The transformative potential of Community Land Trusts

Our country has been struggling with an affordable housing crisis for decades. Simply put, there is not enough housing, and what is available is too expensive for those with limited means. However, there’s an up-and-coming player in the affordable housing world that offers the potential to transform it: community land trusts (CLTs).

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Another example is the Nicole Hines Townhomes in Philadelphia, a 32-unit community where the Women’s Community Revitalization Project (WCRP) has used federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) and state and local funds to cover 93 percent of Hines’s $12.1 million development costs. Rents will be kept low through a fund made up of “developer fees” collected over the years by WCRP, augmented by a per-unit contribution by the local public housing authority. Again, all the units will house families earning less than 30 percent of AMI.

More than just a check

Social Venture Partners is investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in local nonprofits that fight poverty. But it’s their “engaged philanthropy” that really sets them apart.

Over the next three years, the organization is investing $600,000 in funding, plus operational support, in three local nonprofits that target a different root cause of poverty. Center for Black Educators targets education inequities; Resilient Coders provides job training through their coding bootcamps; and the Women’s Community Revitalization Project works to create affordable housing. They hope to make multi-year grants of this size to different organizations every year.

Money Moves: More than $13M has been awarded to local nonprofits in the past few months Copy

The William Penn Foundation awarded more than $8M in grants to 90 nonprofits through its Family Recovery Fund.

In June, the William Penn Foundation announced that it was awarding 90 grants totaling more than $8 million to support nonprofit organizations focused on providing access to healthy food, support for families to stay in their homes, and enhanced K-12 learning opportunities.

Philadelphia business leaders invest $600K in nonprofits working to reduce poverty
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A group of Philadelphia-area business leaders will invest $600,000 to support local minority-led nonprofits focused on reducing poverty.

The fundraising push was driven by the Philadelphia chapter of Social Venture Partners (SVP), an international network that brings together business leaders, philanthropists, foundations and corporate partners to deliver funding to nonprofits. The organization selected the Center for Black Educator Development, the Women’s Community Revitalization Project and Resilient Coders as the grantees for its first funding round.

Evans Requests $23.7 Million for 15 Philly Community Projects, Including $9.4 Million for Affordable Housing

Congressman Dwight Evans (D-PA-3rd) has requested a total of more than $23.7 million in federal Community Project Funding for 15 Philadelphia projects. The biggest category is housing, with $9,400,149 of Evans' requests designated for seven housing initiatives in the city.

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$2,000,000 for Abigail Pankey Apartments; intended recipient is Women's Community Revitalization Project, Philadelphia, 19122. By providing truly affordable housing, Abigail Pankey Apartments provides an equitable housing solution to a changing neighborhood.

Council pushes to make funding the Housing Trust Fund mandatory, despite Kenney opposition

Nora Lichtash, executive director of Women’s Community Revitalization Project, a developer for affordable housing, said this legislation is crucial because the administration hasn’t kept its word. She says that when there is funding, it’s because housing advocates like herself are loud.

Philadelphia business leaders invest $600K in nonprofits working to reduce poverty

A group of Philadelphia-area business leaders will invest $600,000 to support local minority-led nonprofits focused on reducing poverty.

The fundraising push was driven by the Philadelphia chapter of Social Venture Partners (SVP), an international network that brings together business leaders, philanthropists, foundations and corporate partners to deliver funding to nonprofits. The organization selected the Center for Black Educator Development, the Women’s Community Revitalization Project and Resilient Coders as the grantees for its first funding round.

WCRP leaders talk gender wealth gap & affordable housing in Women's Way Forum

Leaders in the affordable housing industry, including Women's Community Revitalization Project's board chair and executive director, spoke about the various paths agencies, municipalities and activists can take to address the dearth of affordable housing. "What does it cost our city if we don't create affordable housing, us as taxpayers?" asked Nora Lichtash, WCRP executive director, during the Closing the Gender Wealth Gap Forum: Increasing Access to Affordable Housing hosted by Women's Way.