Capacity Building Archives

Rural Veterans and Local Nonprofits Receive Critical Housing Support in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation

June 10, 2024/in News, Press Room Capacity Building, Homeowner Housing, Housing Affordability, Rural Demographics, Veterans, Vulnerable Populations

Contacts: AHRV Team, ahrv@ruralhome.org
(202) 842-8600

Washington, DC, June 10, 2024 – Veterans and their families in fourteen rural communities will have better lives, thanks to The Home Depot Foundation and the Housing Assistance Council. The Foundation is awarding grants totaling $472,000 to sixteen local nonprofit housing agencies around the country to preserve housing for veterans in rural America.

The grants are part of The Home Depot Foundation’s mission to provide affordable and accessible housing solutions to U.S. veterans and invest $750 million in veteran causes by 2030. Many veterans and their families face major housing challenges, often exacerbated by issues related to unemployment, age, and service-related disabilities. The Home Depot Foundation and the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) are dedicated to giving back to those who have answered the highest call of service to our nation.

As part of its Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans (AHRV) Initiative, HAC works with The Home Depot Foundation to administer grants that bolster and support the work of rural nonprofit housing agencies to deliver critical housing support to veterans. “The Home Depot Foundation’s enduring partnership and support stands as an important pillar in HAC’s ongoing efforts to bolster and grow the capacity of local rural organizations dedicated to providing and preserving decent, safe, and affordable housing options for veterans across rural America.” said David Lipsetz, HAC’s CEO. As rural America is home to a disproportionately high number of service women and men, HAC remains deeply committed to supporting our nation’s service women and men by uplifting local nonprofits and their work to house veterans and ensure the habitability of their homes and rural communities.

The grantee organizations – described below – provide a range of programs. With the grants, veterans who own homes in California, Georgia, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oregon, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee will obtain critical repair assistance. Altogether, 101 veterans and their families will benefit from these grants.

About The Home Depot Foundation

The Home Depot Foundation, the nonprofit arm of The Home Depot (NYSE: HD), works to improve the homes and lives of U.S. veterans, support communities impacted by natural disasters and train skilled tradespeople to fill the labor gap. Since 2011, the Foundation has invested more than $500 million in veteran causes and improved more than 60,000 veteran homes and facilities. The Foundation has pledged to invest $750 million in veteran causes by 2030 and $50 million in training the next generation of skilled tradespeople through the Path to Pro program by 2028. To learn more about The Home Depot Foundation visit HomeDepotFoundation.org and follow us on Twitter @HomeDepotFound and on Facebook and Instagram @HomeDepotFoundation.

About the Housing Assistance Council

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is a national nonprofit that supports affordable housing efforts throughout rural America. Since 1971, HAC has provided below-market financing for affordable housing and community development, technical assistance and training, research and information, and policy formulation to enable solutions for rural communities.

To learn more about the Housing Assistance Council, visit www.ruralhome.org and follow HAC on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter @RuralHome.

About the Grantees

Appalachia Service Project, Johnson City, TN, will utilize $30,000 to provide critical repairs for twenty (20) low-income veterans across rural Central Appalachia. For additional information on Appalachia Service Project, visit their website at https://asphome.org/.

Chesapeake Health Education Program, Inc., Perryville, MD, will utilize $40,000 to complete repairs on two (2) transitional housing units serving six (6) male veterans in Perry Point, MD. For additional information on Chesapeake Health Education Program, Inc., visit their website at https://www.chepinc.org/.

GROW South Dakota, Sisseton, SD, will utilize $30,000 to provide critical home repairs for three (3) rural, low-income veterans in Sisseton, SD. For additional information on GROW South Dakota, visit their website at https://www.growsd.org/.

Habitat for Humanity Menominee River, Kingsford, MI, will utilize $30,000 to assist eight (8) veteran households with critical repairs in rural Iron and Dickinson Counties, MI. For additional information on Habitat for Humanity of Menominee River, visit their website at https://habitatmr.com/.

Habitat for Humanity of Tulare/Kings Counties, Inc., Visalia, CA, will utilize $30,000 to address critical roof repair and replacement on the homes of three (3) low-income veterans residing in Lemoore, CA. For additional information on Habitat for Humanity of Tulare/Kings Counties, Inc., visit their website at https://www.hfhtkc.org/.

