Dear John,
I hope this email finds you in good health and continued wellness as we return from an incredible time in Washington, DC together for #PolicyPracticePower, Grounded Solutions Network’s first national convening since 2019! The only national event dedicated to housing solutions with affordability that lasts for generations, the conference really was an opportunity to connect with colleagues old and new, learn and be inspired by all the incredible work happening nationally to advance our vision for lasting affordability with a racial equity lens. From an inspiring opening keynote with the brilliant Andre Perry, to a legislative breakfast with grounding words from Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib to three mobile community tours that highlighted the magnitude and impact of housing with lasting affordability across the local region, to a multitude of informative breakout sessions, we focused on strengthening our commitment to increasing the impact of our critical work. Our conference, while inspiring, also serves as a reminder to us all that we must strive to overcome the multiple obstacles and barriers in our path and remain steadfast in our pursuit of greater scale. On behalf of our Board and the entire staff, I extend gratitude to everyone who attended and to all who took part in making the conference a huge success. You can read more about the conference in the write up by Steve Dubb for Nonprofit Quarterly here [[link removed]].
You can find session resources, an attendee list, etc. here. [[link removed]] In addition, our conference photo gallery [[link removed]] is now live with some of our favorite moments—feel free to download your favorites and share them on social media using #PolicyPracticePower! Finally, we are always committed to improving our conference and all our offerings to meet the needs of our network. To that end, we’d appreciate it if all who attended would set aside 15 minutes to complete this feedback survey [[link removed]]. If you didn’t attend, we’re interested in knowing why so that we can do better next time. Please take 10 minutes to share with us [[link removed]] what deterred you from joining us. All this feedback will be invaluable as we debrief and evaluate what our conferences will look like in the future, to ensure we are providing the best offerings and content for attendees. Thank you in advance for taking time to share your thoughts with us.
Conference Survey [[link removed]] Staffing Updates
I am very excited to share several new and important additional staff roles increasing the capacity of the Grounded Solutions team. Join me in welcoming Devin Culbertson (VP of Innovative Finance), Latriece Love-Goodlett (Training Manager), Tony Hernandez (Director of Technical Assistance), Tiffany Panganiban (Director of Operations), and Tess Parr (Technology Operations Analyst).
Our staff team continues to evolve and grow as we move forward with our bold plans for various activities needed to expand the scale of our work. I know it will also take some time to fully orient our many new team members to both the internal functions of Grounded Solutions, as well as to establish strong working relationships with our many diverse members and partners. A familiar member of our team will be proactively reaching out over the next several months to make warm introductions for our growing number of new staff members.
Career Opportunities
In addition to all the dynamic team members we’ve added over the last several months, we are continuing to grow to increase our capacity to create more impact. WE STILL NEED YOUR HELP in recruiting more amazing experts to better support the surge of activity happening around the decade of Lasting Affordability expansion we have set in motion.
See Job Listings [[link removed]]
We are utilizing excellent professional recruiting consultants to help us find the talent we need. However, our long-term network members and partners, who both know the work intimately and share our values, are simply the best ambassadors to connect us to potential candidates. Please help us all by sharing our job postings with individuals across your personal relationship networks today!
Check out the rest of our newsletter for additional items of interest including, news from the field, organizational updates, member highlights, policy, and research updates, and more. Stay tuned for more exciting updates on all the great work that is in progress—there is much more to come as the year progresses. I’m excited to continue the journey with you all.
In solidarity,
Gambling with Homes, or Investing in Communities: New Report from LISC
A new report from Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the University Neighborhood Housing Program (UNHP) focuses on the relationship between speculative investment in rental housing and outcomes for tenants in NYC, in terms of displacement and maintenance conditions.
The researchers found that speculative sales and debt drive worse housing quality and increased evictions, particularly in low-income neighborhoods of color. On the other hand, they also found that affordable housing investments created better-quality housing, reinforcing the power of these subsidies. Their recommendations to curb speculation include policies and funding to expand community ownership and shared equity models like community land trusts and limited-equity cooperatives.
Read The Report [[link removed]]
National Policy Updates
We have been actively advocating for the greatest possible allocation of resources for affordable housing in the federal budget. Recently, those efforts have focused on the FY22 appropriations bill, and the budget request put forth by the Biden administration for FY23. Click below for highlights pertaining to those efforts.
Read More [[link removed]]
Research Updates
Based on our inclusionary housing national database [[link removed]], Grounded Solutions’ Research Director Vince Wang led a study which was recently published in the Journal of the American Planning Association, one of the top academic journals in the urban study field. This study is the largest scale empirical examination of inclusionary zoning outcomes. The findings support enacting more stringent IZ policies with some flexibility in terms of the income levels served for greater affordable unit productivity. Also, requiring longer term affordability was not associated with lower affordable unit production.
Read The Report [[link removed]]
Member Contribution
Advocating with Data: Demonstrating the Crisis of Supply
By Kathleen Hosfeld, CEO, Homestead CLT
Read the Article [[link removed]]
Member Updates
Our members across the country have been celebrating some significant wins for the field! Click below to see what members in New York, Vermont, Colorado and Washington have been up to!
Member Updates [[link removed]] Training Institute Online:
Summer Series
Grounded Solutions is pleased to offer 3 of our most popular courses in a condensed, 3-week series this upcoming June. Our courses are designed to be interactive, delivering content, facilitating discussion, and encouraging learning in an engaging virtual format.
This is a great opportunity for new practitioners, onboarding new staff, or otherwise dedicating quality time for professional development.
Community Land Trusts for Homeownership: Basics & Beyond
6/13/22 & 6/14/22
Post-Purchase Stewardship for Shared Equity Homeownership Programs
6/15/22 & 6/16/22
Affordable Pricing and Resale Formulas
6/21/22 & 6/22/22
All courses will meet from 12:30-3:30pm ET (9:30a-12:30pm PT)
Learn More and Register [[link removed]] 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.
Grounded Solutions Network
PO Box 70724
Oakland, CA
94612
You're receiving this email because you're associated with a Member of Grounded Solutions Network.
Preferences [link removed] | Unsubscribe [link removed]
