Home > Why Open 4000 Doors > How Will the Campaign Help?
The need for safe, affordable homes has never been greater, and CommonBond is in a unique position to address this challenge. With your help, we can help more people than ever open doors to stability, independence and a safe, affordable home. Open 4000 Doors will:
Create More Homes ($8 million)
The Housing Investment Fund will create 4000 more homes over the next five years and build a steady source of capital to create homes far into the future.
How it currently works
When a community has a need for affordable housing, we work to research the best fit to their needs and put up the capital buy the land. CommonBond then works with outside investors. These investments are then paid back through rent and subsidies over the life of the building. This tight financial model has allowed CommonBond to ensure financially stable housing and expand to meet the need throughout the Midwest.
However, to be able to attract investors to a new project, CommonBond must first use our own capital to purchase the land, do the research and secure the rights. Until this point, we have had a small working capital, which has limited our ability to take on more ambitious projects. But as we try to meet the growing demand, these limitations are holding us back from housing the over 5,000 people already on our wait list.
Adapting to meet the need
The housing investment fund will provide this capital to meet the need. Right away, the fund will create 4,000 more homes in the next five years. The fund revolves, so an investment now will continue to create even more homes. As investors pay off our initial investment, the money goes back into the fund to be used on new projects. Our developer’s fee from investors goes back into the fund as well, which means that the fund keeps growing with every development we build. The same money used to build 48 senior homes in Maplewood could be used next year to create a family community in Milwaukee. A donation now means that your money will be creating, preserving and maintaining affordable homes for years to come.
Secure Support Services ($10 million)
The Advantage Center Fund will provide much needed services for current and new residents, create a base to develop more innovative programming as needs change, and ensure that these services are there for residents over the long-term.
How it currently works
Housing is the first step towards overcoming poverty. We work to provide the next step through supportive services, provided to residents free of charge. So a family community might get employment help and educational support for adults and kids. A senior community might offer medical help, foot clinics and tax preparation help. While the services do have an endowment, funding depends heavily on annual contributions. When our goal is to provide stable, reliable services that residents can build from, this varying funding makes these services far too vulnerable.
Adapting to meet the need
By significantly building the Advantage Center Endowment, the interest from this fund allows CommonBond to:
- Serve the additional 6,000 residents who will live in the 4,000 new homes.
- Further engage the surrounding neighborhood with residents to postively impact the broader community
- Bring in more volunteers to expand services and foster connections
- Allow us to adapt to changing needs by providing opportunities to develop new programing
Build a new home for residents and staff ($3 million)
Our new home will create 48 units for people currently experiencing homelessness and a sustainable, energy efficient office space for growing staff.
How it currently works
For the past three decades, the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis has generously donated a portion of their building to CommonBond office space. However, in growing to meet the housing need, we have grown out of the space. Staff work in the mail room and the former kitchen, volunteers are pushed out into hallways and some employees must work off-site. As we create more housing to address homelessness and reach towards environmental sustainability, a small office disconnected from the residents no longer makes sense.
Adapting to meet the need
CommonBond is working to transform a space at Lexington Commons into a new housing community and an environmentally friendly office space. The community will provide much needed permanent homes for people currently experiencing homelessness. It will also create ample, publicly visible workspace, designed to LEED standards.
The need has never been greater. But with your help, we can open doors to more homes, more hope and a strong community. Donate to Open 4000 Doors today.
