Oregon Foundation Launches $100 Million Push to Build 10,000 Homes for Middle-Income Residents

Oregon Community Foundation (OCF) announced yesterday that a $100 million down payment to help finance 10,000 new housing units for middle-income Oregonians over 10 years has been committed.

Oregon Community Foundation’s Building Hope Fund to Invest in Middle-Income Housing

With Oregonians facing severe housing shortages- only about half of the 30,000 units needed every year to pull the state out of its housing crisis are being built- OCF committed a $100 million down payment, designed to attract more financing to build homes.

The housing shortage is especially acute for middle-income housing in Oregon.

The Building Hope Fund has been created to provide loans to home builders across Oregon using the Oregon Community Foundation’s investment capacity to provide flexible financing, to help finance 10,000 new housing units for middle-income Oregonians- the so-called “missing middle”- over the next decade.

OCF President and CEO Lisa Mensah confirmed that, “We will invest in housing for middle-income Oregonians- restaurant servers, bartenders, nurses, small business owners, construction workers, teachers- and offer reasonable loans to developers so they can get busy building.”

The Building Hope Fund will start with $100 million in seed funding, then bring in other partners, including investors, donors, businesses, other foundations, and financial institutions, to grow the fund and multiply its impact across rural and urban communities statewide.

OCF has a strong track record in housing investments, including 2020’s post-pandemic Project Turnkey, which distributed $125 million in grants to convert underused motels into shelter and transitional housing. The initiative ultimately also increased the state’s supply of emergency year-round shelter beds by 30%.

Aside from the new seed funding, the agency will continue to operate the Oregon Impact Fund.

This $33 million fund lends to nonprofit organizations, tribal enterprises, and for-profit social ventures in Oregon that create impact in affordable housing, education, health care access, natural resource management, and job creation in underserved communities.

OCF will also continue granting to nonprofits throughout Oregon, including partnering with organizations that build affordable housing and address homelessness.

OCF indicated that the Building Hope Fund is not yet ready to begin providing loans, but will make more information available to developers in the coming months.