NeighborWorks America awards $2.76 million in grants to help communities expand shared equity housing

Washington, D.C. – Today, NeighborWorks America announced that it awarded $2.76 million in grants to 15 NeighborWorks network organizations to plan, launch or grow shared equity housing programs. Shared equity housing uses a shared ownership structure that makes a home affordable to a family while also ensuring the home stays affordable for the community over time. As NeighborWorks America’s recent report, Advancing the Promise of Shared Equity Housing Models highlights, shared equity housing often acts as a "stepping stone" toward traditional homeownership for residents who would otherwise stay renters and also helps to stop displacement and gentrification. 

Since 2019, NeighborWorks America's Shared Equity Initiative has provided $4.87 million to 49 NeighborWorks network organizations to plan, launch or grow shared equity programs; designed and delivered new training courses; supported the evaluation of shared equity models; and provided capacity-building tools. As of March 2023, NeighborWorks network organizations reported nearly 5,000 shared equity homes across 37 NeighborWorks network organizations in 21 states. This demonstrates significant growth from the approximately 3,000 shared equity homes reported across 22 NeighborWorks network organizations in 12 states in early 2021.  

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

Examples of projects that NeighborWorks America is supporting with these grants include:

• Partnering with established community land trusts to develop permanently affordable homes in Atlanta, Georgia.
• Developing affordable townhomes within an amenity-rich, multi-use project that includes childcare, partner facilities and market-rate homes in Ithaca, New York.
• Implementing new development partnerships with a focus on serving households of color in Charlottesville, Virginia.
• Engaging residents to complete a feasibility study to launch a community land trust in Pensacola, Florida.
• Exploring the feasibility of Resident-Owned Communities (ROCs) in manufactured housing communities in Grand Junction, Colorado.

In addition to grants, NeighborWorks America is providing network organizations with training to learn more about shared equity models to consider which models could support their work in reducing the homeownership gap within communities of color in their service area, and to ensure resident leaders and partners are informed about shared equity housing models. At the upcoming Aug. 21-25 NeighborWorks Training Institute, courses include Shared Equity Housing: Creative Models to Preserve Affordable Homeownership, Shared Equity Multi-Family Homeownership Models, and Community Wealth Building: An Introduction.