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Home Funders Investors and Partners 2003-2011Annie E. Casey Foundation
Bank of America
BNY Mellon Charitable Giving Program/Peter E. Strauss Trust
Boston Private Bank and Trust Company
Butler Family Fund
Cabot Family Charitable Trust
Catherine and Paul Buttenweiser Foundation
Citizens Bank Foundation
F.B. Heron Foundation
Fannie Mae Foundation
Harold Brooks Foundation
Kenneth Novack
Klarman Family Foundation
Mabel Louise Riley Foundation
Nixon Peabody LLP
Oak Foundation
State Street Bank Foundation
The Baupost Group, LLC
The Boston Foundation
The Boston Private Bank & Trust Company
The City of Boston
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
The Highland Street Foundation
The Hyams Foundation
The Lynch Foundation
The Morris & Ester Horowitz Family Foundation
The Paul and Phyllis Fireman Charitable Foundation
Vincent Mulford Foundation
2011
Home Funders Annual Report
Home Funders Annual Report 2011 www.homefunders.org
How Home Funders WorksThe Home Funders Collaborative was created to address the
unprecedented crisis in affordable housing for very low income
families in Massachusetts. This partnership of private funders came
together based on the belief that without adequate housing, all other
social investments are at risk.
The Home Funders Collaborative LLC pools Program Related
Investments and grants; these funds are then committed to two
experienced housing finance intermediaries for actual lending.
The Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation
(CEDAC) and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP) lend
Home Funders capital at very low interest rates to projects that set
aside at least 20% of the units for ELI families and provide long-term
affordability and use restrictions. Home Funders loans are available
at interest rates of 2-3% for all phases of a project — acquisition,
predevelopment and bridge loans, as well as permanent financing. As
of June 30, 2011, Home Funders had raised $21.2 million in Program
Related Investments and grants to lend through CEDAC and MHP.
breakfast ForumThe Home Funders housing forum, Housing Matters: Securing a Future for our Lowest Income Families, drew a standing-room-
only crowd to The Boston Foundation on February 7, 2012. Drawing
together affordable housing leaders from federal and state government,
as well as critical thinkers in housing policy and practice, the forum
was engaging and thought-provoking.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Assistant
Secretary Mercedes Márquez, Lt. Governor Tim Murray and a panel of
experts explored the role of government and philanthropy in creating
and maintaining affordable housing. The panel was moderated by
Xavier de Sousa Briggs, Associate Professor of Sociology and Urban
Planning, MIT and former Associate Director of the White House
Office of Management and Budget, and included Dr. Megan Sandel,
Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Public Health at BU Schools of
Medicine and Public Health, Aaron Gornstein, Undersecretary of the
Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development,
and Lisa Alberghini, President of the Planning Office for Urban Affairs.
Dear Friends,
2011 and early 2012 was a busy time for Home Funders. A number of development projects that had stalled in the preceding years completed construction and provided affordable homes for many new families. In 2011, twelve developments that utilized Home Funders financing were able to open their doors, creating a total of 187 units; 40 of these units were affordable to extremely low income (ELI) families.
Today, Home Funders loan products continue to be in high demand through its intermediaries, Community Economic Development Assistance Corporation (CEDAC) and Massachusetts Housing Partnership (MHP). Developers seek out Home Funders low-interest loans to lower their predevelopment costs as well as their long-term operating costs. In addition to raising private capital for its loan products, Home Funders is committed to working with state and local agencies to help direct public resources towards affordable housing for extremely low income families. The collaborative utilized advocacy and public policy platforms to support a number of initiatives: increased bond cap funding for the Housing Innovations Fund; prioritizing projects with higher percentages of ELI units for competitive state funding; and providing new rental vouchers for the Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP) in the FY 2013 state budget.
The future will require us to be innovative and committed. Our poorest families continue to face worst-case housing needs – paying more than half their income towards rent or living in severely inadequate conditions. We must continue to streamline the affordable housing delivery system with products such as the Home Funders loans, while seeking out bold new strategies. We have strong leadership and support at the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development for our mutual goals, which provides hope and opportunity for our ongoing efforts.
