2013 Annual Report - National Community Land Trust

2013
National Community
Land Trust Network
Annual Report
WELCOME FROM MELORA AND BRENDA
A
s community land trusts (CLTs) and
permanently affordable housing (PAH)
practitioners, we’re in it for the long haul. It’s
in the very nature of our work; we look to help
not just one family at a time but generations of
families over the lifetime of our communities.
From our roots in the civil rights movement to
more recent challenges helping families weather
the housing crisis, we have adapted and grown.
The methods we use, the challenges we face,
and the environments where we work look very
different from year to year and from place to place.
But the strong thread weaving through all these
efforts is our commitment to creating permanently
affordable access to land, homes, and community
assets for those marginalized by the market.
The need now is perhaps greater than it’s ever
been. The housing crisis proved that our approach
to homeownership works. The foreclosure rate
for families in our homes was a tiny fraction of
the national average. Our work helps to protect
neighborhoods and communities from the
negative consequences of ups and downs in the
housing market. Over the past 20 years, CLTs and
permanently affordable housing (PAH) programs
have grown significantly to provide affordable
housing opportunities for families that could not
afford to own a home without us. As of 2013,
our members ensured that nearly 19,085 units
of permanently affordable housing will remain
community assets, serving generation after
generation.
Sheer expansion isn’t enough. We must work to
grow strategically, meet tomorrow’s challenges,
and stay true to our values and history. In 2013,
the Network began implementing its strategic plan
to guide our growth, both as an organization and
for the sector as a whole. In the Network’s first
Annual Report, we mark the year’s progress toward
significantly increasing the number of opportunities
for people with lower incomes to build wealth and
live in an affordable home of their own.
2
To meet this goal, we focus on four strategic
priorities:
• Advancing the industry
• Catalyzing growth
among members
• Institutionalizing
support from public and
private institutions
• Optimizing our impact
as an organization
Brenda Torpy
Public policies, funding
availability, the housing
market, and even
the Network will all
continue to change
as we face new
challenges. However, the
fundamental objective
of the Network and
its members remains
unwavering: to help
Melora Hiller
those marginalized by the
market access the land
and resources they need to thrive.
We look forward to working with you in 2014 and
beyond to fulfill this commitment.
Melora Hiller
Network Executive
Director
Brenda Torpy
Network Board
President
Community Land Trusts and Permanently
Affordable Housing
W
hat is a community land trust (CLT)?
CLTs are typically nonprofit organizations—governed by a board of CLT residents, community
residents, and public representatives—that provide lasting community assets and permanently
affordable housing opportunities for families and communities. CLTs develop rural and urban
agriculture projects, commercial spaces to serve local communities, affordable rental and
cooperative housing projects, and conserve land or urban green spaces. However, the heart of
their work is the creation of homes that remain permanently affordable, providing successful
homeownership opportunities for generations of lower income families.
W
hat is permanently affordable homeownership?
Permanently affordable housing programs invest public funding into a property in order to
make home purchases affordable for a family of modest means. The organization supports the
residents to attain and sustain homeownership. In return, the homeowner agrees to sell the home
at a resale-restricted affordable price to another lower income family in the future. As a result,
the homeowner is able to successfully own a home and build wealth from the assset, while the
organization is able to preserve the public’s investment in the affordable home permanently to help
family after family.
Along with CLTs, some Community Development Corporations (CDCs), Community Development
Financial Institutions (CDFIs), Habitat for Humanity affiliates, and government-based inclusionary
housing programs have permanently affordable homeownership programs and are members of the
Network.
Homeownership
Co-op
3.1%
36.2%
WHAT DO OUR
Co-op
MEMBERS DO?
Homeownership
Lease Purchase
UNITS
Lease
Purchase
3.3%
# of
orgs
# of
total
units
Homeownership
99
Rental
6902
Lease Purchase
19
635
Rental
63
10,940
Co-op
7
575
57.4%
Rental
3
National Community Land Trust Network
W
hat is the National Community Land Trust Network?
The Network is a national nonprofit membership organization of community land trusts and other
permanently affordable housing organizations. The Network promotes strategic community development
and permanently affordable housing benefiting lower income families throughout the United States. In
order to advance the impact on families and communities, the Network supports its members and the
development of the broader industry by:
• Raising public awareness of CLTs and permanently affordable housing,
• Providing training, conferences, technical assistance, and capacity building resources for nonprofits and
government organizations,
• Researching best practices, innovations, and outcomes of the industry and promoting public policies and
partnerships that enable its growth and expansion.
