The Iowa Finance Authority (IFA) has awarded of $11.2 million from the State Housing Trust Fund to local housing trust funds across Iowa, including $1,029,304 to the Polk County Housing Trust Fund (PCHTF). This is the largest amount the state fund has ever allocated to local initiatives overall and the largest allocation it has made to PCHTF specifically.
Funds from this award support "bricks and mortar" housing development, primarily new affordable rental housing development. PCHTF allocates funds locally through a competitive grant-making process, governed by our housing allocation plan and approved by our board of directors.
Remaining funds we allocate to housing development come from Polk County. For the fiscal year that ended June 30, 2022, PCHTF awarded just more than $1.9 million for housing development.
This year's State Housing Trust Fund allocation is the largest ever because the Iowa Legislature and Governor Reynolds joined to increase funding for the program in 2021.
The State Housing Trust Fund was created in 2003. According to the Iowa Finance Authority, since its inception, the State Housing Trust Fund has provided $112.2 million in affordable housing assistance to benefit more than 35,200 Iowa families, leveraging more than $175 million in other funding resources.
While PCHTF extends sincere gratitude to the Iowa Finance Authority and state leaders for this increased allocation, the need for additional housing investment remains significant. One estimate by the National Low Income Housing Coalition indicates Polk County needs an additional 11,635 units of housing that are affordable and available to extremely low income renters struggling to afford the place they live.
- PCHTF
- Jun 28, 2022
- 1 min read
Updated: Oct 18, 2022
In June, the PCHTF Board of Directors approved $597,448 in grants to 11 local organizations through the organization’s Programs and Supportive Services (PSS) grant program. These grants serve to bridge the gap between affordable housing and families in our community through programs and services that improve resident stability and self-sufficiency.
The PSS funds PCHTF allocates are unique because they come from community investments businesses, organizations, and individuals make through the PCHTF’s Stable, Steady, Strong fundraising effort. This supplements PCHTF’s operational funding and “bricks-and-mortar” development grant funds, which are provided by Polk County and the State Housing Trust Fund administered by the Iowa Finance Authority.
"The investment in programs to get people housed and keep them housed creates a stronger community for all," said Eric Burmeister, PCHTF's executive director. "We are grateful to the people and organizations who invest in Stable, Steady, Strong, because it enables us to provide services that would not be provided any other way."
Thanks to the operating support PCHTF receives from Polk County, the organization is able to grant 100% of funds invested through Stable, Steady, Strong out to some of the community’s most trusted nonprofit partners who provide programs and services that meet critical needs in the community.
- PCHTF
- Jun 23, 2022
- 1 min read
This week, PCHTF began accepting applications for $150,000 available through its annual Capacity Building Grant Program. These funds support creative programs that introduce new units into the community’s affordable housing inventory or preserve existing inventory.
Applicants for capacity building grants must be nonprofit organizations or municipal corporations operating in Polk County. While this program does not support housing development, it does support non-bricks and mortar programs that either introduce new affordable housing units to the community’s inventory, that prevent an existing unit from being lost, or assist in more quickly opening existing inventory for eligible owners or tenants.
Applications are due for this program at noon on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. The application and program details can be found online at https://pchtf.formstack.com/forms/2023_capacity_building_application.
Questions about this grant offering may be directed to Mollie Giller, the Trust Fund's Director of Programs & Supportive Services, at mgiller@pchtf.org.