Sincerely,
Geeta Pradhan Chair, Home Funders Collaborative
From left to right: •Liz Curtis Rogers, ICHH; Soni Gupta, HF; Deb Fung, Fireman Foundation; Lt. Gov. Tim Murray; Geeta Pradhan, The Boston Foundation •Deb Goddard, DHCD; Beth Smith, Hyams Foundation; Geeta Pradhan, TBF; Mercedes Márquez, HUD •Professor Xavier Briggs moderating panel: Dr. Megan Sandel; POUA President, Lisa Alberghini; DHCD Undersecretary, Aaron Gornstein •HUD Assistant Secretary, Mercedes Márquez •Lisa Alberghini •MA Lieutenant Governor, Tim Murray
“ You are the envy of the country in terms of how far you’ve come; and you’ve established what is no doubt a best practice.” Mercedes Márquez, HUD Assistant Secretary
Home Funders Annual Report 2011 www.homefunders.org
lAWreNCeThis Home Funders’ project occupies the top three
floors of the Union Crossing complex, offering 60
rental apartments, primarily for low income tenants.
Lawrence Community Works took the lead on this
$40 million deal. Occupying the former Southwick
Clothing factory, the three floors of housing sit
above two floors of commercial space.
QuINCY6 Fort Street offers 34 rental apartments in Quincy’s
central business district. The project consists of
one-, two- and three-bedroom units, with eight
units affordable at 30% of area median income.
This adaptive re-use of a four-story former office
building is sponsored by the Asian Community
Development Corporation. The property is close
to shops, school and the MBTA.
IPSWICHPowder House Village has been almost nine years in
the making. This project consists of two residence
buildings with 48 units of affordable housing.
Located on the 23-acre YMCA campus on County
Road in Ipswich, they provide natural connections to
the community through Y membership and services.
Powder House Village is also home to a new branch
of the Institution for Savings and the new YMCA
Early Learning Center.
lOWellOpened in December, Unity Place was built by the
Coalition for a Better Acre. This project consists of
new construction of a four-story building with 23
rental units in downtown Lowell, including eight
units allocated for extremely low income families.
“ I love talking about the safe, decent, affordable home as a vaccine because a vaccine is more than just a medicine; it is something that changes how your future will be and I really view housing that way.” Dr. Megan Sandel, Children’s Health Watch
From left to right: •Liz Curtis Rogers, ICHH; Soni Gupta, HF; Deb Fung, Fireman Foundation; Lt. Gov. Tim Murray; Geeta Pradhan, The Boston Foundation •Deb Goddard, DHCD; Beth Smith, Hyams Foundation; Geeta Pradhan, TBF; Mercedes Márquez, HUD •Professor Xavier Briggs moderating panel: Dr. Megan Sandel; POUA President, Lisa Alberghini; DHCD Undersecretary, Aaron Gornstein •HUD Assistant Secretary, Mercedes Márquez •Lisa Alberghini •MA Lieutenant Governor, Tim Murray
Photographs: HF Projects by Greig Cranna, Breakfast Forum event by Richard Howard Photography
2011 Project OpeningsHome Funders helped to finance the following
affordable housing projects, which opened in 2011.
WeYmOutHSouth Shore Affordable Housing and Preservation
of Affordable Housing has constructed 20 new
affordable housing units in the Southfield area
of Weymouth. This project includes five units
affordable for extremely low income families.
The Torrey Woods project represents newly built
affordable housing in a relatively high income
community that has already achieved the state’s
10% affordability mandate. This area is also a Smart
Growth site within one-half mile walking distance
of a commuter rail station and is in a mixed-use
area near commercial and employment areas.
State funding priority for projects with 20% ELI
units: In the summer of 2012, the state made
changes to its process of awarding funds to
affordable housing projects, and one change was
significant to potential Home Funders projects.
The Massachusetts Department of Housing and
Community Development established four priority
categories for project applications to the fall 2012
funding. One of these priorities is for housing for
extremely low income (ELI) households, including
families. Projects in this category must include at
least 20% ELI units, which mirrors the threshold
requirement to qualify for a Home Funders loan.
With the state’s funding priority aligned with that
of Home Funders, we hope to see an increase in
projects that include 20% ELI units, thereby adding
to the stock of housing for ELI families.
Massachusetts Rental Voucher Program (MRVP):
MRVP is a critical state-funded resource that assists
extremely low income households in avoiding
homelessness and in moving out of the shelter system.
Rental assistance through MRVP is a cost-efficient way
to help families maintain stable, permanent housing.
