Dear Friends, 

This year’s fourth quarter, like the previous three, was a busy one for me and the Grounded Solutions staff. I kicked it off by attending the CEO Circle Conference from October 1– 3 in Charleston, SC, where I participated in a presidential election scenario planning plenary panel. We now know the outcome of the election and that, as a result, we will face a new and potentially more challenging affordable housing landscape over the next few years. But we also know that our commitment to scaling housing options with lasting affordability remains unchanged, and we’ll continue to build on all the exciting progress we’ve made in 2024, which you’ll see highlighted below.  

From Oct. 14–16, we held our in-person Grounded Solutions staff retreat in Minneapolis, which included meeting several recently hired members of our team for the first time. We also had the opportunity to view several homes in the North Minneapolis neighborhood, which are part of the 280+ scattered site home portfolio recently acquired jointly by our Innovative Finance team’s Homes for the Future Initiative and five other nonprofit and philanthropic investors. The plan is to transition a majority of these properties into the shared equity home portfolios stewarded by several of our local network members to ensure lasting affordability.  

During Q4 we also sponsored and attended several convenings including the Midwest Community Land Trust Conference (October 7–10), during which U.S. Sen. Tina Smith gave a shout out to the shared equity model.  

This quarter’s launch of our 2025 membership drive includes a new three-year membership option, so please take advantage of our discounted lock-in rate for a cost-effective multi-year rate. In Q4, we successfully wrapped up our Training Institute Online (TIO) courses and hosted another successful virtual Annual Member Meeting to share details of our work progress for the year. We also heard directly from three of our featured network members regarding their impact: Greeley-Weld Habitat for Humanity (Colorado), River City Housing (Kentucky), and the City of Seattle, Washington. 

Thanks to the incredible work of 250+ network members this year, as well as the support of various partners and friends, we achieved the majority of our planned 2024 goals. I look forward to continuing our important work in 2025. In the meantime, enjoy the holidays and get plenty of rest. Please note that we are officially closed for business December 23– January 1. See you all next year! 

Q&A with National Cooperative Bank 
President and CEO: Casey Fannon 

The National Cooperative Bank (NCB) is a Lasting Affordability Partners Circle member of Grounded Solutions Network. This two-year membership category is designed for large organizations in our ecosystem whose assistance to smaller organizations on the ground helps scale initiatives to create housing with lasting affordability.  

Q1: Where is NCB located? 
A1: National Cooperative Bank is a nationwide bank that operates in all 50 states.  We have physical operation centers in Arlington, VA, and Hillsboro, OH. Additionally, NCB has an office in New York City that serves the NY cooperative housing sector, as well as business development officers throughout the country to serve our customers. Although NCB does not have nationwide branches, it has a sophisticated online banking platform to offer full-service banking throughout the country.   

Q2: What is NCB’s mission? 
A2: NCB’s mission is to support and be an advocate for America’s cooperatives and their members, especially in low-income communities, by providing innovative financial and related services. NCB’s cooperative and community development mission has guided the organization for 46 years and is a critical component of what defines the institution.  

Q3: Why is being a member of Grounded Solutions Network important to NCB?  
A3: NCB’s primary line of business is housing. As the leader in providing financing to housing co-ops and shared equity housing nationwide, NCB has been instrumental in expanding homeownership in resident-owned communities and through other housing models. By partnering with Grounded Solutions Network, NCB can further cultivate relationships with Community Land Trusts (CLTs) and provide them with necessary capital and other banking services.  

Hope Springs

Grounded Solutions Network member Greeley-Weld Habitat for Humanity has made substantial progress toward the launch of its new Community Land Trust subdivision named Hope Springs. In just a little over four months, the organization has been able to put up 29 of the 174 units that will ensure housing with lasting affordability for families for generations to come. This important project will also benefit the greater community. This is the fastest that Grounded Solutions has ever worked with an existing group to launch a CLT, and the CEO of this Habitat chapter has requested that Grounded Solutions be part of a team to help other affiliates successfully scale their initiatives. 

The Jenny

In early November, River City Housing (RCH) unveiled "The Jenny," Louisville (KY)’s first affordable, Zero Energy Ready, Passive House. Named in memory of RCH’s former construction manager Jenny Jones Miller, who played an integral role in the development of this house, “The Jenny” incorporates solar panels to minimize the home’s carbon footprint, resulting in lower monthly energy costs and helping to ensure lasting affordability.

Community Preservation Trust Completes Seventh Home Sale 

In late November, the College Park Community Preservation Trust signed documents for the sale of two homes, the organization’s sixth and seventh home sales to qualified buyers. Thanks to the Trust’s amazing work, two more families have secured housing with lasting affordability and will get to spend the holiday season in a home of their own. 

