HHQ Founder & CEO Kerry Quaglia - 30th Anniversary Celebration Remarks

30 YEARS – 30 YEARS – Hard to believe

You know, there are two questions I get asked a lot these days. The first is “when are you going to retire?” (the answer is “probably never”). The second is when I started HHQ 30 years ago if I ever thought it would turn into what it has become today. The answer to that one is just as easy, as it is a definitive YES - or at least that is what I hoped for.

I cut my teeth in this business working for the City Community Development Office for about 10 years. When I left the City, I was Director of Housing – I wrote grants, did compliance and oversaw the rehab programs. (I imagine our present compliance staff are rolling their eyes at the thought of me doing compliance). In my tenure at the City, I reported to the Community Development Commissioners - first to Dave Michel and then to Vito Sciscioli. In both cases, they were always out in front of issues and I was the guy in the background, doing the day-to-day things and never in the spotlight. For those of you who know me well, that is actually a role I am much more comfortable with, and that was certainly an adjustment for me when I began to lead Home HeadQuarters.

We did good work at the city, and I am proud of that – we blazed a trail with many new housing programs (there may not be many people in the room who remember these programs as it was a time when the federal government was actively in the housing production space). Some of the programs that came under my purview at the time were; CDBG, the 312 Loan program, the Small Multi Program, the Rental Rehabilitation Program, the HODAG program and perhaps, most notably, we ushered in the Cranston Gonzales Act with HOME and HOPE and my personal favorite, the HOPE 3 program. It was about 32 years ago that I wrote the very first grant for the city under HUD’s Lead Hazard Control program. It is hard to believe that after all this time we are still grappling with the hazards of lead paint!!

Even though we were doing good work in the city, there were, what I considered to be, gaping holes in our ability to deliver better housing outcomes in our community. The housing market was different then - very soft – particularly for home ownership and there was almost no private financing in the housing field – it was all public money – and that was becoming increasingly scarce. Also, it seemed that while there were many non-profits, they mostly were suffering financially. Many went out of business or had to be bailed out. You can’t make much of an impact on housing if you are constantly worried about keeping the doors open and the lights on. As we researched other communities, such as Indianapolis and Cincinnati, we saw other models that worked differently, and I felt we could do better for Syracuse and Central New York.

So, the goal was to form a new entity we would call Home HeadQuarters that would concentrate on responsible home ownership (indeed, the first name we came up with was Home Ownership HeadQuarters as we believed strongly that home ownership would stimulate a sluggish housing market and stabilize neighborhoods). We also believed that the organization must have complete financial integrity and a strong balance sheet that would incentivize financial institutions to want to invest. I remember I met with Brian DuMond who was an auditor for Demody Burke and Brown at the time, on the very first day at HHQ to pick his brain on some of the mistakes and pitfalls that other not-for-profits had fallen into and how to avoid them (Brian is now C.E.O. of Geddes Federal Savings and Loan Association – one of our most prominent supporters). Strong checks and balances and sound lines of business were part of recipe for success.

This new entity would be a magnet for private financing, and be a one-stop-shop to provide easy access to programs and services. That is why, among our first official actions was to become a Community Development Financial Institution certified by the Treasury and a Neighborworks Organization. In fact, we became a CDFI even before the Treasury started providing funds to CDFI’s.

Well, that was the concept – so after 30 years How Did we Do? Well, let’s take a look at our impact. We owe a huge “thank you” to Alys Mann for pulling all this impact data together, and some of it is really hard to believe.

HHQ’s Lending Reach Over Time

You simply cannot achieve this scale of positive outcomes without having great partners. Our participating Banks and Credit Unions have really stepped up! Together, we have created a truly incredible funding mechanism in that our lenders provide HHQ with loans and investments so that we can lend to people that the regulators won’t allow them to lend to directly. Think about that!!! Everyone wins in this scenario because we are able to lend to the people and the communities that need it most and the banks receive CRA credit for making these loans and investments into a Certified CDFI. There is little risk to the bank as we backstop those loans and have done so successfully for 30 years.

This is in large part why we have just been successful in raising more than $25 Million over the past year in private financing so that we can expand our home improvement lending, first mortgages and community loan fund. What’s the community loan fund, you may ask? Well, that is the fund that has financed projects as diverse as Rick Destito’s The Gere Factory and Michael Green’s reinvention of the Mizpah. These projects are almost impossible for traditional lending institutions to finance and HHQ fills that void.

It is not just financial institutions who have stepped up as we have also seen local foundations such as the Community Foundation, The Allyn Family Foundation, Gifford and Riesman Foundations who have all answered the bell with innovative support mechanisms.

Speaking of great partners, we need to call out the city and the county as I believe we have been the largest recipient of CDBG dollars for many years and we have consistently won RFP’s for programming we can run in the county. Also, a special shout out to NYS HCR is in order– particularly to Madeline Fletcher who helps us navigate the new state programs such as Legacy Cities, AHOP, and Block-by-Block. It is great to have these tools.

In addition to great partners, you need an engaged and supportive Board of Directors and we have always had that! Most importantly you need a really dedicated and incredible staff. I think it is pretty well documented that we have always had outstanding staff as many former employees have gone on to achieve really great things. I hate to name names because many will be left out, but our Mayor Sharon Owens, our County Clerk Emily Essi, Eric Ennis, Kari VanHoof, Nancy Kern Eaton, Stephanie Pasquale, Katie Easterly, Doug Reicher, Sheena Soloman, Crystal Cosentino, Paul Driscoll, Camille Tisdel, Alys Mann, Sam Gordon, Sara Walton LaFave, Ali Jackson Popp, Latoya Allen, Linda Henley, Cimone Jordan, and the list goes on and on.

While we certainly honor our former employees, I have a special place in my heart for those who have hung in there with me, even they may have had opportunities to go elsewhere - folks like Karen and Mary Jo, Shannon, Celina, Ron, Rob, Amanda, Elroy and Kim. In addition to these “more seasoned” employees that have provided stability, we have also been blessed to hire some energetic new folks as we continue to reinvent ourselves, so our work remains relevant and cutting edge. As anyone who has ever worked here knows, HHQ is not an easy place to work – it isn’t for everyone- the standards are high and the expectations even higher!!!

Just a few themes going forward – we have streamlined our operation and will continue to do so to emphasize housing production and creating the affordable home ownership opportunities our community will need over the next decade or so. Our secret sauce, if you will, will continue to be the unique interaction between our three lines of business: Community Development Lending, Real Estate Development and Home Ownership Training and counseling

I am truly humbled by everyone who attended our 30th Anniversary event as we celebrate all that we have collectively achieved. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!

Thank you to our Community Partners!