Wells Fargo and Enterprise Community Partners have launched the application process for the
Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge, a nationwide competition seeking new solutions increase housing affordability opportunities.
The competition will focus on housing construction, financing and resident services and support. The sponsoring organizations will award six grants of more than $2 million each, and Enterprise Community Partners will provide two years of technical assistance to the winners for bringing their concepts to fruition.
Responses to the first-round request for proposals are due by Feb. 19. Proposals may cover single-family or multifamily housing, can assist homeowners or renters and can focus on any sector of the community, including children, youth, families and seniors.
“Transformative change in communities happens when the best ideas are paired with the right mix of resources and technical know-how, and the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge allows us to do that six times over,” said Enterprise Senior Vice President of National Initiatives Melinda Pollack. “This incredible commitment from Wells Fargo will elevate and scale promising new ideas that will create real change for the millions of families who lack access to quality affordable homes nationwide.”
Eileen Fitzgerald, head of housing affordability philanthropy with the Wells Fargo Foundation, said: "Together with Enterprise Community Partners, we will engage with creative innovators who have know-how, technical skill, imagination—and with catalytic investment—can transform housing affordability ideas into real action on the ground. With the Housing Affordability Breakthrough Challenge, we are bringing forward our financial resources combined with our business expertise to inspire vitally needed scalable and effective housing affordability solutions.”