Habitat for Humanity of York County, Rock Hill, SC, will utilize $30,000 to address four (4) critical home repair projects located in York County, SC. For additional information on Habitat for Humanity of York County, visit their website at https://yorkcountyhabitat.org/.

Mississippi Center for Police & Sheriffs, Vicksburg, MS, will utilize $30,000 to add an additional homeless, transitional veteran housing unit to its existing “Warriors Cottages” in Vicksburg, MS. For additional information on Mississippi Center for Police & Sheriffs, visit their website at https://m.facebook.com/people/MS-Center-for-Police-and-Sheriffs/100082944142223/.

NeighborWorks Umpqua, Roseburg, OR, will utilize $30,000 to provide ten (10) veterans with critical home repairs and ductless HVAC units in Coos, Curry, and Douglas Counties, OR. For additional information on NeighborWorks Umpqua, visit their website at https://www.nwumpqua.org/.

New Foundation Development, Inc., Calhoun, GA, will utilize $30,000 to provide critical repairs and ADA accessibility modifications for three (3) low-income rural veteran homeowners in Resaca and Calhoun, GA. For additional information on New Foundation Development, Inc., visit their website at https://nfdinc.org/.

Rebuilding Together Fargo Moorhead Area, Fargo, ND, will utilize $30,000 to support the rehabilitation and modification of three (3) veteran owned units in Cass and Richland Counties, ND, and Clay County, MN. For additional information on Rebuilding Together Fargo Moorhead Area, visit their website at https://rebuildingtogetherfma.org/.

Rebuilding Together Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, will utilize $30,000 to provide critical repairs and/or accessibility modifications for four (4) low-income veteran homeowners in Cottonwood, Jackson, Murray, and Nobles Counties, MN. For additional information on Rebuilding Together Minnesota, visit their website at https://rtmn.org/.

Rebuilding Together Saratoga County, Ballston Spa, NY, will utilize $30,000 to provide critical repairs and ADA accessibility modifications for four (4) low-income rural veteran homeowners in rural Warren County, NY. For additional information on Rebuilding Together Saratoga County, visit their website at https://www.rtsaratoga.org/

Rebuilding Together Southwest Illinois, Edwardsville, IL, will utilize $30,000 to provide wheelchair ramps and related necessary repairs and renovations to at least ten (10) rural owner-occupied homes of disabled veterans in Macoupin and Bond Counties, IL. For additional information on Rebuilding Together Southwest Illinois, visit their website at https://rebuildswi.org/.

ReFIT-Remodeling for Independence Together, Lake Oswego, OR, will utilize $27,000 to complete critical home repairs and accessibility modifications on eight (8) low-income Veteran owner-occupied homes, with a focus on rural Clackamas County, OR. For additional information on ReFIT-Remodeling for Independence Together, visit their website at https://refitportland.org/.

Transylvania Habitat for Humanity, Brevard, NC, will utilize $15,000 to provide critical repairs and accessibility modifications for at least four (4) low-income rural veteran homeowners in Transylvania County, NC. For additional information on Transylvania Habitat for Humanity, visit their website at https://transylvaniahabitat.org/.

WAMY Community Action, Inc., Boone, NC, will utilize $30,000 to provide critical repairs to preserve four (4) low-income rural Veteran owned homes in rural Appalachia. For additional information on WAMY Community Action, Inc., visit their website at https://wamycommunityaction.org/.

HAC’s 2023 Annual Report

May 29, 2024/in About HAC, About HAC - Annual Reports, Impact, Success Stories Capacity Building

HAC would like to present its Annual Report for the year 2023.

Download the 2023 Annual Report

A Message from HAC President & CEO and Board Chair

The communities we serve are the heart of what we do.

In May 2023, staff and board members from the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) travelled to Ruskin, Florida, to forge a plan to expand our impact and improve our work over the next three years. In our three-day retreat, we toured homes under construction at Bayou Pass Village, a community of about 500 homes, all built by their homeowners with investments from HAC and the support of our local partner.

