The Secretary’s Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships - Housing and Community Development in Action

To address the state of emergency on homelessness facing the City of Los Angeles by using permanent supportive housing to end chronic homelessness.

Innovation

Data have proven that permanent supportive housing is the most effective way to end chronic homelessness and a critical piece in kick-starting solutions to this crisis. Permanent supportive housing combines affordable housing with services that help people facing complex challenges to live with stability, autonomy, and dignity.

The California Community Foundation partnered with three foundations and the City of Los Angeles to provide funding commitments for a multisector effort to substantially increase the number of supportive housing units in the City of Los Angeles. The goal is to increase production of supportive housing from 300 units a year to 1,000 and to demonstrate how philanthropy can help jump-start growth. Thus far, the group has focused on both preparing permanent supportive housing developers to effectively utilize public funds to create high-quality housing, as well as providing upfront investments to leverage public monies.

Partners:
Conrad N. Hilton Foundation, The Kresge Foundation, Weingart Foundation, Corporation for Support Housing, and the City of Los Angeles.

Contact Information:
Chris Hubbard (chubbard@calfund.org)

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Youth from low- and middle-income households are statistically less likely to have access to opportunities to acquire transformational life skills. Financial knowledge and skills, coupled with access to financial products, are critical to a young person’s journey towards economic success.

Innovation

Recent research shows that providing young people with opportunities to develop early positive financial behaviors is transformational to them achieving personal and professional goals that include enrolling in college and graduating.

Summer Jobs Connect (SJC) partners with city governments to underwrite summer job opportunities for low-income youth and use the powerful teachable moment of a first paycheck to connect young people to the financial mainstream. The summer program includes providing the youth with financial education and linking them to safe and affordable financial products and services in their neighborhoods. Since its launch in 2014, SJC has provided over 11,000 young people with summer work experience and connected more than a half million young people to financial empowerment services.

Partners:
Cities for Empowerment Fund, mayors in various cities (Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York, St. Louis, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C.), and various partners in private and nonprofit sectors.

Contact Information:
Daria Sheehan (sheehand@citi.com)

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In 2016, Salt Lake County faced dual, interrelated crises in the areas of recidivism and homelessness. Approximately 74 percent of high-risk offenders returned to the criminal justice system within 4 years of release.

Innovation

Pay for Success (PFS) is designed to holistically address community needs. The goal was to reduce the number of arrests and days incarcerated by 32.5 percent and move 80 percent of program participants to permanent housing.

PFS is a funding partnership between government, service providers, investors, foundations, and independent evaluators. Together, they help expand funding for service providers with the goal of ensuring government funding is directed toward programs that succeed in measurably improving the lives of people most in need. The project’s outcomes measures are: a reduction in the number of days incarcerated and the number of arrests over 4 years, improvement in employment wages, and treatment engagement in hours.

Partners:
Salt Lake County, private donors, lenders, local and international banks, private foundations, the Nonprofit Finance Fund, service providers, and consultants.

Contact Information:
Alexandra Eaton (alex@utahcf.org)

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Challenge

Sudden cardiac arrest is a leading cause of mortality in the United States, accounting for upwards of half a million deaths annually and disproportionately affecting patients who are non-White and/or of lower socioeconomic status.

Innovation

HeartRescue, a population-based program, strives to advance resuscitation through a “measure and improve” initiative that adopts principles of quality improvement and change management to increase the survival rate for those who suffer sudden cardiac arrest. The goal is to transform community emergency systems of care by achieving systematic surveillance through a registry, detailed measurement of care, and focused and efficient strategies to improve resuscitation and survival.

The Medtronic Foundation is a leader on global issues impacting health. The Foundation focuses on strategic financing and partnerships that improve health outcomes for underserved populations globally. Heart Rescue began in 2011 with five U.S. states, and has now expanded to a large-scale consortium involving 18 states and counting. The process is a “system of care” that starts with bystander victim recognition and activation of the emergency response, early CPR and defibrillator shock, and finally expert advanced care that stabilizes the heart and protects the brain.

Partners:
City fire and police departments, hospitals, universities, nonprofits, and departments of health.

Contact Information:
Nilima Mehta (nilima.mehta@medtronic.com)

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Increased rents often put apartments out of reach for low-income tenants, forcing them to move. Thousands of Twin Cities residents have been displaced, disrupting children’s schooling and parents’ commutes, childcare arrangements, and other community connections. In the worst cases, the same low-income tenants experience one forced move after another as buildings across the region follow the same trajectory

Innovation

Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) Impact Fund is a social impact capital structured fund for affordable housing preservation. It provides equity financing to buyers of unsubsidized, affordable rental housing in Minnesota.

NOAH Impact Fund brings capital to the region for affordable housing acquisitions, giving property owners a viable way to sell their properties for market rates while preserving the affordability of the units and providing stability to the individuals and families who call them homes. Thus far, NOAH Impact Fund, along with its partners, has raised $32.5 million, $25 million of which has already been made available to acquire and preserve affordable multifamily properties.

