Funding Hope with Homeownership

As the cost of homeownership keeps rising tremendously and pricing people out of the market – the East Tennessee Foundation’s partnership with the City of Knoxville and the Knoxville Community Development Corporation is addressing the affordable housing crisis.

Since its inception, our Affordable Housing Trust Fund has served nearly 6,000 households in Knoxville, bolstered the local housing market with more than $12.1 million in grants and loans, and leveraged more than $38 million, ultimately fostering a more equitable community.

Although the fund was created more than 30 years ago, Traci Sisson, the East Tennessee Foundation (ETF)’s assistant director of stewardship & donor services, said its impact is especially meaningful today.

“The Affordable Housing Trust Fund minimizes red tape for organizations that are working to help provide housing in the City of Knoxville,” Sisson said. “It also offers flexibility with how the funding is used, because we understand expenses like the cost of supplies have risen in the last few years.”

The Affordable Housing Trust Fund is designed to support nonprofits that provide new construction or major rehabilitation of single-family houses, as well as offer stabilization of owner-occupied homes, and education and assistance programs for first-time homebuyers.

For example, the nonprofit Neighborhood Housing Inc. receives a line of credit from the fund to finance affordable housing construction. The ETF also offers competitive grant funding, which the housing organization can apply for annually, to support their other housing programs.

“We’ve found the number one best way to break the cycle of generational poverty is through homeownership,” said Adam Montgomery, senior director of Neighborhood Housing Inc.

Neighborhood Housing Inc. builds or rebuilds about five homes a year in the Knoxville area, while also providing substantial aid to homebuyers – from workforce development and credit coaching to financial assistance.

Montgomery noted all the buyers are low income and most are minority, single-parent households. He described a client, identified as Tanisha, who benefitted from several of the nonprofit’s services. After Tanisha completed workforce development and the Homebuyer Readiness Program, the organization helped her obtain a mortgage for a new three-bedroom, two-bath home in South Knoxville for nearly the same monthly payment she was paying to rent.

“The assistance she received is a small investment over a 30-year lifetime, but it will make a huge difference, not only in Tanisha’s life, but also in the lives of her child and future grandchildren,” Montgomery said.

Montgomery explained that grant funding only covers a portion of the organization’s construction and development expenses, so the ETF is crucial to the nonprofit’s work.

The Affordable Housing Trust Fund also supports Operation Backyard, which provides minor home repairs for elderly, disabled and low-income homeowners.

Supporting roughly 130 to 150 families annually – Operation Backyard improves accessibility, like integrating ramps or handles, or securing home protection like window, door or roof repair.

Sisson said the ETF has long been at the forefront of the affordable housing initiative, but the current climate makes it especially vital to partner with others working to make housing attainable for local families.

While it may feel hopeless for renters who are struggling to stay ahead, there are resources available to help low-income families forge a path to homeownership.

For more information about donating, creating a fund or applying for grant funding, please contact Traci Sisson at ts*****@*tf.org or 877-524-1223 extension 112.