The missing ingredient: socially inspired capital
Daniels CEO Mitchell Cohen is a leading affordable housing advocate. supplied
With 4.4 million Canadian households living in core housing need, governments, non-profits and community providers cannot address the housing crisis alone. Now, an innovative new model promises to bring “socially inspired capital” to support greater investment in affordable housing.
“People are slipping into housing precarity – one unexpected bill or rent increase away from losing their home,” says Jolene Livingston, chief executive officer of Partners for Affordable Housing, a non-profit organization with a charitable arm that she founded two years ago to address the issue. “Communities are ready with solutions, but the capital required to put them into action isn’t flowing fast enough.”
The foundation, headquartered in Calgary, acts as a connector, convener and force multiplier for philanthropists, corporations and social-impact investors interested in supporting these initiatives. It will make its first grants in the new year.
“Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.”
Ms. Livingston saw the need to address the housing crisis with a father who died at 89 “in fear of outliving his finances,” given the high cost of rent. “We’re all one degree of separation away from somebody who has been in housing precarity.”
A career fundraiser, she noticed that major charitable foundations in fields such as health care, education and social services had a national presence, running awareness campaigns, and local offices supporting programming on the ground.
“Nothing existed at the same level and scale to address the affordable housing crisis,” she recalls. “Organizations providing housing solutions don’t have capital to meet their needs.”
“People are slipping into housing precarity – one unexpected bill or rent increase away from losing their home. Communities are ready with solutions, but the capital required to put them into action isn’t flowing fast enough.”
It’s an equity gap that Mitchell Cohen knows well. With a history in the co-operative housing sector and as CEO of The Daniels Corporation, a private-sector real estate development company in Toronto, he sees the opportunity for change.
Mr. Cohen, honorary chairperson of Partners for Affordable Housing, says it’s “a first in our country – and anywhere that I have heard about – where experienced, skilled fundraisers are coming to the affordable housing table to say, ‘We’re going to put a singular focus on freeing up the capital that’s needed.’”
He points out that non-profit housing providers are not equipped to raise money, while foundations and corporate donors with social goals have funds at the ready. “It’s time to take some of the philanthropic monies that are sitting untapped and address this crisis head on.”
He notes many foundations support causes such as medical research, but “if some of that money goes to creating affordable homes, we will naturally reduce the cost of health care,” because housing is a primary determinant of health.
Ms. Livingston agrees that housing is at the core of human needs. “If you want kids to go to school and learn, they must have warmth, safety and shelter. Nothing happens without housing.”
She notes that traditional grantors like the government have limited funds and requirements for distributing them to housing non-profits. “There must be equity to ensure projects can get to market.”
The team’s programs and services include the Tenant Stability Fund that underwrites rental supplements and other tenant support services, a First Mile Fund that supports pre-construction needs, a Last Mile Fund that offers capital infusions when necessary and Collaborative Campaigns that help raise funds for multiple projects in a co-ordinated way. The organization has also built Canada’s only directory of affordable housing projects, called Front Door.
Ms. Livingston and the team of 10 “passionate social-justice warriors” have raised more than $5-million from donors and funders like the Peters and McCain families, with partners including BMO, RBC, Peoples Group and the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation.
The organization hopes government can help finance its national expansion, so funds raised go directly into housing solutions, with a goal to bring in more than $200-million a year. Ms. Livingston notes that grants will be provided in 2026 in Alberta and Ontario, with funders in other jurisdictions expected to come forward.
Mr. Cohen is “hugely optimistic” the organization will make a difference. “We are at a tipping point,” he comments. “I know that Partners for Affordable Housing is going to be successful. This is the moment.”
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