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

Rural Recap – The Importance of Board Service

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David’s Take

A board of directors is essential to any organization, offering more than just advice—they provide guidance, leadership, and support that shape its direction and success. Their insights and commitment help ensure an organization stays true to its mission while also navigating challenges and driving innovation.

HAC’s board plays a vital role in guiding our mission. Their leadership and diverse perspectives keep us grounded in our values while driving innovation and lasting impact in rural America’s most vulnerable communities.

I’d like to give special recognition to two retiring board members, Peter Carey and Naomi Scipio. Their passion for our mission has left a lasting mark on HAC and the communities we serve, and we’re deeply grateful for their years of service.

Lastly, I’m excited to share that our recent staff retreat in California was a resounding success. It provided a valuable opportunity for HACsters to explore challenges and opportunities in rural housing, equipping us to move forward with a stronger mission. Thank you for your unwavering support as we continue this journey together!

HACtivities

Duty to Serve Comments

As part of the Duty to Serve program, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac recently published their proposed 2025-2027 Underserved Markets Plans for public comment. This program requires the GSEs to focus on historically underserved markets, including rural housing, affordable housing preservation, and manufactured housing. HAC provided feedback on these proposed plans, addressing various aspects and offering insights into each market. To read our full response and explore our detailed feedback, check out the article here: https://ruralhome.org/hac-comments-on-proposed-gse-duty-to-serve-plans-for-2025-2027/.

All Staff Retreat Recap Highlight

HAC’s annual all-staff retreat in Fresno, California, from September 15-18 was a transformative experience that strengthened team bonds and deepened our understanding of the communities we serve. A highlight of the retreat was touring Self-Help Enterprises, where we saw firsthand the impact of community-driven development in rural areas. We also explored the natural beauty of Sequoia & Kings Canyon, including a 45-minute walking tour of Grant Tree. The retreat reinforced our understanding that investments in the capacity of a rural organization like SHE can be transformative for communities across rural America.

HAC Staff learns about active development from Self-Help Enterprises (SHE) Executive Director Tom Collishaw

HAC staff at the construction site of a new Self-Help Enterprises development
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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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Rural Recap – Working Towards Equity

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The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) was born of the Civil Rights Movement. It still shapes our work and inspires our mission. By helping build healthy affordable homes, we are making real the American promises of freedom, equality, and justice. In the Mississippi Delta, Appalachia, Indian Country, border colonias, farmworker communities, and small towns across America, we help local organizations see a positive vision for their future and literally build it brick by brick, shingle by shingle.

The Association for the Study of African American Life and History has named Black Health and Wellness as the theme of the 2022 Black History Month. This month, we lifted up stories about Black leaders like Joe Debro and Gordon Parks who contributed to the health and wealth of rural communities. We’re committed to combatting rural poverty and the inequity that has plagued America for hundreds of years. While we cannot undo generations of harm, a just America demands that we help build a future where everyone has a healthy place to call home.

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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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