Bank of San Francisco’s Post

Through the Evergreen Impact Housing Fund, five Seattle-area credit unions partner with the nonprofit Seattle Fund in order to build affordable housing in Washington's Puget Sound. This is an excellent example of the potential credit unions have as local institutions to improve their communities, but also an instance of how CUs can promote economic inclusion on a larger scale when working together. The low-interest financing offered to the EIHF is helping to reduce homelessness and displacement for families, as illustrated in this report's detailed video. “The Credit Unions, being anchored in community, are just logical partners for us as we move forward and look to the future.”- Kris Hermanns, Seattle Foundation #CommunityImpact #CreditUnions #EconomicInclusion

Another #CAleg legislative year is in the books, and we’re proud to have supported several important bills that the Governor has signed into law: ✅#SB4 and #SB423, both from Senator Scott Wiener, will allow faster affordable housing development in many more places throughout the State! Affordable housing belongs in every neighborhood - near places of worship and colleges, in big cities and suburbs and along the coast. ✅#AB1386 from our partner Assemblymember Jesse Gabriel is a common-sense fix to a bureaucratic barrier in the way of housing veterans. Those who risked everything for our country should get all the services they’re entitled to and still qualify for supportive housing. ✅#AB590 from our friend Assemblymember Gregg Hart allows State agencies to give nonprofits an advance so organizations like PATH can hire up and start offering services immediately, instead of waiting months for the government to process payments. ✅#AB1679 from Assemblymember Miguel Santiago and #AB1607 from Assemblymember Wendy Carrillo are both small tweaks that allow Los Angeles County to chart its own course on funding homeless services and affordable housing in the future.

Sometimes homeless service providers in LA have a hard time staying focused on their mission because they struggle to make payroll each month. Unfortunately, this has been a problem on and off for years. Through the Future Communities Institute (FCI), I’m working to stand up an “LA Working Capital Fund” to fix the problem. The fund would make fast, low-cost, no-interest bridge loans to CBOs in the homeless sector so they can continue to operate while they wait to get paid—usually by government agencies, large organizations, and foundations. Does this issue resonate with you? Want to provide financial oxygen to the service providers who will solve homelessness in LA? If so, drop me a line. If you'd like to hear more about this problem, check out this short video where I lay out the issue to Commissioners Horvath, Barger and Chinchilla (who all understand this is an issue that must be addressed) at the April LAHSA Programs & Contracts Committee meeting.

Continuing in my optimism that funders can move towards a universal grant application (like FAFSA does for financial aid), here's the second question I'd ask grantees... Question #2: What system is your work trying to change? Envision success and sustainability, and tell us how that looks. We all know that “eliminate homelessness” is not likely to happen. But the real question is: What are the systemic factors that cause people to lose stable housing? I’ll bet your housing-related grantees have some thoughts about that. So ask them – and allow them to answer using their words and expertise. More at https://lnkd.in/gPxxdDU8 #commongrantapplication #funderfollies

In February 2023, in the midst of a hectically wild season, I submitted a federal grant application on behalf of Restorations thinking that we wouldn't receive it, but also knowing that we couldn't get what we didn't apply for. Just over a year ago, I was notified that we were successful in our grant application. Elated, I went to the grant agreement form and was confused by the funding amount provided. I experienced something I'm betting I won't get to experience again in my fund development career: the grant we received was *twice* the amount I had requested. When I called the foundation issuing the grant, I told them they had made a mistake with the amount, and they responded that they saw such a great need for what Restorations Second Stage Homes was doing, they wanted to give us those extra funds so we could really dive into this work. So just over a year ago, we began the project “Revitalizing Restorations’ governance strength and planning for continued growth.” The grant from the Community Services Recovery Fund allowed us to: → Evaluate and update our current governance policies, and → Develop an organizational strategic plan. Today we shared this strategic plan publicly. As we dive into the next 5 years of continuing to support survivors of human trafficking and exploitation, our strategic direction is focused on "strengthening the support network for survivors through increased visibility, capacity, partnerships, strong governance, solid infrastructure and diversified funding." I have learned so much about governance and organizational development this year. My brain and my heart are full. I look forward to the project being wrapped up this week and reporting to the funder next month about what we have achieved over the last year to strengthen and grow the organization to better support survivors. As I wrap up this mushy post, consider checking out our new webpage highlighting our next phase of growth: https://lnkd.in/giA-vFdR

Did you know? California currently has the highest population of individuals experiencing homelessness. At SDS Capital Group, we believe that housing is a fundamental human right. Through the SDS Supportive Housing Fund (SHF), we're dedicated to transforming this belief into action by financing the construction of permanent supportive housing (PSH) for those most in need. Learn more about our mission and how you can get involved:  https://lnkd.in/dtkztWCk  #SDSCapitalGroup #ImpactFundInvesting #RealEstate #SocialImpact #PermanentSupportiveHousing #PSH #PrivateInvestments #UnhousedCrisis #LAUnhousedCrisis #Over20YearsOfImpact 

Financial crisis at Heartland Alliance leads to furloughs, program cuts and an attempt to sell hundreds of affordable housing units | One of the city’s leading social service organizations, beset by a pair of financial crises that last year engulfed its housing and health care divisions, could be on the verge of splitting up. [Chicago Tribune] The turmoil at the Heartland Alliance, a sprawling nonprofit encompassing five divisions providing a vast array of social services, threatens to upend important safety net programs at a time when Chicago is experiencing an influx of migrants, many of whom need help with health care and housing. Heartland Alliance’s housing division, which grappled with inflation and declining rent collections during the pandemic, ceased operations last spring and needs buyers for the roughly 1,000 affordable units it operated in Chicago and Wisconsin. More>https://lnkd.in/g-vWYRDd #housing #homelessness #publichealth #socialchange #populationhealth #communityhealth

https://lnkd.in/eAUJsXRf Hartford was the richest city in the United States for several decades following the American Civil War.[14] Since 2015, it has been one of the poorest cities in the country, with three out of ten families living below the poverty threshold. In sharp contrast, the Greater Hartford metropolitan statistical area was ranked 32nd of 318 metropolitan areas in total economic production and 8th out of 280 metropolitan statistical areas in per capita income in 2015.[15] Nicknamed the "Insurance Capital of the World" and "America's filing cabinet",[16][17] the city holds high sufficiency as a global city, as home to the headquarters of many insurance companies, the region's major industry.[18] Other prominent industries include the services, education and healthcare industries. Hartford coordinates certain Hartford–Springfield regional development matters through the Knowledge Corridor Economic Partnership.[19

Historically, insights about conditions affecting low- and moderate-income communities have come from the perspective of businesses. Several Reserve Banks began including “Community Conditions” and “Community Perspectives” sections in the Beige Book. These sections provide insight into local changes through direct accounts of nonprofit and community leaders and workforce professionals serving lower-income people. Here are some takeaways from the April 2024 Beige Book, which was prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and based on information collected on or before April 8, 2024. https://lnkd.in/eBfWtSFQ #BeigeBook #CommunityDevelopment #LMI