About the 2022 Award

Title:

Rapid City Strategic Housing Trust Fund

Location:

Rapid City, SD

Challenge:

To increase the supply of affordable housing in the Rapid City area.

Innovation:

The Rapid City Strategic Housing Trust Fund engaged public, private, and philanthropic partnership to raise roughly $13M with a future goal of $20M. This fund is unique in that unlike most trust fund models of the past that were placed in government agencies, this fund is operated by a community foundation giving donors tax benefits and making it easier to deploy funds.

Overview:

The Black Hill Area Community Foundation used a study from 2018 that found the Rapid City community of 75,000 people was short 3,500 housing units for people making between $20,000 and $50,000. The Rapid City Strategic Housing Trust Fund is designed to increase the inventory of affordable housing by providing low-interest loans to developers for multi-family housing. Because the Rapid City Strategic Housing Trust Fund is a revolving loan fund, a one-time investment results in long-term impact. The fund has already awarded one loan and is considering applications from multiple other projects.

Partners:

City of Rapid City, Elevate Rapid City, and John T. Vucurevich Foundation.

Title:

Heading Home

Location:

Santa Clara County, CA

Challenge:

To end family homelessness in Santa Clara through the expansion of existing programs and launching new strategies.

Innovation:

The Heading Home initiative partners are part of an existing collective impact model to end and prevent homelessness in Santa Clara County. The partnership represents government agencies with responsibility to the community - and a philanthropic entity committed to community-led solutions. Through the Heading Home campaign, this partnership actively monitors the needs of literally homeless families and builds out a system to support their long-term needs so that they can achieve the community-wide goal that “no families sleep outside.”

Overview:

The goal of Heading Home is to achieve “functional zero” by 2025, meaning the number of housing placements for families is greater than the number of families entering homelessness. This partnership uniquely brings together private, city, and county resources to achieve its goal. Launched in fall 2021, the initiative has identified the resources needed to house 200+ families in year 1 and 600 per year moving forward. In addition, it has created 100+ interim/emergency housing options for families with short-term needs, and launched a centralized hotline that families can call for support.

Partners:

Destination: Home SV, County of Santa Clara, City of San Jose, and Santa Clara County Housing Authority, Cisco Systems.

Title:

Housing Next

Location:

Grand Haven, MI

Challenge:

To address the need for affordable and available housing for individuals and families employed in county but unable to afford to live in the county.

Innovation:

Housing Next has established a model focusing on housing supply, housing stability, and housing subsidies. This model includes private sector investment in housing supply at every price point while helping local communities understand how to utilize state and federal housing programs. In doing so it helped Ottawa County spark a 900% increase in investment and housing production for low- and moderate-income households using the tax credit program.

Overview:

The Housing Next initiative is a partnership between local municipalities, non-profit agencies, regional CDFIs, and for-profit developers. The partnership has been able to support workforce and market-rate housing projects by bridging the divide between developers and municipal decision-makers to help both sides understand the needs, desires, and concerns of the other.

Partners:

Housing Next Leadership Council Partners (The Chamber – Grand Haven, Spring Lake & Ferrysburg, Community Foundation Holland/Zeeland Area, Grand Haven Area Community Foundation, Lakeshore Advantage, Lakeshore Nonprofit Alliance, Michigan West Coast Chamber of Commerce, Ottawa County, United Way of Ottawa and Allegan Counties), City of Grand Haven, City of Holland, City of Hudsonville, Grand Haven Area Community Land Trust, Grand Haven Charter Township, Grand Rapids Chamber Foundation, Haworth Inc., Holland Township, Matthew and Jennifer Haworth, Michigan Community Capital, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Michigan Land Bank Authority, Michigan State Housing Development Authority, Village of Spring Lake.

Title:

Access to Family Self-Sufficiency

Location:

Boston, MA

Challenge:

To increase the number of families participating in the FSS program in Boston, MA.

Innovation:

There is no cap on the number of households that can participate in Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program; however, one of the major obstacles that keeps the program from reaching more eligible families is the availability of public funding to pay for the delivery of services. The partnership between JPMorgan Chase Foundation (JPMC), Compass Working Capital (Compass), and Boston Housing Authority (BHA) has enabled a broader share of BHA households to access the program, in ways that can be sustained primarily by government funding over time.

Overview:

JPMC provided a grant in 2018 to Compass to expand the scope and impact of HUD’s FSS program in Boston. Compass led activities to increase enrollment, provided financial coaching to participants, and the Boston Housing Authority managed the day-to-day operations of the program which includes resident certifications and management/distribution of escrow funds when participants successfully complete the program. JPMC’s financial support has enabled Compass and BHA to enroll far more households in the program than would have been possible with only the federal funding received by BHA from HUD. JPMC continues to provide additional financial support and partnership to Compass as it works to develop a national program.

