Habitat for Humanity International Announces Partnership to Invest $82.5M in Affordable Housing

Habitat for Humanity International’s community development financial institution, Habitat Capital, announced a new partnership to establish an $82.5 million property acquisition fund to boost affordable housing production throughout the U.S., by an estimated 1,000 homes—a projected 5% increase over Habitat’s most recent baseline production of 3,482 housing units.

The capital was raised through the support of mission-aligned investors, with an innovative structure and impact-driven operational principles. This includes Class A investors such as JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Enterprise Community Loan Fund. Class B investors include ImpactAssets, Arnold Ventures, the Annie E. Casey Foundation and equity from Habitat for Humanity International. Their support underscores a shared commitment to addressing ongoing barriers to affordable housing and fostering equitable access to homeownership opportunities for underserved communities.

The Enterprise Community Loan Fund will oversee the operations of the Property Acquisition Fund, as fund manager, ensuring its effective implementation and alignment with its mission-driven goals. The Larson Foundation provided critical seed funding to launch the property acquisition fund, helping to catalyze investment. Holland & Knight LLP represented Habitat, with assistance from Paradise Law Group, providing primary legal support related to fund creation, structuring, and closing. In addition to acquisition funding, Habitat Capital will provide technical assistance and capacity-building grants to support Habitat for Humanity affiliates, with fundraising efforts currently underway for these grants.

“This financing will mean more shovels in the ground and marks a transformative step in our mission to expand access to affordable housing, providing flexible capital to empower nonprofit housing developers in navigating the challenging land acquisition market,” said Daniel Gura, executive director and vice president, Habitat Capital, at Habitat for Humanity International. “We’re in the midst of an affordability crisis that demands greater levels of collaboration, and we are incredibly proud to be working with a broad coalition of investors representing a unified belief in the power of innovative financial tools to transform communities and create lasting social impact.”

The fund’s impact goals are focused in four primary ways:

• Increasing equitable access to housing solutions for underserved communities, which creates and preserves stability, vibrancy and affordability.
• Driving the construction, development and investment sectors to prioritize affordable housing.
• Expanding the U.S. Habitat network’s ability to build more affordable homes for purchase across the country.
• Increasing the quality of life and financial stability of residents by improving the quality of available housing opportunities, with a specific focus on environmental resiliency.

The fund will use a comprehensive impact framework that aligns its objectives and goals with emerging successful practices in impact measurement and management for debt vehicles. It will incorporate the Impact Management Project’s Five Dimensions of Impact into project evaluation, selection and reporting. In the long term, Habitat Capital will continue to offer a range of financial products, services and tools designed to facilitate increased production of affordable housing and deepen mission impact.