Acting on a 2021 city budget initiative aimed at expanding affordable housing, Madison’s Finance Committee recommended funding ten non-profits and cooperatives.
This Week in the News – May 17th, 2021
Here are the top stories for the week of May 17th, 2021.
Home Building Fund (United Kingdom)
The UK Government has recently announced an update to its Home Building Fund which could be of great use to community-led housing projects in England.
The UK’s Home Building Fund is administered by Homes England and provides flexible funding opportunities for people or organisations involved in building homes for sale or rent or preparing land for such homes. It is designed to encourage innovation in the types of homes and the methods for bringing them to market.
The promising aspect of the updated guidance from the UK government is that community-led housing projects are listed specifically as an example of the type of building project which can make use of the Home Building Fund. Click here to learn more.
NASCO Staff and Member Leadership Convening (Canada & USA)
NASCO’s Staff & Members Leadership Convening will be held remotely on June 21-27, 2021. The conference will offer programming to staff, managers, board and member leadership of group equity housing cooperatives and campus-based housing cooperatives. Conference registration is a sliding-scale per event session.
The NASCO Staff & Member Leadership Convening is a cooperative education and training program that is designed specifically to meet the needs of staff, managers, and member-leaders of group equity and campus-based housing cooperatives. The virtual conference will serve as a collective learning forum that strives to empower campus co-op staff, members, and students from across Canada and the United States. Conference participants share ideas through workshops, discussions, peer consultancy, and informal networking.
Surveys & round-table discussions reflecting a variety of topics help managers compare their cooperative’s performance and policies to those of other co-ops. NASCO strongly encourages managers and staff to attend and share individual experiences with the rest of the movement’s management staff as well as to seek new solutions and gain support to face the challenges of co-op management. We look forward to creating a space where experienced cooperatives can share knowledge with new cooperatives, and where members feel empowered to exercise leadership in their home co-ops. Click here to learn more.
Madison Committee Recommends Nonprofits, Cooperatives for Affordable Housing Funds (USA)
This is the first time the city is funding entities outside of developers seeking Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) tax credits. Committee members voted unanimously on the consent agenda to award up to $1.7 million in affordable housing development loans and up to $1.36 million to support four housing services programs.
Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway said after the meeting that it’s “exciting that we are moving forward and moving beyond just supporting tax credit projects,” while noting the importance of those projects in creating new affordable housing units. Click here to learn more.
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Co-op Housing: an Affordable Alternative to Owning or Renting? (Canada)
Take a listen to this seven-minute-long interview – On The Coast with Gloria Macarenko – to hear Thom Armstrong, executive director of the Co-operative Housing Federation of B.C., explain how co-op housing works, and why it may be an attractive option for some Vancouverites. Click here to learn more.