NeighborWorks Awards $500k to Community Housing Trust

Posted Sep 5, 2023

NeighborWorks America recently awarded INHS $500,000 to help support the construction of ten Community Housing Trust townhomes in INHS’s upcoming development, Village Grove, in Trumansburg. The funding is part of NWA’s Shared Equity Initiative that helps nonprofits use shared equity models to stabilize their communities.

INHS established its Community Housing Trust in 2009 to help low-to moderate-income first-time home buyers purchase their first home. In this shared equity model, the home buyer purchases the home, and the CHT owns the land.

Since the homebuyer is not purchasing the land, this structure makes it possible for the purchase price of the house to be much more affordable—way below market price. It also enables the CHT to ensure that the home will be permanently affordable—not just for the first owner, but for all future owners. INHS has sold 70 homes into its Trust since its inception, benefiting 90 households so far.

Community Housing Trust Manager Leslie Ackerman says of the funding opportunity, “The award fills the remaining funding gap in the long-awaited Trumansburg CHT project and will make it possible for INHS to bring ten new permanently affordable for sale homes to the community, a significant increase in the affordable homeownership market in Trumansburg. The award shows NeighborWorks’ recognition of INHS’s success in developing and growing the CHT and their confidence in our ability to continue to expand our impact and leadership in this area.”

Since 2019, NeighborWorks America’s Shared Equity Initiative has helped nonprofit organizations use shared equity models to stabilize their communities, prevent displacement and gentrification, and provide long-term affordable housing. NeighborWorks America provides grants, develops tools for the field, offers training and provides evaluation services to measure the impact of shared equity housing models on the well-being of residents and in their surrounding communities. The Initiative has provided more than $4.87 million in capacity building and production grants to 49 NeighborWorks network organizations since its inception.

“Shared equity housing offers an innovative and impactful way to increase access to housing and community wealth. These models build create lasting community assets for multiple households to achieve affordable, sustainable housing,” said Jenee Gaynor, director of Shared Equity Housing at NeighborWorks America.