In 2013, the Ohio Housing Finance Authority (OHFA) successfully petitioned the federal government to utilize part of the Hardest Hit Funds (HHF) for demolition, creating NIP. U.S. Treasury authorized the use of these funds to eliminate blight through demolition citing research that established the value of demolitions in protecting home values and preserving home ownership. The Jefferson County Land Bank has received $1.46 million dollars for demolitions under NIP. Funds can only be used in hardest hit geographically-defined target areas.