Over the years, Home Funders has advocated for an
increase in the MRVP budget. Working with housing
practitioners and advocates in the Housing Solutions
Campaign, we sought an increase in the MRVP line
item in the state budget in FY 2013. These efforts
were recognized by Governor Patrick’s administration
and the Massachusetts state legislature and MRVP
was funded at $42 million, an increase of 16% over
the previous year’s budget. This is the first issuance
of new vouchers since the program’s inception, and
they will allow an additional 550 households to access
permanent, affordable housing.
Housing Innovations Fund (HIF): HIF is a program
within the state’s Capital Budget and Improvement
Plan and is a critical funding source for affordable
housing for homeless and ELI families. To date,
19 Home Funders projects have utilized HIF funding,
and Home Funders has been a strong advocate
for increases to HIF. After being cut to $6 million
for FY 2012, Governor Patrick and the Office of
Administration and Finance restored $2 million to
the line item mid-year. In October of 2012, another
$2 million was added to the HIF budget, bringing
it to a total of $10 million for FY 2013. The increase
will help address the backlog of affordable housing
projects that are in the production pipeline and
help build the stock of affordable housing units
across the state.
For more information on Home Funders, please contact Executive Director Soni Gupta by email at sgupta@homefunders.org or by phone (617) 510-4559. Visit our website at www.homefunders.org.
Public Policy Highlights
How has living in a safe, affordable and comfortable
apartment affected the resident family’s life? That
question is best answered through the voices of the
families themselves. Early in 2012, Home Funders
produced a video that featured three families residing
in units that utilized Home Funders financing. These
are their stories.
Bethsaida Cabrera and family were grateful to be
accepted for a unit at Paradise Pond in Northampton,
having lived in her brother’s cramped attic. They have
made a home at Paradise Pond – her husband now has
a steady job as a lab technician, and the three children
are in school and community college. The family
loves being in Northampton, and the schools and
the community around them. “This is what we were
looking for,” declares Bethsaida happily.
Bouncing up and down on her bed, Luineli clearly
loves the charmingly decorated room she shares with
her younger sister, Yandelin. As her mother, Carmen
Maldonado, tells us, everything changed when they
moved into their apartment at Palmer Cove in Salem.
The family enjoys the safety and privacy of their
apartment, after numerous moves that included a
shelter stay. “The kids love it here, always playing and
running around the house,” says Carmen. “And I’m
now working with seniors in the area, helping them
get around. It’s all good.”
Today Cornelius Hood is a married man with two
young children, but his past tells another story. “I’ve
Home Funders Video Overall StatisticsTotal Funding Raised $22,567,500 (PRIs and grants)
Total Projects Financed Since 2003 61
Number of Massachusetts communities these projects are located in 26
Number OF AFFOrdAble/elI uNItS buIlt Or IN CONStruCtIONYear Total Units ELI Units
2003-2009 2,121 684
2011 333 135
Total 2003- 2011 2,454 819
In 2011, 12 developments were completed to create 187 total units, of which 40 were ELI units.
Audit/Financials for the Home Funders Collaborative llC*INCOme Interest Income $151,516
exPeNSeS Provision for loan losses $60,210
Interest expense $152,488
Net Loss** ($61,182)
Member interests, beginning of year $14,686,947
Loan repayments $900,000
Member interests, end of year $15,525,765
* The LLC contains the loan funds. Modest operating funds supported by foundation grants are accounted for separately. As of Dec 31, 2011, the $8.95 million committed to CEDAC had revolved to provide over $29 million in loans devoted to Home Funders’ projects.
** The net loss is due solely to the accounting provision for potential loan losses.
been shot, I’ve been incarcerated, I ended up being
an addict for 10 years on and off, and then when I
got out in 2002, I got my life together.” Like many
families in his situation, Cornelius, his wife Malika
and their two daughters have lived in many places,
not all of them good. Today, Cornelius and his
family live in a safe, affordable apartment in the
Thomas Atkins development built by Nuestra CDC.
Cornelius now focuses on giving back.“I work with
kids on drugs…We try to prevent them from going
through the things we went through and get their
lives back together.”
These stories reflect the trials faced by many
families in similar circumstances, and the positive
turn their lives have taken after finding decent,
affordable and safe housing. The adults are able to
seek and maintain jobs and engage in volunteer
work in their new communities, and the children
are healthier and safer in their new homes.
The eight-minute video can be viewed in its
entirety on the Home Funders website, at
http://www.homefunders.org/breakfast_forum_
info.html.
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