2013 PROGRAM MAP
Members and other programs as of 2013.
Visit cltnetwork.org/program-directory for more information.
Members
Other Programs
4
Growing Strategically
In 2013, the Network developed a strategic plan to guide our work, focused
around four main components: Developing a sector/ industry, catalyzing growth,
institutionalizing support, and optimizing impact. What follows is a brief overview of
the significant progress in these initiatives in 2013.
DEVELOP
A SECTOR /
INDUSTRY
2010
2012
2011
2013
Advance our industry
so that it is recognized,
impactful and reputable
In 2013, Network
members numbered
121
Critical components of any reputable sector include
evidence-based practice, proven performance, and
“keeping the edges hot” through innovation. This
requires infrastructure for conducting research and
capturing data on day-to-day activities and on-theground outcomes. Investing in that infrastructure, the
Network:
1
Compiled a Library comprised of over 120
publications on community land trusts and shared
equity homeownership
2
3
4
Recruited roughly 35 members to the Network’s
Research Collaborative of academics, researchers,
and graduate students
Sponsored or produced six publications
Created the HomeKeeper Adoption Grants
program to improve workflow efficiencies
for eight of our members while concurrently
contributing national data for performance
evaluations on an additional 756 permanently
affordable homeownership units
NETWORK PUBLICATIONS
1. Supporting Permanently
Affordable Housing in the Lowincome Housing Tax Credit
Program: An Analysis of State
Qualified Allocation Plans by Marla
Nelson & Beth Sorce (Policy Report,
January 2013).
2. Limited Equity Housing
Cooperatives by Community Land
Trusts: Case Studies & Feasibility
Assessment Tool for Hybrid Models
by Meagan Ehlenz (Network
Report, February 2013).
3. Beyond Housing: Urban
Agriculture and Commercial
Development by Community Land
Trusts by Greg Rosenberg & Jeffrey
Yuen (Lincoln working paper, April
2013).
4. The Role of Community Land
Trusts in Fostering Equitable Transitoriented Development by Robert
Hickey (Lincoln working paper, June
2013).
5. Community Land Trust Have
Renters Too: CLTs can and should
include their renters, not just their
homeowners, in governance and
wealth-building by Maxwell Ciardullo
& Emily Thaden (Shelterforce, Spring
2013).
6. Resident and Community
Engagement in Community Land
Trusts by Emily Thaden & Brenda
Torpy (Chapter of book in French).
5
Growing Strategically
The impact of our members on transforming
households and communities relies upon
organizational sustainability and the expansion
of new and existing programs. Consequently, the
Network:
CATALYZE
GROWTH
Grow the impact and
sustainability of our
members and promote
adoption of CLTs and
permanently affordable
housing programs.
1
2
3
4
5
Granted three technical assistance awards to
new start-up programs
Conducted nine training events with roughly
550 participants across the country
Initiated a “Start-up CLT” webinar series for
grassroots organizers and new adopters
Developed a four-part online tutorial on the
Roots of the CLT Movement
Contributed to a joint project with
Cornerstone Partnership to identify
standards that promote success and
sustainability for the field
To date, these efforts have led to two new CLTs obtaining land, CLTs in South Florida securing mortgage
lending partners, and international adoption of CLTs in Belgium and France. In an effort to support the
impact of existing CLTs, the Network also began an initiative to promote the incorporation of permanently
affordable housing into local equitable development policies such as transit-oriented development and
inclusionary housing.
During the summer of 2013, Emily Thaden
(staff), Brenda Torpy (board member), and Tony
Pickett (member) provided training and technical
assistance for numerous international audiences in
Brussels and Ghent, Belgium and Lyon, France.
19,085
represented
6
units
Member Highlight: South Florida CLT
South Florida
CLT
Size: Houses 100 individuals
Area: South Florida, primarily
Broward County
Portfolio: 63 affordable rental,
lease-purchase, and owneroccupied homes
Partnerships that provide:
• Empowerment and wealthbuilding programs
The Plunkett Family in front of their home, courtesy of SFCLT
Founded in 2006, South Florida Community Land Trust (SFCLT) serves
one of the most populous counties in Florida. Broward County is also
one of the most housing cost-burdened areas in the country, with
62% of renters and 54% of homeowners in Broward County forced to
cut other essentials to meet their housing costs. SFCLT serves a quickly
growing population of low income residents. A portion of the units are
set aside for homeless populations, including veterans and youth aging
out of foster care.
