HUTCHINSON COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Hutchinson Community Foundation announces it is awarding more than a half-million dollars in strategic grants to two area community housing development organizations.
Interfaith Housing & Community Services will receive $450,000 and New Beginnings Inc. will receive $150,000 for additional capacity to address the local housing crisis, according to the foundation.
The grants are the first investments the foundation has made as part of its recently launched housing initiative, a three-year effort to kick-start progress on solutions to the Reno County housing shortage. The foundation aims to deploy $2.46 million in grants and low-interest loans between now and 2028.
Raising the necessary grantmaking capital was the first step in the effort. The foundation recently met and exceeded its goal, raising $1.53 million thanks to the generosity of donor advisors who responded to a dollar-for-dollar $650,000 matching opportunity provided by the Dee & Dave Dillon Donor Advised Fund, the Walter E. & Velma G. Justice Fund for Reno County, and the Henry Krause Charitable Foundation.
The initiative comes in response to years of study on the issue alongside priorities outlined by residents in the ongoing Love Where You Live Community Empowerment Initiative and the ARPA Resident Engagement process of a few years ago and the recent joint Housing Needs Assessment, which revealed the community needs to add 1,100 more units of housing in the next decade to keep pace with demand.
The push also seeks to build on the $5.1 million in ARPA funds already invested into housing that has energized the sector and led to the rehabilitation of nearly 450 homes in Reno County, in addition to the recent construction of energy-efficient small homes in a central Hutchinson neighborhood.
“We’re combining data, momentum and money,” said President & CEO Aubrey Abbott Patterson. “This initiative demonstrates the role a community foundation—and community philanthropy—can play in helping to solve deep community challenges.”
The initiative also follows the foundation’s $50,000 investment in the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber of Commerce and Greater Hutch Economic Development Partnership’s five-year economic development strategic plan for Hutchinson and Reno County.
“Economic development and housing priorities rose to the top for Reno County residents in the first year of the Love Where You Live survey,” Patterson said. “We know that affordable housing options play a key role in a healthy local economy because it helps employers attract and retain workers, it helps the workers to have a stable home that fits their budget, and it helps attract and retain young professionals and families, growing our tax base.”
At the heart of the foundation’s plan is investing in a financially responsible, community-driven and adaptable system of approaches that prioritize:
• Development that builds within existing neighborhoods
• Support for small-scale, incremental development that responds to the unique needs of each neighborhood, driven by local developers who know the communities
• Balanced neighborhood evolution in which no neighborhood should be exempt from change, and no neighborhood should experience radical change.
To support this philosophy, grants will be directed to the following:
• Capacity building for local housing nonprofits
• Housing programs and neighborhood initiatives, including downpayment assistance for asset limited income constrained (ALICE) families and renovation of homes in targeted neighborhoods
• Development of a community land trust that establishes a permanent structure for maintaining affordability for working families.
The foundation’s plan also includes working with community resource partners, such as banks and credit unions, to issue up to $1,090,000 in impact investment loans to small-scale developers. Impact investments, part of the foundation’s Invest for More program, are allocated from assets set aside for projects that create a financial and social return. Loans would cover the following:
• Pre-development costs, such as architectural plans, soil studies and permits
• Up to $50,000 in working capital for infill developers
• Downtown code mitigation to unlock upper-floor living in at least three to four buildings by addressing costly fire, electrical and other code barriers
• Gap financing for affordable housing projects, such as low-income housing tax credit projects
Interfaith Housing will use the grant dollars to expand its housing production capacity, allowing it to take steps toward middle-income housing production. New Beginnings will use its grant dollars to fund the addition of a housing development specialist to its staff who will focus on the organization’s permanent affordable rental housing and small homes development initiatives.
“Because of the work done in the last few years, we’ve created a solid plan, and donors have responded to it well with generous gifts. Now we are able to deploy grants and loans, and we’ll be able to report to the community about progress,” Patterson said.
Contributions to the 3-Year Housing Initiative Fund came from the following donors and funds:
• Dee & Dave Dillon Donor Advised Fund
• Henry Krause Charitable Foundation
• Bob & Ruthie Barker
• Angel & Steve Dillon Donor Advised Fund
• Brad Dillon Donor Advised Fund
• Daniel & Sarah Friesen Family Donor Advised Fund
• Dan & Kay Kimbell Almanza Family Fund
• Mary M. Dillon & Jon S. Hafker Donor Advised Fund
• The Beach-Edwards Family Foundation
• Peg & John Stephens
• Manka Family Donor Advised Fund
• Merna B. Weeks Donor Advised Fund
• Mark & Susan Richardson
• Tracy & Jeff Dillon Donor Advised Fund
• Camille & Dave Claxton Donor Advised Fund
• Heather Dillon & Brad Poos Donor Advised Fund
• Katy Dillon & Ryan Cook Donor Advised Fund
• Shirley Brandyberry Donor Advised Fund
• Donna & Jack Wortman Donor Advised Fund
• Jackson Family Fund
• J. Diane & Uriah Bueller Donor Advised Fund
• Aubrey & Lance Patterson Donor Advised Fund
Patterson said those wishing to add their names to the list of donors may contribute to the fund at hutchcf.org or by emailing her at [email protected].
Hutchinson Community Foundation’s mission is to inspire philanthropy, leadership, and collaboration to strengthen Reno County. Since 1989, the foundation has granted more than $104 million to organizations.