$150K grant awarded to NeighborWorks Green Bay to help homebuyers and homeowners, Aug. 20, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) –A new three-year grant worth $150,000 has been awarded to NeighborWorks Green Bay by Associated Bank.
“This support will help us make sure that families continue to make smart decisions with their money and smart decisions about their housing,” said NeighborWorks Green Bay President & CEO, Noel Halvorsen.
NeighborWorks Green Bay applied for the grant through a grant portal offered by Associated Bank.
Halvorsen said the nonprofit and the bank have had a relationship for years. A press release says the grant “reinforces a long-standing partnership focused on helping more families prepare for and achieve stable homeownership.”
NeighborWorks will receive $50,000 each year from 2026 through 2028. Halvorsen says as many as 1,000 families come to NeighborWorks Green Bay each year.
He says that’s for services like counseling, education and one-on-one conversations.
“We’ll work with families to find solutions that will help them get into home ownership and that includes sources of down payment and closing cost assistance funds that we have,” said Halvorsen.
Halvorsen says not only will the grant money go toward helping families who are looking to purchase a home, but also those who are already in one.
“We had had a program that kind of went on hiatus during COVID that brought folks who were existing homeowners together to learn about home maintenance issues and other things and being prudent with their money and putting budgets together and even shopping at the holidays and that program’s been rebooted,” said Halvorsen.
The grant comes at a time when experts say the housing market is solid.
According to the Wisconsin Realtors Association, both existing home sales and the median home price raised from July 2025 to July 2026.
According to the report, existing home sales rose by 8.1%, and median price jumped up 6.8%. It also says the market share of homes listed under $350,000 has fallen from 68.9% in June 2021 to 46.2% in June 2026.
“Some would consider it still a seller’s market. Home appreciation does not stop because we have a home crisis with lack of inventory,” said Realtors Association of Northeast Wisconsin Board of Directors Member, Mike Kunesh.
Kunesh says a lot of buyers in our area think they’re out of the market. He added, “But you have to remember in Northeast Wisconsin, we’re still very affordable compared to the national news.”
Kunesh says homes in rural counties are more affordable but are appreciating in value much quicker. He specifically noted Marinette, Kewaunee and Fond du Lac counties.
To illustrate the power of home ownership, Kunesh said a renter has an average net worth of about $3,000 whereas a homeowner has an average net worth of about $400,000.
The market may be difficult for many to enter but grant funds could help some in our area fulfill part of the American dream.
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