HAC’s Rural Recap shares perspectives from HAC’s CEO on the state of HAC, rural housing, rural policy, and rural America.

Rural Recap – Expertise

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David’s Line: HAC’s 2025 Annual Report is Now Live

Hello and welcome to another edition of Rural Recap. I am pleased to announce the release of HAC’s 2025 annual report. The theme for this year’s edition is “HAC Expertise.” As you read through the stories we highlight from the past year, my hope is that you recognize both the importance of having strong, capable experts on staff, and the know how we bring from 55 years of working in small towns and rural places.

Whether it is preserving affordable rental housing properties around the country, analyzing the latest policy proposals in D.C., producing cutting edge research for a small community, or assembling the nation’s industry leaders for our biennial housing conference, HAC’s wide-ranging expertise makes it possible. Our experts are among the best in the business. They bring an array of skills and experience to focus on the future of rural communities. And bonus, they bring an energy to the work that is a joy to be around.

I invite you to read our annual report and see for yourself. The year 2025 posed a lot of questions about housing affordability in America, and 2026 is no different. HAC has what it takes to help address those questions head-on. The work continues, and I thank you for being here for it.

HACtivities

National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s Just Economy Conference

The National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s 2026 Just Economy Conference was held from April 14-15 in Washington, DC. HAC Board Chair Dr. Karama Neal and HAC Research Associate Meagan Mitchell Davis spoke on a panel entitled, “Heirs’ Property: Collaboration, Innovations, and Investments for Generational Wealth Preservation.” The discussion focused on research that suggests heirs’ property and title issues have contributed to land and property loss, particularly for Black and Indigenous households, and in low-income communities. The session also addressed successful solutions and further proposed innovations to shore up property inheritance processes for communities currently facing heirs’ property challenges. Learn more about Heirs’ Property issues at HAC’s new Heirs’ Property Central website.

Opportunity Zones

The IRS recently released guidance for governors to nominate places for designation as Opportunity Zones. HAC, in conjunction with Partners for Rural Transformation and Hope Enterprise, Inc. developed a guide of recommendations to help states make their Opportunity Zone designations in a way that will drive investments into rural communities facing persistent poverty. In addition to the guide, the partnering organizations also recorded a webinar for state policymakers, regional development hubs, and local non-profits to review these recommendations. You can access the guide of recommendations here, and watch the full webinar here.

Recaps

  • In the rural town of Bowling Green, Florida, affordable rental housing is both scarce and critically important to the stability of the community. So when it looked like the Azalea Apartments in Bowling Green faced an uncertain future, Florida Non-Profit Housing, Inc. (FNPH) reached out to HAC to help them preserve the property. Read the full Azalea Apartment success story on HAC’s website.
  • HAC proudly presents our 2025 Loan Fund Impact Report. In fiscal year 2025 (October 2024-September 2025), our Loan Fund provided $20.8 million in financing through 45 loans to build, rehabilitate, or preserve 1,253 affordable homes across 24 states and territories. That total includes 579 preserved rental homes, 224 new construction rental homes, and 450 for-sale homes. Read the full report here.
  • The House Appropriations Committee released its proposed FY27 funding bills for HUD and USDA in April. HAC conducted a full analysis of both proposals as they were released, including funding level tables that will be updated as the proposals move through the appropriations processes. Read the full analysis for HUD and USDA on HAC’s website.
  • HAC is hiring! Do you know someone who is passionate about serving the needs of rural communities in America? Perhaps that person is you? HAC is currently hiring in a number of different positions that advance the goals of affordable housing in rural America. Visit our Careers page, see what positions are available, and apply today!
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Rural Recap – Welcome Anjanette

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David’s Take

We do a lot of important, transformative work here at HAC, and the care and attention that goes into every step of this work is something that I hope is evident when you read Rural Recap. We have a great set of community partners, and our team is truly special.
Take for example Anjanette Brown, HAC’s new Chief Financial Officer. Anjanette first got to know our organization while Vice President of Accounting at longtime HAC partner Community Housing Partners (CHP) in Christiansburg, Virginia. She went from CHP to leadership roles at YWCA Metropolitan Chicago, Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago, and The Resurrection Project. We are excited Anjanette returned to our world of rural housing, and we are thrilled she is doing so at HAC. Her financial management experience is extraordinary, and her commitment to helping rural people all over the country could not be clearer.
Once again, Rural Recap provides an update on the work HAC does to carry out its mission helping rural people achieve safe and affordable housing. Here are some highlights of the impact our partners and staff have made working together.

