Family Housing Fund 2023 Annual Report

Valuing Homes in Black Communities

In the Twin Cities, white households own their homes at nearly three-times the rate as African American households, and homes in Black communities are systematically financially undervalued – creating atrocious racial wealth disparities. Addressing this gap is a priority for Family Housing Fund (FHFund) and many partners in the region. Throughout 2023, we worked to develop new strategies for supporting Black homeownership and wealth – a growing body of work called “Valuing Homes in Black Communities.”

We conducted a learning and engagement process to pressure-test ideas and co-design strategies with a large group of stakeholders, including current and aspiring Black homeowners, nonprofit partners, realtors, and lenders. Through a series of focus groups, interviews, and workshops, we explored what interventions are needed to transform the full spectrum of the homeownership journey – from early-stage preparation before purchase to sustaining and growing the home value after purchase – to ensure Black communities have equitable access to the benefits of homeownership. From this work, three foundational recommendations emerged:

1. Amplify and invest in Black-led and culturally-rooted support during early pre-purchase preparation.
2. Strengthen coordination of support for Black homebuyers to improve the transaction process.
3. Grow an ecosystem of post-purchase supports to ensure long-term success and equitable wealth building opportunities for Black homeowners.

Building Equity in Small Multifamily Ownership

2023 marked the third and final year of our collaborative Building Equity pilot initiative, which helped BIPOC homebuyers purchase small multifamily (2-4 unit) properties and build wealth as owner-occupant landlords. Over the three years, the initiative served a total of 478 households across the Twin Cities region. 108 households purchased 2-4 unit properties with support from the initiative, and hundreds more received homeownership education or preparation support specifically focused on 2-4 unit ownership. Learnings from this initiative are shaping next steps for homeownership and wealth building strategies for FHFund and our partners.

Supporting Deeply Affordable Rental Housing

In 2023, FHFund provided staffing to support a cross-sector collaboration of partners around expanding deeply affordable housing opportunities in Minneapolis. This collaboration aligned a variety of government and civic leaders around a shared vision for developing deeply affordable housing. We continue to convene this working group in 2024 to advance innovative development strategies.

Supporting Nonprofit Providers of Affordable Rental Housing

In recent years, the costs to provide adequate rental housing have risen enormously. Nearly all of Minnesota's nonprofit affordable housing providers have faced challenges and have financially struggled against a backdrop of dramatic increases in operating costs and revenue reductions.

In 2023, FHFund began working with a group of housing partners in the region to coalesce around strategies to support nonprofit housing providers and the thousands of renters who depend on these organizations for safe, quality, affordable homes. As a convener and the fiscal sponsor for our group of partners, we laid the groundwork for coalition-building, identifying solutions, and increasing public attention to the issue in 2024.