Family Housing Fund

BUILDING EQUITY The Fund supports individuals in purchasing small multifamily homes (2-4 unit properties) and sustaining success as owner-occupant landlords. This program aims to reduce racial wealth disparities by prioritizing engagement with Black, Indigenous, and People of Color homebuyers and helping them onto an accelerated wealth building path. As part of this initiative, the Fund supports training options specific to small multifamily homeownership and provides a variety of financial supports, including down payment assistance loans, post-purchase loans, and a post-purchase savings incentive. 2023 marked the third year of the three-year pilot of this initiative. By the end of 2023, 478 individuals were served by at least one component of the Building Equity initiative, 111 of whom purchased a home with support from the Fund and its partners. As an outgrowth of the Building Equity initiative, the Fund's "Valuing Homes in Black Communities" project has engaged more than 70 aspiring homebuyers, homeowners, and nonprofit partner organizations to develop innovative strategies for advancing homeownership and wealth building opportunities for Black/African American households. Through this engagement, the Fund seeks to develop and implement new approaches and tools for addressing racial disparities in homeownership as well as home valuation.

Activate More Housing Champions The Fund increases public will for housing solutions by supporting advocacy efforts, producing and publishing research, and elevating housing success stories through its strategic communications. The Fund also strengthens the local ecosystem of housing organizations and resources by providing support to community-based partner organizations. In 2023, the Fund published four reports of research and hosted three virtual events with the public to share housing learnings.

EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES The Fund aims to improve housing stability, reduce evictions and displacement, improve housing choice, and ensure access to quality, affordable homes. To accomplish this, the Fund leads and coordinates activities to systematically address threats to housing stability and choice, in partnership with public and private partners. This includes convening partners across private, nonprofit, and public sectors to develop strategies for expanding access to emergency financial assistance, identify and address the impacts of corporate-owned single-family rental homes, disrupt discriminatory tenant screening practices, and improve the quality of the housing stock across the Twin Cities region. In 2023, the Fund engaged with more than 400 stakeholders to increase public will for emergency financial assistance, approximately 140 renters to examine single-family rental homes, and two jurisdictions to protect renters experiencing habitability issues.

The Fund serves as the Fiscal Sponsor to support Nonprofit initiatives. THE FUND ALSO CONTINUES TO WORK WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND THE MORTGAGE COMPANY INDUSTRY TO HELP LOW AND MODERATE-INCOME FAMILIES BECOME SUCCESSFUL HOMEOWNERS. THE FUND MAINTAINS RESOURCES TO IDENTIFY EMERGING ISSUES THAT AFFECT THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING NETWORK AND TO HELP DEVELOP STRATEGIES TO ADDRESS THESE ISSUES. THE FUND EXPANDS PUBLIC UNDERSTANDING OF THE VALUE OF AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND PUBLIC WILL TO PRESERVE AND PRODUCE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN THE CONTEXT OF A COMPREHENSIVE REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT APPROACH THAT SERVES ALL COMMUNITIES AND THEIR RESIDENTS. THE FUND SUPPORTS HOMEOWNERSHIP EDUCATION, COUNSELING, AND TRAINING (HECAT), EQUIPPING A NETWORK OF HOMEOWNERSHIP ADVISORS TO ASSIST FAMILIES BEFORE THEY PURCHASE THEIR HOMES, AT THE TIME OF PURCHASE, AND AFTER THE FAMILY HAS PURCHASED A HOME. THE FUND WORKS WITH PRIVATE AND PUBLIC PARTNERS TO FUND HECAT. THE FUND ALSO CONTINUES TO MANAGE ITS PORTFOLIO OF AFFORDABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP LOANS FROM SEVERAL PAST HOMEOWNERSHIP PROGRAMS. THESE PROGRAMS PROVIDED AFFORDABLE, SUSTAINABLE HOMEOWNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES TO LOW- AND MODERATE-INCOME FAMILIES. Increase Supply This program area aims to increase housing choice and affordability by expanding new approaches to housing development and preservation in the Twin Cities region. The Fund informs local policy throughout the region to preserve and produce housing, while also exploring and supporting new tools for expanding the supply of quality, affordable homes. The Fund has established a $2 million development/acquisition fund for 2-4 unit properties, promoted the development of accessory dwelling units to 202 homeowners, and supported local public entities in planning for the creation of nearly 892 new public housing units.