fundraising Archives

Rural Recap – The Importance of Board Service

September 26, 2024/in Impact, Rural Recap Capacity Building

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

March 23, 2023/in Impact, Rural Recap Capacity Building, Economic Development, High Need Regions

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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Help Rural America Thrive on Giving Tuesday

December 3, 2019/in Impact, News, Rural News

Good things are happening in rural America. Be a part of it.

Too often, the prevailing narrative about rural America is that it is failing compared to its urban and suburban counterparts. While rural America is certainly facing its share of struggles, there are so many bright spots and amazing things taking place in small towns and communities across the country. We know because we see it every day.

In October, HAC kicked off the Citizens Institute on Rural DesignTM (CIRD) with the CIRD Learning Cohort Summit in the towns of Thomas, Davis, and Elkins in rural West Virginia. The Citizen’s Institute on Rural Design™ is a National Endowment for the Arts leadership initiative in partnership with the Housing Assistance Council, along with buildingcommunityWORKSHOP. Participants representing 23 rural communities from across the country convened to learn the fundamentals of rural design and how it can help solve some of their community’s most challenging problems.

Over the next year, these 23 communities will receive access to the resources they need to convert their own good ideas into reality. Here a few examples of the challenges these communities will be tackling:

One of the pressing issues still facing the residents of Iola, Kansas is the lack of quality, affordable housing. Thrive Allen County and the City of Iola will use the design challenge to develop an affordable housing master plan for a neighborhood on the north side of town.
The town of Entiat, Washington is exploring how it can reinvent itself as a destination for recreation, agritourism, small business development, and residential development.
The Mt. Zion Baptist Church Preservation Society in Athens, Ohio plans to rehabilitate the Mt. Zion Baptist Church into a multi-use space devoted to the contributions of African Americans in Southeast Ohio – honoring its founding in 1905 by a community of free-born and formerly enslaved people of color.

2020 holds many possibilities for HAC and the communities we partner with, like Iola, Entiat, and Athens. This #GivingTuesday, your donation to HAC will have more impact as every dollar raised will meet HAC’s match for the CIRD program. And every donation made to HAC on Facebook on #GivingTuesday will be matched by Facebook. You can be a part of changing the story in rural America.

Jennifer McAllister joins the Housing Assistance Council as Development Manager

May 15, 2019/in Year 2019

Contact: Dan Stern
202-842-8600
dan@ruralhome.org

Jennifer McAllisterWashington, DC, May 15, 2019 – The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is pleased to announce that Jennifer McAllister will join HAC as its first Development Manager. She .

Jennifer joins HAC with nearly 15 years of experience raising funds and creating lasting partnerships for national nonprofits. Most recently she led NeighborWorks America’s Resource Development Division, overseeing its daily operations and managing national partnerships. She also championed efforts to grow the fundraising capacity of the local community development organizations that make up the NeighborWorks network. Prior to that, Jennifer served as Director of Corporate Development at Manna, Inc., where she led all fundraising and communications efforts for the organization, including corporate and foundation partnership development, individual donor engagement and solicitation, and managed a revolving loan fund. Jennifer is a Pennsylvania native and received her undergraduate degree from Temple University.

“I am delighted that Jennifer will join the HAC team. She has a well-earned reputation among the funders and supporters of community development for her honest and thoughtful approach and dedication to mission,” said HAC CEO David Lipsetz.

About the Housing Assistance Council
The Housing Assistance Council helps build homes and communities across rural America. Founded in 1971 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., HAC is a national nonprofit and a certified community development financial institution dedicated to helping local rural organizations build affordable homes by providing below-market financing, technical assistance, training, research, and information services. To learn more, visit www.ruralhome.org.

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Webinar: An Introduction to Proposal Writing for Nonprofits

July 6, 2017/in Event Updates

Materials Posted

Power Point Presentation | Recording

Join the Housing Assistance Council on Thursday, July 13, 2017 for An Introduction to Proposal Writing for Nonprofits.

If you’re new to grant and proposal writing, or if you want a quick refresher, this webinar is for you! Join us as we break down the elements of a funding proposal and identify the features of strong, successful proposals.

Register Now.

Rural Placemaking Funding Available

March 7, 2017/in Announcements

HAC, in collaboration with bcWORKSHOP, is excited to announce a call for participants for Rural Placemaking, a new creative placemaking initiative that will take place in two rural communities (with populations less than 50,000) in the United States. Creative placemaking is a way of working between community developers, housing organizations, artists and local stakeholders to strengthen communities.

Apply Online

Two partnerships between a housing or community development organization and an artist/art organization will be selected to implement a temporary initiative from May to August 2017. Applications are due Friday, March 10, 2017.

HAC Featured on Team Depot Facebook Page to Raise Funds for Rural Veterans

September 21, 2015/in THDF Rural Veterans

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is honored to be one of nine organizations chosen as Service Ambassadors for Team Depot and The Home Depot Foundation’s “Celebration of Service.” This effort runs through November 11, 2015.

The Team Depot Facebook page has published HAC’s spotlight post.

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Likes, comments and shares of these spotlight posts will also equal $1 toward the $1 million goal. Mark your calendar for the HAC’s spotlight post will be published onMonday, September 21!

About HAC’s participation in the Celebration of Service

HAC will be working to raise funds for three grass-roots organizations in rural areas and partnering with Team Depot volunteers to improve housing conditions for aging and service-connected disabled veterans. These are veterans like Ben Mitchell, a cook in the Korean war. With HAC and Home Depot support Western Maine Community Action, one of the local partners, was able to complete an emergency replacement on his septic system to ensure his large family could remain in their home safely. Ben is featured in the Team Depot Spotlight post.

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