Author: Randy

Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge by Enterprise Community Partners and Wells Fargo names six winners out of over 400 applications from across the U.S. JUNEAU, Alaska.

– Enterprise Community Partners (Enterprise) and The Wells Fargo Foundation today named Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority one of the six winners of the Housing AffordabilityBreakthrough Challenge, a nationwide competition to find and seed innovative housing solutions across the U.S. In addition to the grant funding, the six winning organizations will receive support from peersand industry experts to scale new strategies aimed at making homes more accessible.

Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority’s Success Starts with Me innovation is a new housing model which bridges the gap between traditional mortgage loans and the financial needs in rural SoutheastAlaska to provide low-income tribal citizens access to homeownership on tribal lands. Partners including Haa Yakaawu Financial Corporation will offer construction and home loans with individualized down payments, payback schedules, and education courses with the goal of supporting more than 100 families in the Juneau region.

“Winning the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge will help us do more than build affordablehomes,” said Jackie Pata, president and CEO of Tlingit Haida Regional Housing Authority. “We’re actually trying to change what the future will be for the next generation. Remote rural villages need to have the same kind of opportunities that urban America has.”

The competition drew more than 400 applications from a wide range of innovative nonprofit and mission-driven for-profit organizations stretching from Florida to Alaska in three categories: Access andResident Support, Construction, and Financing. After two application rounds, 16 finalists were invited to present their innovations in a 10-minute pitch to a panel of judges composed of national affordable housing and community development experts, including leaders from Wells Fargo and Enterprise.The other competition grant winners are: : Build UP, Grounded Solutions Network, Hope EnterpriseCorporation, Hydronic Shell Technologies, and Module.

“There is incredible demand across all types of communities for affordable housing solutions that aretailored to local needs and have the potential to scale,” said Jacqueline Waggoner, president of theSolutions Division at Enterprise Community Partners. “The Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challengeenables leaders on the ground to multiply their impact nationwide. We are so excited to work with thissecond cohort of winners to bring their ideas to the next level.”

“Creating true equity in the nation’s housing system requires a focus on transformative ideas thatchallenge current housing practices and processes,” said Stacy Spann, head of Housing Access andAffordability Philanthropy at the Wells Fargo Foundation. “Through the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge, we are intentionally lifting up solutions to serve communities that have experienced disinvestment and marginalization for far too long. And the winning group of entrepreneursand social innovators truly combine expertise with the lived experiences of the communities we aim toserve.”

The 2023 winners will take part in a multi-year peer learning network to share ideas and cultivate their innovations into solutions that can be applied to communities across the U.S. The cohort will gain accessto a network of leaders from across the housing sector, including experts from Enterprise and pastwinners of the competition.

For more information on the competition, as well as the finalists and their winning proposals, visit the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge website.