Illinois-Based Member Launches New Website

The Bloomington-Normal Community Land Trust (BNCLT) has launched a new website that provides history, facts, and stats about CLTs. The new site also includes a helpful Q&A section about the organization, along with contact information for individuals interested in getting involved. The BNCLT team has been engaged in advocacy meetings regarding potential state legislation for property tax/assessment reform for Illinois CLTs. 

Grounded Solutions Innovative Finance Becomes HomeKeeper's 200th Participating Organization

Over the past decade, HomeKeeper’s user base has grown from just 34 early adopters to 200 today. A lot of that growth has taken place over the past five years, during which time the platform’s user base doubled from 100 to 200, with Grounded Solutions Network’s Innovative Finance team being the latest to join. HomeKeeper continues to work with its core Community Land Trust organizations as the sector grows, while also reaching shared equity-adjacent sectors and affinity groups such as Habitat for Humanity affiliates, NeighborWorks organizations, housing counseling agencies, local government, and for-profit affordable housing providers. But it is the platform’s collaboration with Innovative Finance that will really push it to build, customize, and stretch the limits of what it and Salesforce can do beyond tracking data. 

Local and National Policy Update

The local and national policy teams had a busy fourth quarter. On October 3, Grounded Solutions Network’s Local Policy Principal, Colby Sledge, was appointed to the Metropolitan (Nashville) Development and Housing Agency and elected Vice Chair. On October 22, Colby gave a presentation to the Mecklenburg County (N.C.) Board of County Commissioners on the progress of ForEveryoneHome.  

Our National Policy Director, Brian Stromberg, gave a presentation on shared equity homeownership at the FHLBank Affordable Housing Advisory Council annual meeting on October 23. Vice President of Housing Policy, Doug Ryan, presented alongside Senior Principal of Innovative Finance, Alex Cabral, at the National Community Stabilization Trust’s 2024 Homeownership Policy Symposium on November 19. They provided useful insights into how nonprofits and private equity can work together to create affordable homeownership opportunities.

Devin Culbertson, Grounded Solutions Network’s Vice President of Innovative Finance, and Alex Cabral, our Senior Principal of Innovative Finance, presented at the 2024 Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) Conference from October 21–24 in Los Angeles. Devin spoke with ROC USA and Charles Schwab at the session, "The Shared Equity Solution: Strategies to Support Affordable Homeownership." Alex moderated the session, "The Water is Warm: Dipping Your Toes into Shared Equity Lending," featuring speakers from LISC Bay Area, Genesis LA, LEAF, Local Enterprise Assistance Fund, and National Housing Trust. 

During SOCAP’s 2024 conference in San Francisco from October 28–30, Devin participated in a fireside chat about data-driven strategies for channeling investments into local communities. The panel was hosted by the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy’s Accelerating Community Investment (ACI) initiative. Alex and Cielo Contreras, our Vice President of Development, also attended this conference. 

Cara Purcell, our Director of Innovative Finance, spoke at the Community Preservation Corporation's Innovative Ideas for the Future of Housing Symposium in New York City on December 4 and discussed how Grounded Solutions Network’s Homes for the Future initiative is creating homeownership with lasting affordability. 

Grounded Solutions Network's Community and Technical Assistance Principal, Jason Webb, participated in a December 4 webinar hosted by the International Center for Community Land Trusts. Click below to read his accompanying blog post. 

A new report by John Emmeus Davis and Kristin King-Ries explores how CLTs, cities, counties, and states are collaborating to address the country's ongoing housing affordability crisis.

Grounded Solutions Network’s National Policy Director, Brian Stromberg, joined United Food and Commercial Workers International Union’s Jared Gaby-Biegel and the Consumer Federation of America’s Sharon Cornelissen to pen an op-ed discussing steps the FHLB System can take to return to its affordable housing roots and help put homeownership within reach for millions of Americans.

Devin Culbertson, our Vice President of Innovative Finance, wrote a guest piece for Inside Philanthropy outlining how Homes for the Future can serve as a blueprint for scaling the shared equity homeownership model to greatly expand housing with lasting affordability throughout the country. 

Sign up for the Homes for the Future Newsletter to learn more about our Innovative Finance team’s exciting efforts to scale housing with lasting affordability.

Register today for our 2025 conference!

Registration is now open for the Grounded Solutions Network National Housing Conference, Policy. Practice. Power., which will take place from May 27-29, 2025, at the Capital Hilton in Washington, D.C.!  

We hope you’ll join us for this convening of community development leaders, housing advocates, policymakers, and funders dedicated to advancing housing with lasting affordability.

Where we live matters.

We bring together an extensive network of partners and member practitioners from local communities who have a deep understanding of best practices in community land trusts, shared equity housing, local housing policies such as inclusionary zoning, and more.

At Grounded Solutions Network, we know what policies and strategies work to build and preserve housing opportunities, and we help communities use them.