• Emergency assistance
for residents at risk of
homelessness
• Transition to independent
living programs for formerly
homeless residents
• Ongoing education through
Homebuyers Club
SUPPORTING LENDER EDUCATION
Like most members, SFCLT makes
use of the Network for national best
practices, research, and advocacy
for the national movement as a
whole. Therefore, when banks
started consolidating and SFCLT
homebuyers struggled to find
lenders who understood CLTs, the
CLT reached out to the Network.
The event was a great success.
“Most lenders were really surprised
that these were such safe loans,
and weren’t aware that their banks
were doing it in other areas of the
country,” says Mandy Bartle. “Fannie
Mae has vetted CLTs and they saw
the CRA [Community Re-investment
Act] potential.”
On June 26th, a determined group
of CLTs (South Florida CLT, Delray
Beach CLT, CLT of Palm Beach
County, and Habitat for Humanity
of South Palm Beach), led by
SFCLT’s Mandy Bartle, hosted a
lender forum in Fort Lauderdale.
Nancy Merolla, of Florida Community
Bank, even stepped up at the forum
to become the first major lender
in South Florida to work with one
of the participating CLTs. Less than
one month later, six lenders had
already approved a lending product
or were presenting the case to senior
management within their institutions.
The Network supported the event
by helping to plan the agenda,
providing financial support for
expert speakers, and sending
Network Executive Director Melora
Hiller to the event to share a
national perspective with lenders.
provided the tools to help make
its efforts successful. Together,
both ensured greater access
to stable homeownership
opportunities for costburdened people in Florida.
South Florida lenders learn about
the safety of CLT investments
The Network was able to spread
this success story, helping members
in other areas host similar lender
forums. SFCLT knew what its
community needed. The Network
7
Growing Strategically
INSTITUTIONALIZE
SUPPORT
Garner formal support and political will from private
and public institutions for CLTs and permanently
affordable housing.
The growth and sustainability of our members and models
requires institutional support, political will, and enabling public
policies. To these ends, the Network:
1
Conducted political advocacy with over a dozen
members of Congress
2
Successfully advocated for the inclusion of CLTs and permanently
affordable housing (PAH) programs in the Senate Banking Committee’s
proposal for housing finance reform
3
4
5
6
7
Submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Supreme Court supporting
the Fair Housing Act
Established a new partnership with Banc Home Loans to originate
Fannie Mae mortgages in 46 states
Supported publications and presentations at HUD to raise awareness on
CLTs and PAH programs
Built relationships with HUD staff to address regulatory barriers
Established a monthly Policy Action Committee webinar for members
and allies to learn about local and federal policies and opportunities to
act on federal policies and programs affecting their work.
NON-HOUSING MEMBER DATA
Commercial spaces
230
(410,030 square ft)
97
Urban agriculture
Conservation
(9,077 acres)
41
# OF SPACES--------------->
8
RAISING AWARENESS
THROUGH HUD
PUBLICATIONS
The Federal Housing
Administration and
Long-Term Affordable
Homeownership
Programs by Edward
Stromberg & Brian
Stromberg (Cityscape,
2013)
Shared Equity Models
Offer Sustainable
Homeownership
(Evidence Matters, Fall
2012)
POLICY ACTION
COMMITTEE (PAC)
MEETINGS
SEPTEMBER:
Legislative Overview
& Update on NLIHC
Advocacy Efforts
OCTOBER:
Policy Trends in TransitOriented Development
DECEMBER:
Housing Finance Reform
& Review of New HOME
Rules
Growing Strategically
OPTIMIZE
IMPACT
Further develop a high-capacity
Network that fully engages its members
and continuously acts in service
of families and communities who
experience marginalization.
In order to help our members sustain and grow their
impact on families and communities, the Network
must also sustain and grow its capacity and services.
This year, we hired two new positions: a Community
and Capacity Building Manager, and a Research
and Policy Associate. We established an effective
Fundraising Committee and increased member
engagement through committees, trainings,
advocacy, and research for members. We adopted
a new logo and new website to improve the user
experience and foster recognition of our field. We’ve
improved efficiencies by adopting Salesforce as a
membership database.
