SUN. I also strategically created the newsletter introductory text, for which I'm responsible monthly, which is designed to improve open rates and CTR. (To learn more about BlueHub SUN's foreclosure prevention services, visit their site here: https://bit.ly/3Hw3q8Y)

12 Months to Better Credit: Rebuild Your Credit Score to Improve Your Financial Health

A core part of the strategic communications strategy for BlueHub SUN is to become "go-to" experts in foreclosure prevention. They also want their messaging, including blog content, to show they are advocates for homeowners facing foreclosure that provide last resort mortgage loans when no other residential mortgage finance firm will consider them. (They have strict qualifications for these loans, however.)

But, once homeowners take their loans, they encourage them to refinance out of them as soon as they can.

So, after a planned blog post for the month, that was part of our original content strategy for the six months beginning August 2023 and ending in January 2024, fell through a second time (because our SME wasn't available for an interview for a thought leadership piece), I quickly proposed and created this educational piece targeting BlueHub SUN core lending clients, homeowners. I turned it around in 48 hours, including creating the newsletter introductory text, for which I'm responsible monthly which is designed to improve open rates and CTR. (To learn more about BlueHub SUN's foreclosure prevention services, visit their site here: https://bit.ly/3Hw3q8Y)

Navigating Financial Hardship: Foreclosure Prevention for Homeowners

A core part of the strategic communications strategy for BlueHub SUN is to become "go-to" experts in foreclosure prevention and show they are advocates for homeowners facing foreclosure. But, their goal isn't just to get new mortgage lending clients, it's to help prevent homeowners from having to use their last resort strategies.

So, after a planned blog post for the month, that was part of our original content strategy for the six months beginning August 2023 and ending in January 2024, fell through, I quickly proposed and created this educational piece targeting BlueHub SUN core lending clients, homeowners. I turned it around in 48 hours, including creating the SEO strategy for the blog post, and the newsletter introductory text, for which I'm responsible monthly. (To learn more about BlueHub SUN's foreclosure prevention services, visit their site here: https://bit.ly/3Hw3q8Y)

Homeowner Assistance Fund Status Update

I researched and wrote this blog post, a thought leadership piece that provides an update on a critical U.S. government residential foreclosure prevention program--the Homeowner Assistance Fund (HAF). From the story: "The federal government established this nearly $10 billion federal program in 2021 to provide states, territories and tribes with the funds to support homeowners in underserved communities at risk of foreclosure. HAF helps them with paying their mortgage, utilities, property taxes and other housing costs."

The social impact communications storytelling aim of this story is to help establish my client, BlueHub Capital SUN, as a "go-to" resource and committed homeowner advocate in foreclosure prevention last resort lending. The core audience for this blog post is SUN's referral partners, which include housing counselors, debtors attorneys, and real estate agents attempting to help homeowners prevent foreclosure and remain in their residence. (Learn more about BlueHub SUN here: https://bit.ly/3Hw3q8Y)