Affordable housing first in four major funding initiatives

MARIN COUNTY - After close to two years of strategic planning, the Marin Community Foundation commenced July 1 a completely redesigned funding model, shifting for the first time a majority of discretionary dollars to original projects jointly created by the organization in four primary focus areas.

The plan will begin this month with the purchase of about 20 foreclosed properties that will eventually be transformed into green affordable housing.

“We started this strategic planning with the goal of finding the best way to have the greatest impact. After input from many, many people in the community, we decided that meant better focusing our resources, which did call for some tough decisions,” said foundation President Thomas Peters.

“Projects were created through a more interactive process, through work with past partners but focused on new projects influenced by community input and decided upon by the foundation’s trustees.”

About 60 percent of the funds $25 million in annual discretionary spending will go to new projects in the four specific areas including affordable housing, carbon footprint reduction, lowering poverty and increasing educational achievement.

The remaining budget will be distributed through community grants focused on efforts in arts education, engaging the public in the arts, increasing access to open space for low-income residents, integrating immigrants into the community, improving health, services for seniors, protecting Marins ecosystem and fostering social justice.

The organization also distributes another $25 million to $30 million annually from about 300 families that goes directly to groups and projects of the donors choosing.

The first project for this years discretionary funding will transform bank-owned properties into affordable housing with about 80 percent less energy use.

NorthBay Family Homes President and Chief Executive Officer Clark Blasdell, who is helping to coordinate the effort with the foundation, said his organization has been tracking about 200 homes for possible purchase during the last year and will begin the transactions this month.

Each home will then go through a four- to six-week evaluation, where those needing the most work will be transferred to Habitat for Humanity families, who are required to spend at least 500 hours working on the home. Families between two and five members with wages of about 60 to 80 percent of the areas median income will be eligible for the housing.

Other organizations involved in the housing piece include the Greenbelt Alliance, the Nonprofit Housing Association of Northern California, the Marin Housing Authority and County Supervisor Steve Kinsey.

The foreclosed home project is part of several planned under the $10-million, five-year affordable housing initiative.

This entry was posted on Monday, July 13th, 2009 at 7:12 am and is filed under Community Development, Community Foundations, Foundation Management, Philanthropy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.