Housing Philanthropy News
Most Recent
Community Foundations Back a Model to Keep Housing Permanently Affordable
We look at how several community foundations are getting behind community land trusts, which put control of properties in residents’ hands and aim to ensure long-term affordability.
Here’s Why Open Philanthropy Is Doubling Down on Abundance
Open Philanthropy’s Matt Clancy discusses what the Abundance and Growth Fund is looking for in applicants and where it’s potentially heading next.
Business for Good: Ed Mitzen’s Approach to Hands-On Philanthropy
The Albany-based entrepreneur and Tulsa Race Massacre advocate has also spearheaded a variety of economic equity projects in his home state, and aims to take the approach national.
Philanthropy and Homelessness: What’s Changed, What’s the Same, and What’s Still Needed
How does this complex and growing problem illustrate philanthropy’s limits? And what do progress and setbacks through COVID and into the second Trump administration tell us about the way forward?
How the GroundBreak Coalition Is Taking on the Racial Home Ownership Gap
GroundBreak’s 2024 pilot project proved how easy it can be to get first-time buyers into their own homes. Here’s the latest on the philanthropy-backed coalition’s work.
The Roy and Patricia Disney Family Foundation’s New Era of Intergenerational Philanthropy
One of the most prominent Disney clan philanthropies has gone through a generational changing of the guard over the past several years. We dig into how this family grantmaker is evolving.
How One Regrantor Finds and Fills Gaps in Local Nonprofit Housing Services
The GreenLight Fund, a Boston-based national regrantor, seeks to identify and address gaps in local housing services by extending nonprofits’ reach. Here’s a look at its distinctive approach.
A Look at the New York Community Trust’s Approach to Homelessness
Funding at the intersection of homelessness and housing affordability, the grantmaker aims to support lower-income homeowners, back tenant power, and increase the efficacy of rental assistance programs.
Why a Prominent Funder of Public Transit Advocacy Is Closing Its Doors
The New York City-based TransitCenter announced a 12-year spend-down strategy to help transit advocates weather the Trump era and beyond.
Philanthropy Can Save the Starter Home for Low-Income Families
Guest author Devin Culbertson of Grounded Solutions Network explains how funding a new model for shared equity homeownership can help lift people out of generational poverty.
Human Right: Five Funders Backing Housing Justice
Housing insecurity is a pervasive marker of inequity in the U.S. These funders and funding collaboratives are on the case, supporting policy advocacy, tenants’ rights, narrative change and more.
Philanthropy Can Back High-Quality Affordable Housing: A Case Study in NYC
“When you give people good things, good things happen to them.” That’s the mantra behind these efforts in New York leveraging philanthropic funding to build integrated, affordable housing in good neighborhoods.
Bezos on Homelessness: Big Dollars, But a Mostly Traditional Approach
Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sánchez’s latest $110 million through the Bezos Day One Fund follows a well-established pattern of direct services support. That’s vital work, but they could think even bigger.
The Implications of the Fearless Fund Lawsuit for Downtown Revitalization
In the wake of a consequential legal settlement, guest author Ilana Preuss calls for philanthropy to double down, and not shy away, on supporting historically excluded entrepreneurs.
“We Know Exactly How Housing Works.” How a New Public-Private Partnership Tackles Homelessness
In a city where a recent count showed over 45,000 people experiencing homelessness, LA4LA aims to smooth the path for new housing options, with philanthropic funders filling in financial gaps to finish stalled projects.
Housing Former Foster Youth in LA: Checking in with Daniel Heimpel
The foster youth activist is working to get philanthropies to invest endowment dollars in affordable housing. We checked in on how that’s going and got his take on aligned strategies to fight homelessness.
“Homelessness Is Solvable.” Why Funders Are Flocking to This Housing Nonprofit
Community Solutions’ grand ambition to end homelessness — or at least make it “rare and brief” — has garnered big backing, including via 100&Change. Its latest fundraising success: a plan to buy up and secure affordable housing.
Amazon Doubles Down on Its Housing Giving. Good Strategy or More of the Same?
Big numbers aside, Amazon’s expanding affordable housing philanthropy has still been fairly conventional in its approach. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t strategy behind everything the company does.
Google Gets Behind Guaranteed Income to Relieve Homelessness on Its Home Turf
Through its philanthropic arm, the tech giant is backing a direct cash pilot in the Bay Area. Its partners, two local nonprofits with a long history of supporting unhoused families, hope the program will serve as a model further afield.
With a New Arts Initiative, Gilbert Family Foundation Expands its Philanthropic Footprint in Detroit
Billionaire Dan Gilbert has an outsized role in his home city of Detroit, including far-reaching philanthropy. A new program focuses on BIPOC artists as part of his foundation’s revitalization efforts.
This Public-Private Partnership Is Using Arts and Culture as a Catalyst for Racial Justice in Oakland
The City of Oakland is partnering with local foundations to combine organizing and arts and culture work in pursuit of racial justice. The latest round backs BIPOC-led business cooperatives and more.
A Foundation-Backed Initiative Looks to Boost Public Health, One City at a Time
Where you live has major impacts on your health. Since 2016, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has backed a National League of Cities initiative helping mayors consider urban problems through a health and wellness lens.
Inside a Community Foundation’s First Moves to Close Its Region’s Racial Home Ownership Gap
At the Community Foundation for a Greater Richmond, the Amandla Fund for Economic and Racial Justice is assisting local Black families on the path toward home ownership. It’s a modest effort, but with bigger things to come.
Small Grants Yield Big Cash: A Foundation Helped Unlock Millions in Public Funds for Homeless Youth
More than 180,000 young people in California experience homelessness in any given year, and foster youth are especially vulnerable. An L.A. funder used modest grants to access public funding for new housing.
Where’s the Bezos Day One Fund’s Latest Homelessness Support Going?
The Bezos Earth Fund gets more press, but the Amazon magnate’s other philanthropy still gives out a hefty chunk of change each year. Here’s a look at its most recent round of support for homeless families, totaling $117.55 million.
The Robin Hood of the West: Inside the Antipoverty Work of Tipping Point Community
Modeled on NYC’s Robin Hood Foundation, this grantmaker draws support from high-profile California donors as it takes on problems around housing, early childhood, education and employment in the Bay Area.
With a Power-Building Approach to Housing in California, a Pooled Fund Evolves and Expands
Launched in 2018, the Fund for an Inclusive California supports community-led housing justice work, with some major backers on board. The collaborative is entering a new phase and targeting overlooked regions of the state.
With Housing a Growing Global Concern, Habitat for Humanity Targets Informal Settlements
Housing has become a huge philanthropic priority, globally and domestically, and one of the largest charities in the space is Habitat for Humanity. We take a look at its latest global program targeting slums, barrios and favelas.
Here’s What You Need to Know About MacKenzie Scott’s 2023 Giving
In a new letter published on MacKenzie Scott’s Yield Giving site, she announced $2.2 billion in donations to 360 organizations in 2023. Who were the big winners? What were her top priorities? We crunched the numbers.
Tim Berry on JPMorgan Chase’s Philanthropy, Advocacy, and Efforts to Revitalize Cities
Tim Berry oversees government relations, sustainability and philanthropic efforts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. We spoke with Berry about the firm’s advocacy and giving, including big commitments in Detroit and Baltimore.
