Fairfield County Collaborative Fund for Affordable Housing
Mission & History
The mission of the Collaborative Fund is to increase the supply of affordable housing in Fairfield County by strengthening the productivity and sustainability of non-profit housing developers in the county. Established in 2006 through the leadership of the Fairfield County Community Foundation, the Collaborative provides non-profit developers access to operating capital through a streamlined, performance-based process.
Why a Collaborative in Fairfield County?
The Collaborative Fund creates a mechanism through which grant makers can pool their funds and maximize the impact of their individual contributions. Their grants are managed through a coordinated program with the support of LISC who offers specialized technical and financial services. With a streamlined process, the Collaborative Fund seeks to reduce fundraising and administrative time spent by non-profit developers, allowing them to allocate more time to housing production.
How does the Collaborative Work?
Collaborative funders make grants through LISC, the program manager. LISC was chosen to manage the Collaborative based on its success in managing a similar program in Hartford since 1985 and having the resources to provide best practices from other LISC affordable housing collaboratives throughout the United States. The LISC collaborative staff is responsible for managing the grant process, providing technical education to grantees and managing funder relationships. Funders participate in the grant-making process by guiding program design, sharing housing development progress reports and voting on grant requests.
What are the benefits of the Collaborative?
Through the Collaborative, funders have established common standards for grant making to promote affordable housing. Program staff monitor grants, report to funders, and provide technical support to non-profit developers. The Collaborative Fund is an effective and efficient utilization of funders’ dollars and provides a one-stop resource for non-profit developers. It also unifies philanthropic efforts to maximize distribution of affordable housing countywide.
Why non-profit developers?
Fairfield County has a robust and productive real estate development industry. Non-profit developers have a unique niche in that industry, serving markets where need is high but profitability may be low. The Collaborative members have chosen to focus their philanthropic resources on non-profits, recognizing the need to serve moderate and lower income families, maintain affordability long-term, provide supportive services and develop housing in a community context, in small towns and urban neighborhoods alike.
What is LISC?
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) is the manager of the Fairfield County Collaborative. Created 29 years ago by the Ford Foundation, LISC is a national non-profit organization that brings financial and technical resources to local communities. Today, LISC works in 35 cities and in rural communities across the country. The Connecticut LISC programs promote neighborhood revitalization and affordable housing production in Connecticut by providing project investment and capacity-building resources to non-profit developers.