HACsters got to see firsthand the communities that our work helps build. Against this backdrop, we began to develop a strategic plan that is rooted in these communities. From improving our strategic partnerships with organizations working in historically disinvested regions to expanding our role as the “Voice of Rural America” and our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, this plan puts HAC on a trajectory to make an even more profound and lasting impact.

By all measures, 2023 was an incredibly successful year for HAC. We built the capacity of 144 rural housing organizations across 49 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We published the fifth edition of Taking Stock, our flagship analysis of the state of Rural America and its housing. We invested more than $25 million to finance the construction, preservation, or rehab of 780 affordable homes. And, our policy advocacy helped drive new federal resources to rural communities across the country.

HAC is hard at work helping rural communities overcome their greatest housing challenges. Thank you for supporting our impact. We can’t wait to show you what we accomplish next.

Download 2023 Annual Report View on the Web

Members of the Delta Design Build Workshop crew frame a house in the Eastmoor Subdivision near Moorhead, Mississippi on Sept. 2, 2020.

Rory Doyle

Enhance Your Organization’s Impact with HAC’s Upcoming Capacity Building Opportunities

May 8, 2024/in Our Work, Technical Assistance Capacity Building, Housing Rehab

Request for Applications: Empowering Organizations for Successful Homeowner Rehabilitation

May 2, 2024/in Technical Assistance Capacity Building

Join the Housing Assistance Council’s Empowering Organizations for Successful Homeowner Rehabilitation learning cohort, specifically designed for organizations embarking on or expanding their homeowner rehabilitation activities. This series, sponsored by HUD’s Rural Capacity Building Program, focuses on strengthening the abilities of nonprofit groups to provide essential rehabilitation services to low-income rural homeowners.

Participants will engage in targeted training sessions that cover every aspect of the homeowner rehabilitation process—from crafting effective marketing strategies to applying the final touches on a project. This curriculum is tailored to equip your team with the necessary technical skills for homeowner rehabilitation, while also deepening their understanding of tailored strategies to meet the unique needs of rural, low-income homeowners. Emphasizing the removal of health and safety risks, enhancing energy efficiency, and preserving existing homes, this program ensures your organization is well-prepared to make a significant impact in your community.

Application Requirements

Applications must be submitted by May 15, 2024, using the form provided. Spaces are limited, and selections will be made based on each applicant’s potential impact and alignment with program goals.

Eligibility and Selection Criteria

Applicants must:

Be located in, or provide services to, a non-urbanized area or rural community.
Represent a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization or a local municipality.
Be eligible to participate in HUD’s Rural Capacity Building Program.
Commit to attending all scheduled training sessions.

Additional Documentation

Applicants meeting the initial criteria will need to submit further documentation to confirm eligibility.

Training Dates and Locations

Homeowner Rehabilitation Essentials: Laying the Groundwork for Team Success
Nashville, TN | June 25-27, 2024
Tentative
Effective Selection and Intake for Homeowner Rehabilitation Projects
Virtual | July 17, 2024
Tentative
Comprehensive Construction Management: From Inspections to Contractor Oversight in Homeowner Rehab
Syracuse, NY | August 6-8, 2024
Tentative
Finance Your Homeowner Rehabilitation Program: Leveraging HOME, CDBG, and USDA RD
Chicago, IL | October 22-24, 2024
Tentative
Blueprints for Success: Best Practices for Growing Your Homeowner Rehabilitation Program
Visalia, CA | December 3-5, 2024
Tentative

Financial Support and Compliance Policy

To support participation, eligible individuals can receive a travel scholarship for in-person workshop events. Each eligible participant can receive up to $2,000 per training session to assist with travel and training expenses. Organizations outside the contiguous U.S. may receive an increased allowance of $2,500 per session.

Additional Benefits of Participation:

Expert Guidance: Receive hands-on training from experienced professionals in the housing sector.
Connect with other professionals, share insights, and build networks.
Practical Tools: Gain access to comprehensive resources that prepare you to manage projects from inception to completion.
Tailored Learning: Participate in sessions that align with your specific role, ensuring relevance and practical applicability.
Community Impact: Empower your organization with the skills to significantly improve housing conditions for underserved populations.

