Spotlight: Wells Fargo Housing Foundation

Rural LISC is pleased to recognize the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation for their generous grant of $200,000 in continued support of Rural LISC’s Wells Fargo Healthy Housing Initiative and our Annual Seminar, two important components of the Rural LISC program that make a dramatic difference for our Partners and the clients they serve.  

This is the third year Wells Fargo has invested in our Healthy Housing Initiative. Thirty-nine Partners have applied for Healthy Housing funds over the last three years, receiving more than $1.3 million in grant funds. This year, Rural LISC will fund more than $460,000 to 30 Partners in 20 states to improve housing stock in their communities in a variety of ways, including new construction, rehabilitation, energy efficient appliances, low VOC paint, implementing community gardens and transitioning to smoke-free housing. In addition, this year we included the replacement of older, dilapidated manufactured housing units, with newer, energy efficient units. In 2016, Rural LISC awarded $418,200 to 25 Partners in 18 states, and in 2015, during the Initiative’s first year, Rural LISC awarded $270,000 in Wells Fargo Healthy Housing grant support to 16 Partners in 13 states.  The map below shows the overlap of Rural LISC’s service area with Wells Fargo Housing Foundation’s market area.

“The Healthy Housing Initiative is critical to Rural LISC’s work to promote safe, decent affordable homes for individuals and families throughout rural America,” said Rural LISC Vice President Suzanne Anarde. “Wells Fargo’s support provides our Partners with the resources they need to improve housing and health outcomes in their communities.”

Prosser Senior Housing

Examples of Healthy Housing projects within the Wells Fargo footprint include: Catholic Charities Housing Services (CCHS) in Yakima, Washington, developing 61 units of affordable housing for seniors in the nearby town of Prosser. These 61 units will allow low income Prosser seniors to remain in their hometown and increase the affordable housing stock available to seniors in the area. Healthy home pillars such as walkability, low water utilization and low VOC paints will be incorporated throughout the development. CCHS is currently 13 percent complete with the project.

Community Housing Improvement Program (CHIP) in Chico, California, proposed to use healthy management practices to remedy water intrusion, mildew and a bat and pigeon infestation in the Shotover Inn Apartments.

Rehabilitating this 24 unit multi-family property radically improved the living conditions of the estimated 84 individuals living there. 

To date, the bat and pigeon infestation has been remedied and rain gutters have been installed. CHIP is seeking bids for the mildew and water intrusion problem.

Shotover Inn Apartments

South East Alabama Self-Help Association, Inc. (SEASHA) in Tuskegee, Alabama, is converting a 51 unit multi-family property, the Capricorn Apartments, to a "green housing" development. SEASHA reports all of the households in the complex are headed by single parents with very low incomes. The project is currently in its planning phase, and upon successful completion will enable residents to retain housing due to an increase in affordability and a reduced utility cost, and have improved health outcomes resulting from changes in paint, green cleaning supplies and integrated pest control systems.

While these are just a few examples of projects funded through Rural LISC’s Wells Fargo Healthy Housing Initiative, they clearly show how the Initiative is improving housing stock across rural America – and improving lives of low- to moderate-income individuals and families.

Wells Fargo Housing Foundation grant funds are also supporting the 2017 Annual Rural LISC Seminar, Big Skies, Bigger Opportunities in Rural America, to be held August 28-30 in Bozeman, Montana, hosted by Rural LISC Partner Human Resource Development Council of District IX.

The Foundation will sponsor the Closing Dinner and Celebration at Broken Hart Ranch. The Broken Hart Ranch features horseback riding, fishing, wagon rides and big game sighting.

Rural LISC's most recent Annual Seminar held in Washington, D.C., May 2016.

Rural LISC Vice President Suzanne Anarde highlighted the importance of Wells Fargo’s rural advocacy, calling the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation “a strong rural partner” who truly makes a difference through their support of many rural programs and projects, which would otherwise be difficult, if not impossible.   “Wells Fargo’s investments provide a foundation for our Partners’ efforts in revitalizing so many rural communities,” she said.

Visit the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation website for more information.

Learn More

About the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation

The Wells Fargo Housing Foundation works with nonprofit organizations to create affordable and sustainable housing initiatives serving low- and moderate-income households – including for seniors, veterans and under-served families. They build stronger communities by investing and volunteering in support of neighborhood revitalization efforts.

Since its inception in 1993, the Wells Fargo Housing Foundation has invested more than $150 million in such efforts, along with mobilizing more than 4.6 million team member volunteer hours to build and rehabilitate more than 5,500 homes and counting.

About the Wells Fargo Healthy Housing Initiative

The Healthy Housing Initiative takes its inspiration from a federal government report – Healthy Homes Strategy for Action – that estimated more than 30 million homes have potential health threats that contribute to asthma and other respiratory diseases, carbon-monoxide poisoning, lung cancer, falls and burns. The Healthy Housing Initiative seeks to awaken homeowners, health care providers and policymakers to the many low-cost ways to make homes healthier.