HACtivities

National Congress of American Indians Executive Council Winter Session

On February 10th, HAC CEO David Lipsetz attended the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) Executive Council Winter Session in Washington, DC. Sitting on a panel focused on Indian Housing, David talked about HAC’s 54-year history of lending in rural communities, touting stories of success in Native lands despite the challenges posed by limited resources and capacity. He provided the specific example of the White Mountain Apache Housing Authority (WMAHA), and how together with the Home Depot Foundation, HAC was able to award a $30,000 grant to WMAHA to help rehabilitate veteran houses on the Fort Apache Indian Reservation in eastern central Arizona. HAC would like to thank the National Congress of American Indians for allowing us to share what works and is looking forward to making more lasting partnerships in Tribal communities.

2025 National Rural Housing Conference

Last November, HAC hosted its biennial National Rural Housing Conference in Washington, DC. The conference brought together experts in housing, finance, nonprofit advocacy, and government, to engage in robust learning opportunities, meaningful networking, and discussions focused on strengthening rural housing nationwide. The conference plenaries addressed the issues faced by rural housing organizations, including a panel on the challenges of building affordable housing in rural America moderated by HAC Director of Research and Information Lance George, with panelists from the National Community Reinvestment Corporation and the National Association of Home Builders, as well as a, “Voices from The Hill” session that featured a speech from Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and videos from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Rep. Zach Nunn (R-IA) highlighting housing’s role as a bipartisan unifier in America. We invite you to watch these plenary recordings on our YouTube channel, and to keep an eye out for information about the National Rural Housing Conference when it returns in 2027.

Recaps

–In February, HAC launched Heirs’ Property Central, a new online hub connecting researchers, advocates, and practitioners to trusted resources on heirs’ property issues. Made possible with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and JP Morgan Chase, Heirs’ Property Central brings together resources, research, and partner expertise to help communities, service providers, and professionals protect landowners’ agency and advance their housing goals. Read our reports, utilize our partners directory, check out our resources, and more at the Heirs’ Property Central website.

–In January, HAC published our 2026 Policy Priorities. Based around the five key pillars of improving housing supply, building capacity, expanding access to credit, preserving rural multifamily housing, and bolstering federal housing programs, the policy priorities expound on topics that span from heirs’ property, to rural homelessness, to high-needs rural regions in America, to disaster resiliency, and much more. Go in-depth with HAC’s 2026 Policy Priorities at the link above, or at our website at www.ruralhome.org.

–Rural America is home to a rapidly aging and increasingly disabled population—but many rural residents are navigating these challenges alone. In this piece entitled, “Expanding Service Coordination in Rural 515 Housing” HAC explores why service coordination is so critical in USDA Section 515 housing, and why it remains underused. Drawing on research, and HAC’s partnership with the AARP Foundation, the article demonstrates how service coordinators can help rural people stay housed while also strengthening operations. Read the full article to learn how this work is unfolding.

–HAC is hiring! Do you know someone who is passionate about serving the needs of rural communities in America? Perhaps that person is you? HAC is currently hiring in a number of different positions that advance the goals of affordable housing in rural America. Visit our Careers page, see what positions are available, and apply today!

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Rural Recap – Promoting Prosperity

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Rural communities need—and deserve—a coherent, national policy strategy that promotes prosperity. For such a strategy to move the needle, it must end the housing affordability crisis and build the capacity of rural communities to make the most of every opportunity.

Our homes are part of the foundation of thriving families and communities—they are pathways to realizing America’s full potential. With decent, healthy, and affordable homes, kids can succeed at school, seniors can age in place, and families can build wealth. Economics, health, education, and many more components of prosperous communities are all intimately tied to our homes.

The capital needed for a housing market to function is a lot like water: it flows down the path of least resistance, and it pools. For over 50 years—whether intentionally or not—public policy has channeled capital’s flow into sprawling metropolitan regions and allowed it to pool in suburbs and downtown commercial centers. This has deepened inequality and stifled opportunity in the communities that have been left out.

