Safe housing and stable neighborhoods are the building blocks of a vibrant community. Investments in affordable housing help to build stronger communities for all.
Housing affordability is our community’s central challenge. Many Central Texans face considerable barriers to finding housing in Austin that’s affordable and located close to work, school, and transportation. The high cost of housing leaves families in Austin with less to spend on food, child care, and health care, and less to invest in savings. Seniors are priced out of the neighborhoods they’ve long called home. Teachers, service industry workers, emergency responders and others cannot afford to live in the communities where they work.
Despite the housing challenges our region faces, we believe it can be solved through partnerships among government, business and philanthropic sectors working toward a common goal.
Our approach
The Housing Accelerator, a program of Austin Community Foundation, combines research, collaboration and philanthropic resources to accelerate access to affordable housing in Central Texas. We focus on the production of affordable housing across a spectrum of income levels by lending fast, flexible capital to propel projects forward.
A report on the critical role of philanthropy in housing affordability
Commissioned by Austin Community Foundation in partnership with JPMorgan Chase & Co., NI, and St. David’s Foundation, this report calls attention to the need for philanthropic investments in housing affordability and outlines potential funding strategies in Central Texas.