Housing Opportunities Collaborative

“All directors and officer of the organization are asked to review the form 990 (and its schedules) before they are filed.”

“Once a year each member of the board of directors and officer is required to review and sign a copy of the organizations conflict of interest policy.”

“Once a year the board reviews salaries during the budgeting process for the following years and compares organizational salaries to industry standards. The board reviews, discusses, votes and authorizes the president & executive directors salary increase and bonuses.”

“Housing opportunities collaborative provides governing documents, conflict of interest policies and financial statements upon request to housing opportunities collaborative office. All public documents are held at housing opportunities collaborative office and are readily available.”

“OTHER PROGRAM SERVICES 4: Virtual Counselor Network (VCN):The VCN was created by the Housing Opportunities Collaborative (the Collaborative), a non-profit HUD-approved Housing Counseling Intermediary formed in 2005 to: encourage collaboration between various non-profit and for-profit housing related agencies; formulate industry best practices; and empower the public by providing easy access to homeownership information and related resources. The Collaborative has experienced remarkable growth since its inception and has added new services to meet expanding community needs and increased partner interest. The Collaborative was founded on the theory of collective impact, which encourages collaboration between multiple entities in a community to address a specific social problem. It brings together organizations that offer unique services so that together, the group can ensure the community's needs are met.To ensure expeditious delivery of services consistent with collective impact, the Collaborative created the VCN in 2012 to: ~provide clients with immediate access, answers and solutions to resolve their housing or financial issues versus waiting until they can schedule an appointment or reach a counselor;~provide access to multiple services in one place so clients aren't lost from not following up with referrals; ~provide efficiency to non-profit partners so they can serve more low-income clients; and ~serve as an information clearinghouse of housing, financial and other related information so it is easily accessible to clients, and also serve as a clearinghouse for counseling best practices such as sharing knowledge through non-profit cross-training opportunities. Although the VCN was initially projected to provide services to 1,120 individuals, at present the organization has surpassed this goal and has provided services to 1,578 individuals.Individuals seeking counseling can access the VCN in three ways: by using their own computer or mobile device to access its website (www.virtualcounselornetwork.org); by phone (800-826-1502); and most importantly, by visiting a partner location and using a Virtual Empowerment Center (VEC), which is a kiosk-type workstation equipped with a computer connected to the internet, scanner, printer, and audio and video capabilities in a secure communication environment. There are 16 VEC kiosks located at community centers, non-profit agencies, churches and public libraries in San Diego, Orange, Imperial, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. The Collaborative has worked diligently to remove barriers to virtual counseling for both clients and service providers. The kiosks are designed to be very easy for clients to use. They simply sit in the kiosk and use the phone or computer located in it to be connected with a centralized hub, where triage counselors conduct the initial intake process and then set up, route and manage the subsequent web-based counseling session. They are also able to bring another professional counselor into the session via webcam if a client requires additional services. For example, a housing counseling agency may not have financial coaching services. A housing client will be able to connect with a financial coach through the VCN without having to travel to the other agency.Costs for participating agencies are low. Counselors and other professionals are employed by Collaborative partners and conduct counseling sessions from their existing work stations. They connect to the VCN through secured data connections, and are equipped with appropriate communication technology including webcams.In fact, non-profits can increase their client base and generate more income from fee-for-service programs when they use the VCN for counseling services offered at no cost to clients. Further, they can expand their service footprint and have a virtual presence in regions where residents previously did not have access to counseling. It also helps non-profits affirmatively further fair housing b”