Building rural prosperity will happen one nail and one funding application at a time. Turning those into a national renaissance for rural America will take strategy. If we want investment to flow to a broader set of places and especially to the people and places which need it most, then we need public policy specifically designed to drive resources in their direction. To make the most of that capital, we must also build the capacity of those communities.

HAC builds the capacity of small towns and rural places to create thriving, prosperous communities. If you share our mission, please advocate on behalf of public funds for capacity building programs. We also hope you will consider making a gift to HAC to help us do more in rural America.

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Achieving a Vision of a Prosperous Rural America

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I love the National Rural Housing Conference because it never fails to inspire me. This year was no different. Over three days, we reconnected as an industry, learned together, and began to work through some of the most challenging questions facing our communities. Thank you for being a part of this extraordinary conference.

We can only achieve an ambitious vision by working together.

This year was our 20th biennial conference and celebrated HAC’s 50th Anniversary. With such big round numbers, we launched a Vision 2071 campaign to guide the work of rural housing over the next 50 years. HAC started the conversation with a vision for everyone in Rural America to have a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home and strive for a Rural America where people feel connected to their communities.

We are inviting everyone to help form the vision and help put it into action. HAC is committed to expanding our work and raising funds to support more rural housing providers, but we can’t do it alone. We can only achieve an ambitious vision by working together.

We would love to count you as a supporter of our work. Please consider contributing to the work at www.vision2071.org and include HAC in your end-of-year giving. You can donate here or by contacting jennifer@ruralhome.org. Together, we can make this vision of rural America a reality by 2071.

While the Conference and Vision 2071 have us looking to the future, I don’t want to forget to celebrate the wins of our recent past. 2021 was one heck of a year. I am proud that the HAC community leveraged over $14 million in HAC loan funds to build and maintain 720 affordable rural homes. Plus, more than 50 housing organizations recognized a need in their communities and came to HAC for technical assistance to address that need. I can’t wait to see what we can accomplish together in 2022.

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Celebrating 50 Years of Working for Rural America

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This year marks HAC’s 50th anniversary, and we’re observing the occasion by asking ourselves what we hope to see happen in the next fifty years. My hope is no less than everyone in the country has access to a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home. For that hope to come true in rural America, we need to hang on to the great places we have today, while building significantly more quality homes in equitable and prosperous communities.

We have a strong network of allies like you across rural America. For 50 years you have informed and influenced HAC’s work. We want to know – what is your hope for rural America in the next 50 years?

My hope is no less than everyone in the country has access to a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home.

I’d also love to see you at the National Rural Housing Conference in December. It’s our big gathering, where we all reconnect with partners and policy-makers, funders and friends. We will learn from expert local practitioners and reimagine together how to build communities that will withstand the challenges of the next 50 years. Registration is open! Visit our conference page to learn more and to register.

I’d also love to see you at the National Rural Housing Conference in December. Its our big gathering, where we all reconnect with partners and policy-makers, funders and friends. We will learn from expert local practitioners, and reimagine together how to rebuild communities that will withstand the challenges of the next 50 years.

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Introducing HAC’s Rural Recap

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Welcome to the first issue of HAC’s Rural Recap! We’ll be sending it every other month to keep you updated on our work in small towns and rural places across America. I also hope it will share our vision for a rural America in which everyone has a safe, healthy, and affordable place to call home.

Thank you for being a loyal reader of HAC News, which provides a concise summary of national news on rural and housing issues. This includes funding opportunities, national program and policy updates, findings from recent research reports, and much more, all informed by the expertise of HAC’s staff.

Don’t worry, we will continue to publish HAC News every two weeks.

Rural Recap will allow us to go beyond the news to highlight the work of our organization and its partners. We will share what we are seeing, reading, and doing in short recaps with links to more information.

I’d also love to hear from you. Let me know what you think of this format and send your recaps to hac@ruralhome.org HAC is lucky to be a part of a wonderful community of professionals focused on helping those in need. You inspire our work.

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50 Years for Rural America

Over 50 years HAC has worked in every U.S. state and the territories. Learn more about what our work means for rural communities.

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