Partners:

Department of Housing and Urban Development, Boston Housing Authority, and Compass Working Capital.

Title:

Workforce Housing Initiative

Location:

Red Lodge, MT

Challenge:

To expand housing opportunities through education, training, and pre-qualification and client management for the Owner-Build Housing Program.

Innovation:

The Workforce Housing Initiative has created a cross-sector partnership to develop homes and a long-term rental pilot project. The model can be recreated in rural communities to leverage federal funding, philanthropic grants, and donations.

Overview:

The Workforce Housing Initiative is a result of the transfer of the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate funds to RLACF after their closure in 2015. The initiative develops access to the Owner-Built Housing program. The Owner-Built Housing program uses the Mutual Self-Help model to facilitate the construction of quality homes built by future homeowners under supervision of Helena Area Habitat for Humanity. The permanent affordability of the homes is ensured through the placement of the home in a community land trust with Trust Montana. This unique program has resulted in three completed homes in 2021, with an additional three to be completed in 2022 and four in 2023.

Partners:

City of Red Lodge, Trust Montana, Helena Area Habitat for Humanity, and Department of Agriculture.

Title:

Keep Oakland Housed

Location:

Oakland, CA

Challenge:

To prevent displacement and homelessness by providing emergency financial assistance, legal services, and supportive services to residents at risk of losing their housing.

Innovation:

Initially convened and coordinated by the San Francisco Foundation, three non-profit organizations: Bay Area Community Services, Catholic Charities East Bay, and East Bay Community Law Center developed a collaborative that brought their own expertise to design a successful program to keep families and individuals housed. Launched with private philanthropic funding and in coordination with the City of Oakland, Keep Oakland Housed is now transitioning to a stand-alone program sustained through a mixture of public and private funding. The original set of non-profit partners has expanded, increasing the capacity of organizations within the city, and enhancing the overall web of support within the Oakland community.

Overview:

The partnership formed by the collaborative for the Keep Oakland Housed program developed a multiyear project addressing the housing and homelessness crisis in Oakland through a three-pronged emergency response of legal services (including, but not limited to full legal representation), emergency financial assistance (flexible to also address non-rent monetary needs contributing to the crisis), and supportive services. Keep Oakland Housed services launched in July 2018 and by the end of its pilot phase in October 2021, it assisted 5,944 households and distributed approximately $16.5M. The average financial assistance provided per household was $4,218, a fraction of the cost of rehousing someone once they become homeless.

Partners:

Bay Area Community Services, Catholic Charities East Bay, East Bay Community Law Center, San Francisco Foundation, City of Oakland, Kaiser Permanente, Crankstart, Social Policy Research Associates, Reflex Design Collective, The Unity Council, Roots Community Health Center, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), All Home, Tipping Point, Loud Hound Foundation, Kelson Foundation, the Walter & Elise Haas Fund, Hellman Foundation, New Venture Fund, Banks Family Foundation, and the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative.

Title:

Community Resilience Hubs

Location:

St. Croix, Virgin Islands

Challenge:

To bypass conventional systems that create access and equity barriers for vulnerable populations.

Innovation:

St. Croix Foundation’s development of a Nonprofit Consortium seeded to the creation of Community Resilience Hubs. These Hubs consist of two solarized community centers serving children and the elderly, seven Farm Tienda “produce stands” operated by farmers as micro-resiliency hubs in isolated, economically vulnerable neighborhoods, and the multi-purpose Alexander Theater which will serve as a disaster shelter, a performing arts center, and Nonprofit co-working spaces. This Comprehensive Project represents a progressive model of civic leadership, sustainability, and equity.

Overview:

St. Croix Foundation’s holistic approach to Community Resilience in the Virgin Island has created access to new systems of food security and energy independence; hardened the infrastructure of nonprofit operational and programming capacity for children and the elderly; and established new disaster relief facilities in isolated communities. Each Community Resilience Hub is multi-functional, serving both a "blue sky" purpose and a disaster function, ultimately nurturing resilience, and centering Nonprofits (and the People they serve) at the heart of St. Croix’s recovery and renaissance.

Partners:

Nonprofit Consortium, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Global Giving, Virgin Islands Territorial Emergency Management Agency, Virgin Islands Department of Labor, Lutheran Social Services, Virgin Islands Good Food Coalition, and Caribbean Center for Boys and Girls.