Partners:
Hennepin County, Minnesota Housing Finance Agency, Freddie Mac, Bremer Bank, Sunrise Banks, Western Bank, The McKnight Foundation, and Otto Bremer Trust.

Contact Information:
Jillian Mazullo (jmazullo@gmhf.com)

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The Near East Side neighborhood where the Center is located has a higher percentage of children under the age of 17 as well as adults over the age of 55 compared to City of Columbus and Franklin County. Over 50 percent of the residents also live in poverty. There was a need for a purposeful and deliberate community engagement in the area.

Innovation

The Center created an accessible community space with a focus on health and wellness, lifelong learning, and growth across the lifespan. This focus area has a visible impact on older adults and young people.

National Church Residences’ intergenerational programs have been associated with increased engagement among frail older adults and it has also been found that older adults with dementia or other cognitive impairments experience more positive effects during interactions with children than they did during nonintergenerational activities. Preschool children also benefit from intergenerational programs; they scored significantly higher on personal and social development assessments when compared to their counterparts.

Partners:
Columbus Early Learning Centers, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, The Ohio State University, Partners Achieving Community Transformation, and Department of Housing and Urban Development (through a grant to the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority).

Contact Information:
Terry Spitznagel (TSpitznagel@nationalchurchresidences.org)

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An extensive 2011 study done by Parkersburg Area Community Foundation found that the Mid-Ohio Valley’s economic competitiveness was severely impacted by the out-migration of its educated young adults.

Innovation

The Civic Leaders Fellowship creates opportunities in the Appalachian area by delivering jobs for the next generation and cultivating the fellow’s interest in returning to and serving their communities.

The Fellowship was conceived by Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and its Advisory Committee (made up of local and regional government, higher and public education, business, industry, and nonprofit representatives). It ensures that area students acquire work experience and are exposed to community leadership activities while in college and builds a network between Fellows, employers, and local leaders. Thus far, 98 Fellows have completed at least 1 year of the program and 80 percent of the participants are employed within a 3-hour radius of Parkersburg Area Community Foundation.

Partners:
City, local, and state government agencies, universities, nonprofit organizations, regional businesses and local schools.

Contact Information:
Judy Sjostedt (JudyS@pacfwv.com)

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The devastation of hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017 left Puerto Rico unable to access basic resources like water, electrical power, housing, education, and ways to propel economic development activities.

Innovation

The Puerto Rico Community Foundation supported communities in the rehabilitation of homes through collaboration efforts with community housing development organizations, community residents, nonprofits, and local governments.

The Puerto Rico Community Foundation has a targeted housing strategy focused on Loiza, one of the island’s poorest municipalities, in which more than 1,000 housing units were directly affected by the hurricanes. It focuses on houses that need rehabilitation and are not within the scope of FEMA or the federal government. In 2018, 20 houses were repaired and 17 began construction.

Partners:
Municipality of Loiza, Puerto Rico Community Foundation, Ricky Martin Foundation, and CHDO INDESOVI.

Contact Information:
Dr. Nelson I. Colón (nicolon@fcpr.org)

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Roughly one in three Cleveland residents lack fixed broadband internet access. The digital divide largely impacts lower income residents, those receiving housing vouchers, and those living in public housing estates. Cleveland is the fifth-least connected city in America.

Innovation

The Cleveland Foundation’s digital inclusion model includes hotspot lending administered by the city and the county libraries, equitably priced refurbished computers, and advocacy and awareness campaigns run by the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority and the Cleveland Housing Network.

The Cleveland Foundation and its partners serve more than 100,000 Northeast Ohio residents. Digital Inclusion for All has been able to provide unlimited hotspots around the libraries, timed hotspots around neighborhoods, and close to 500 computers to qualifying residents.

Partners:
Cleveland Public Library, Cuyahoga Public Library, Mobile Beacon, PCs for People, Huntington Bank, Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority, and the Cleveland Housing Network.

Contact Information:
Leon Wilson (Lwilson@cleveFdn.org)

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The Home Partnership Foundation saw the need for more safe and stable housing for those experiencing chronic homelessness after the population soared in the tent city in downtown Boise. It became evident that there were holes in the city’s services regarding permanent supportive housing.

Innovation

The Home Partnership Foundation collaborated with local governments, businesses, and nonprofits to build the New Path Community Housing development. Studies have shown that a combination of housing and supportive services can save communities thousands of dollars per person in social services costs.

New Path Community Housing serves 44 people who were experiencing chronic homelessness by providing permanent supportive housing with wraparound services to help them recover and achieve stability in their lives.

Partners:
City, County, and State Health Departments; City, County, and State Housing Authorities; State Smoking Quitlines; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Contact Information:
Deanna Ward (deannaw@ihfa.org)

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