Resident Services Funding & Delivery Models Among Affordable Housing Nonprofits

This research offers organizational- and policy-level insights into the implementation and sustainability of delivering resident services. To enable and improve this field, a call is made to policymakers and other funders to increase the stability and availability of funding for resident services. This opportunity, if met by government, foundations, private donors, and organizations themselves, has the potential to transform not only the physical, emotional, and financial health of residents, but our definition of and approach to housing as we know it.

Key findings include:

• Resident services offered include child development services and strategies (offered by 24 percent of organizations), eviction prevention and/or financial capability services (93 percent), food security services (66 percent), health and well-being services (72 percent), K-12 education services and strategies (31 percent), long-term supportive housing (50 percent), tax preparation (22 percent), and workforce development (30 percent).
• Most organizations offer resident services to all or nearly all properties, with 55 percent offering resident services to their entire portfolio and less than 15 percent of organizations offering resident services to less than half of their properties.
• While budgets for resident services range anywhere from $2,500 to $17,200,000, over half (53 percent) of organizations do not have a budget that exceeds $300,000. Funding sources included a total of five potential sources: operating budget, government, foundations, private donors, and other. Most organizations used multiple funding sources, with an average of 2.6 funding sources across organizations. The most popular source across all organizations is operating budget (reported by 92 percent of organizations).
• Service delivery across most organizations includes the use of a third party in some capacity. However, the prevalence and types of partnerships vary by type of service.
• Post-survey interviews affirmed survey findings while offering additional insights regarding the funding and delivery of resident services. Additional key takeaways from the post-survey interviews include: budgets and funding sources expanded due to COVID-19; there is a need to establish stable, consistent funding; diversity of funding models enables growth and innovation; and organizations must monitor and evaluate this work.