And, most importantly, we’ve extended Network
membership to other organizations that share our
mission of providing permanently affordable housing
opportunities for lower income households and
creating lasting community assets.
THANK YOU NETWORK SUPPORTERS!
2013 DONORS
2013 FUNDING PARTNERS
Brenda Torpy
Cheryl Key
Elizabeth Sorce
Emily Thaden
Jesse Beason
Jessica Grant
Jim Mischler-Philbin
John Hamilton
Julie Brunner
Lisa Byers
Marge Misak
Melora Hiller
Michael McDougal-Webber
Norma Valdez
Robert Burns
Robert Dowling
Selina Mack
Sheldon Cooper
Tarbell Family Foundation
Valarie Wilson
Thank you to the Ford Foundation and
Lincoln Institute of Land Policy for
their essential support of the National
Community Land Trust Network. Their
continued partnership and generous
backing have helped the Network
thrive.
2013 NETWORK ALLIES
Champlain Housing Trust
Community Home Trust
Cornerstone Partnership
Institute for Community Economics
Key Bank
NeighborWorks America
One Roof Community Housing
Proud Ground
Housing Leadership Council
Maryland Human Rights Authority
Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania
Thank you as well to all the
organizations that collaborated on
and supported our mission in 2013,
including Cornerstone Partnership,
NeighborWorks America, and the
Center for Community Progress.
CHAMPION MEMBERS/
SPONSORS
9
2013 NETWORK FINANCIALS
December 31, 2013
(With comparative totals for December 31, 2012)
ASSETS
Cash and cash
equivalents
Accounts Receivable
Prepaid expenses
TOTAL CURRENT
ASSETS
Office equipment, net
of depreciation
Total assets
2013
2012
$447,391
$ 348,894
98,339
75,000
5,287
3,654
551,017
427,548
2,208
3,115
2013
2012
Contributions and
grants
$424,126
$77,872
Program fees
359,426
328,193
Membership Dues
34,413
50,400
Conference fees
1,739
53,429
Interest and other
income
508
3,216
Total revenues
820,212
513,110
Program services
630,643
507,619
Management and
general
56,013
109,404
Fundraising
19,033
20,288
Total expenses
705,689
637,311
Change in net
assets
114,523
-124,201
EXPENSES
$553,225
$430,663
LIABILITIES AND NET
ASSETS
Accounts payable
REVENUES
$3,689
$6,609
15,215
8,373
5,527
1,410
24,431
16,392
Net assets,
beginning of year
414,271
538,472
Unrestricted
528,794
414,271
528,794
414,271
Total net assets
528,794
414,271
Net assets, end of
year
$553,225
$430,663
Accrued payroll
Accrued vacation
Total current liabilities
Net assets
Total liabilities and
assets
Revenues
Expenses
Interest and other Income
Fundraising
Training Fees
Management and general
Membership Dues
Program Fees
Grants and contributions
10
Program Services
LOOKING FORWARD
2014 and Beyond
hese accomplishments are just the beginning. Already 2014 has seen
new challenges and new initiatives. As the needs of our members and
their residents change, the Network will adapt its programs and services. In
the rest of 2014 and the coming years, the Network plans to:
T
EXPAND the understanding of CLTs and permanently affordable
housing so that they become easily recognized terms
CREATE a comprehensive set of tools and resources to help new
CLTs get off the ground
DEVELOP a resident advisory committee to provide input to the
Network board and offer leadership development opportunities
EXPLORE a more structured collaboration with Cornerstone
Partnership to promote CLTs and permanently affordable
housing nationwide
GROW our research on best practices, performance, and
innovations of CLTs and permanently affordable
housing programs
PROMOTE the essential resources for permanently affordable
housing practitioners on the new Network website
ADVOCATE for federal, state, and local funding programs and
policies to help promote permanently affordability and lasting
community assets
RECRUIT more lenders to offer first mortgages for homebuyers
Thank you for supporting the Network’s work. We look
forward to growing with you.
STAY IN TOUCH
PO Box 42255
Portland, OR 97242
Phone: 503.493.1000
Fax: 503.493.1004
www.cltnetwork.org
info@cltnetwork.org