Affordable Housing

A safe, affordable home is one of the basic requisites of life—a key to individual health and well-being, and the foundation for sustainable, economically vibrant and diverse neighborhoods.

Housing is where LISC started. And it’s still the cornerstone of our mission, even as our vision has expanded to incorporate work to improve education, health, safety and economic growth in the places where we work. LISC helps make quality, affordable housing available to low-income and vulnerable residents—from seniors to veterans to the formerly homeless—in underserved communities.

Affordable housing has benefits that extend beyond the walls of a home to the community at large. It boosts spending and employment in the surrounding economy, brings revenue into local governments and reduces the likelihood of foreclosure.

To make this all happen, LISC provides grants, loans and equity for nearly every aspect of development, from planning and acquisition to construction and ren­ovation. We do this through LISC Housing and our affiliate, the National Equity Fund. We also created the Community Development Trust, the first real estate investment trust specializing in affordable housing that continues to invest in affordable housing around the country.  We offer techni­cal assistance, data and mapping tools to communi­ty-based organizations working to improve the supply and condition of affordable housing in their neigh­borhoods. And we advocate for good housing policy at all levels of government.

Arizona Affordable Housing Predevelopment Fund

In partnership with Arizona Community Foundation, we created the Affordable Housing Fund in 2007 as an innovative way to spur affordable housing development. Unlike traditional charitable funds, this Fund provides zero-interest loans to nonprofit housing developers for the pre-development phase of affordable housing projects, for which financing is not typically available. Once the project receives long-term lender financing, loans are repaid to the Fund—making those dollars available for new projects.

Home Matters Arizona Fund

The Home Matters Arizona Fund was developed by Arizona's Managed Care Organizations in 2020 to increase the supply of affordable housing that includes elements that connect communities and support healthier individuals, families and economies across the State of Arizona, and shift the housing market toward sustainable affordable housing solutions, including housing for Medicaid-eligible individuals. The Fund is the first statewide initiative of the national Home Matters movement focused on a new generation of affordable housing, connected communities, and healthier individuals, families, communities and economies. The Fund will invest in projects that intentionally reflect the Home Matters vision and principals that integrate comprehensive community development efforts. LISC Phoenix is a partner in the Home Matters Arizona Fund providing underwriting and other asset management services to the fund.

Arizona Housing Fund

The Arizona Housing Fund provides funding for permanent supportive housing projects that serve the most vulnerable individuals and families earning up to 30% AMI (Area Median Income). Funding is distributed on a first come, first served basis for mission-aligned projects. LISC Phoenix provides application development and processing support to the fund. 

Contact

Pat McNamara, Senior Program Officer
Email