Attendance Requirement:

Consistent participation is essential. Failure to attend all required sessions will lead to forfeiture of the scholarship for future trainings. This policy ensures that participants fully benefit from the program.

We invite you to apply to this transformative journey with the “Empowering Organizations for Successful Homeowner Rehabilitation” program. By participating you can help create inclusive communities and make a lasting impact on the lives of individuals and families in need of safe, healthy, and quality housing. Together, let’s enhance homes and communities for a brighter future.

If you have any questions about this project or the application process, please send an email to apply@ruralhome.org with Homeowner Rehab Cohort in the subject.

HAC’s 2022 Annual Report

June 13, 2023/in About HAC, About HAC - Annual Reports, Impact, Success Stories Capacity Building

HAC would like to present its Annual Report for the year 2022.

2022 Annual Report

A Message from HAC President & CEO and Board Chair

The Housing Assistance Council (HAC) is soaring to new heights. For our 50th anniversary last year, we turned our attention to building a launch pad for rural prosperity over the next 50 years. We are proud to report that in 2022 HAC blasted off from that launch pad, broadening the ways we help rural communities build a better future.

In 2022, HAC lending and technical assistance built the capacity of 166 rural housing organizations across 43 states. We published 24 editions of HAC News and 13 new research products, including 3 guides to resources needed to recover from a natural disasters. We invested more than we ever have before: $22.2 million to finance the construction, preservation, or rehab of 787 affordable homes. Plus, more than 37% of our loans were made in counties that have had a poverty rate of at least 20% for the last three decades. At the same time, we increased our staff by 21%, expanding the footprint of our work.

Last year, HAC enhanced our position as the Nation’s source for independent, non-partisan policy solutions for rural housing and community development. With the help of our first-ever Director of Policy, HAC led the effort to secure historic federal investment in manufactured housing communities. We met with House and Senate leadership, testified before Committees, worked with the White House and continued to be the go-to source for research and analysis on rural housing markets and living conditions in small towns.

2022 was also a big year for HAC’s “housing-adjacent” work on community facilities and placemaking. We’ve always known that community is more than a collection of houses. By finding new ways to engage small towns as they develop community facilities—such as parks, libraries, and childcare centers—HAC has helped them cultivate a feeling of belonging while providing tangible benefits for every resident. Also in 2022, we more than doubled our work in placemaking, which uses design and the arts to bring communities together, as a catalyst toward sustained community betterment and economic growth.

Additionally, we spent 2022 deepening our impact on affordable housing development. Combining both financing and technical assistance, HAC opened new avenues of work supporting rural rental preservation, ensuring that more existing affordable homes remain high-quality and rent assisted for years to come. Plus, we redoubled our efforts to better understand our impact and identify areas of growth through data and metrics.

HAC has been hard at work increasing the depth and breadth of our impact across rural America. As we reach greater heights and do more, we thank you for boosting our work. We’re excited to show you what this momentum will help all of us achieve.

Download 2022 Annual Report View on the Web

HAC Loan Office Alison Duncan (center) breaks ground for Carnation Village.

Photo by Adam Robison, the Daily Journal.

Old Historic Carnation, LP: A HAC Success Story

June 11, 2023/in Lending, Success Stories Capacity Building, High Need Regions, Housing Problems, Housing Rehab, Lower Mississippi Delta, Persistent Poverty Counties, Rental Housing, Rental Housing Development and Preservation

HAC’s patience and flexibility help convert a vacant Carnation milk plant into homes for seniors in Tupelo, MS

Rendering of carnation plant development The Carnation Milk plant in Tupelo, Mississippi, has sat vacant since 1972. In about a year, that will change when 33 low-income senior households move into new affordable homes in this old factory. This May, Old Historic Carnation, LP broke ground on Carnation Village, a $16.8 million adaptive reuse project to convert the abandoned factory into 33 units of affordable senior housing. These units are sorely needed in Tupelo, a high-poverty community which needs over 1,500 additional senior affordable housing units. With a $325,000 loan from The Housing Assistance Council (HAC)—and two sixth-month extensions to that loan—the developer successfully navigated a predevelopment process mired in construction cost increases and unexpected funding gaps. Here’s how:

Photo of vacant Carnation plant The original project scope called for 50 units: 25 from an adaptive re-use of the plant itself and another 25 in a second building to be constructed next door. When our loan closed in July 2021, the project budget totaled about $12.7 million, to be funded by Low Income Housing Tax Credits, Historic Tax Credits, and a $1.6 million equity investment. Our financing covered the predevelopment costs of the work required to get to construction financing closing including environmental testing, historic preservation approvals, tax credit application and reservation fees, a market study, and an appraisal.

