Habitat for Humanity International unveils new name for its community development financial institution

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Feb 21, 2024, 09:00 ET

Habitat's community development financial institution, Habitat Mortgage Solutions, becomes Habitat Capital

ATLANTA, Feb. 21, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Over the past seven years, Habitat for Humanity International's community development financial institution has helped address critical barriers to affordable homeownership in majority-minority communities across the country. Today, the global housing nonprofit announced a name change for the CDFI, from Habitat Mortgage Solutions to Habitat Capital, a shift that better reflects its growth and offerings.

Catering to the organization's U.S. network of affiliates, Habitat Capital provides a more accessible entry point to funding that affiliates can use to offset the rising cost of land, labor and construction; down-payment assistance; capacity building; and subsidies for low-income homebuyers.

"We're excited about the change because it marks our intentional strategic focus on innovative solutions that can truly increase the supply of affordable homes at scale," said Daniel Gura, managing director of Habitat Capital. "By providing much-needed resources and support, we can move closer to addressing the broader conditions accelerating housing unaffordability and work to improve economic mobility for more households of color."

Habitat Capital offers a range of financial products, services and tools designed to facilitate increased production of affordable housing.

It does this in three primary ways: through property acquisition and establishing partnerships that yield innovative, affordable financing solutions; by leveraging the performance of Habitat mortgages to demonstrate the financial viability of lending to lower-income homeowners; and by providing financial solutions that help Habitat affiliates improve and transform their ability to operate efficiently, increase production and deepen mission impact.

In the past year, Habitat Capital partnered with JP Morgan Chase to create a $13 million fund that Habitat affiliates can tap into to support home building in local communities. As of December 2023, Habitat Capital had issued $5.4 million in loans to support various projects undertaken by Habitat affiliates.

Later this year, with seed funding received from philanthropist MacKenzie Scott, Habitat Capital will launch a property acquisition fund, a robust $100 million investment initiative dedicated to advancing Black homeownership and fostering climate-resilient housing solutions. This initiative ensures that Habitat affiliates gain access to loans essential to facilitating affordable homeownership projects, including acquisition, rehabilitation and construction. Through these investments, Habitat Capital aims to increase overall network production by 5%.

Habitat continues to address urgent affordable housing challenges by innovating at the crossroads of advocacy, finance and community. Habitat Capital will be instrumental in this mission, using its profound expertise in finance and capital investment to develop financially sustainable solutions.

About Habitat for Humanity

Driven by the vision that everyone needs a decent place to live, Habitat for Humanity found its earliest inspirations as a grassroots movement on an interracial community farm in south Georgia. Since its founding in 1976, the Christian housing organization has since grown to become a leading global nonprofit working in local communities across all 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and more than 70 countries. Families and individuals in need of a hand up partner with Habitat for Humanity to build or improve a place they can call home. Habitat homeowners help build their own homes alongside volunteers and pay an affordable mortgage. Through financial support, volunteering or adding a voice to support affordable housing, everyone can help families achieve the strength, stability and self-reliance they need to build better lives for themselves. Through shelter, we empower. To learn more, visit habitat.org.

SOURCE Habitat for Humanity International