In the fall of 2021, increases in construction costs left Old Historic Carnation with a $3.8 million funding gap. By the time they applied for and received more tax credits from the Mississippi Housing Corporation (MHC), added a $1 million mortgage, received approval from the National Park Service, and updated the construction bids, costs had increased by a further $4.5 million. In the space of less than a year, the construction cost for the project nearly doubled.

Because HAC can be a patient lender, we extended our loan by six months to give the developer time to solve the problem. Old Historic Carnation applied for and received another tax credit increase from the state, reduced costs with value engineering measures, and increased the deferred developer fee by almost $2 million.

Construction costs increased again in the summer of 2022, causing the equity investor to back out of the project. The developer went back to the drawing board once again and reduced the project’s scope to 33 units, all affordable to households making less than 80% of the area median income (AMI). Plus, 26 would also be affordable to households under 60% AMI. With an additional loan extension from HAC, Old Historic Carnation secured approval of the new scope by MHC, obtained the necessary building permits, and have now begun demolition.

HAC Loan Office Alison Duncan (center) breaks ground for Carnation Village. Photo by Adam Robison, the Daily Journal.

On March 21^st, Old Historic Carnation, LP closed on construction financing and repaid our predevelopment loan in full. And on May 31^st, the project broke ground. Old Historic Carnation’s persistence and creativity made this project a success. But it was HAC’s flexibility that supported them as they went through the process of raising additional funds three times to make the project work. The Carnation Village project showcases how the ingenuity of a local housing developer, solid working relationships with private, state and federal funders, and flexible and patient HAC financing all add up to bring difficult and important projects to fruition. Fifty-one years ago, Carnation Milk closed its factory in Tupelo, Mississippi. Soon, thirty-three low-income, senior households will be able to call it home.

HAC is proud to be a critical part of this project and we look forward to watching it develop.

Rural Veterans and Local Nonprofits Receive Critical Housing Support in partnership with The Home Depot Foundation

May 31, 2023/in News, Press Room Capacity Building, Homeowner Housing, Housing Affordability, Rural Demographics, Veterans, Vulnerable Populations

Contacts: Dan Stern, dan@ruralhome.org
AHRV Team, ahrv@ruralhome.org
(202) 842-8600

Washington, DC, May 31, 2023 – Veterans and their families in fourteen rural communities will have better lives, thanks to The Home Depot Foundation and the Housing Assistance Council. The Foundation is awarding grants totaling $366,907 to fourteen local nonprofit housing agencies around the country to preserve housing for veterans in rural America.

The grants are part of The Home Depot Foundation’s mission to provide affordable and accessible housing solutions to U.S. veterans and invest $500 million in veteran causes by 2025. Many veterans and their families face major housing challenges, often exacerbated by issues related to unemployment, age, and service-related disabilities. The Home Depot Foundation and the Housing Assistance Council (HAC) are dedicated to giving back to those who have answered the highest call of service to our nation.

As part of its Affordable Housing for Rural Veterans (AHRV) Initiative, HAC works with The Home Depot Foundation to administer grants that bolster and support the work of rural nonprofit housing agencies to deliver critical housing support to veterans. “The Home Depot Foundation’s support remains a cornerstone of HAC’s work to strengthen local organizations that build and maintain homes for veterans across rural America,” said David Lipsetz, HAC’s CEO. “The more we support the local groups that are helping veterans, the more we see veterans and their hometowns thrive.” As rural America is home to a disproportionately high number of service women and men, HAC remains deeply committed to supporting our nation’s service women and men by uplifting local nonprofits and their work to house and ensure the habitability of their homes and rural communities.

The grantee organizations – described below – provide a range of programs. With the grants, veterans who own homes in Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Tennessee will obtain critical repair assistance. Altogether, 43 veterans and their families will benefit from these grants.