NHPF Fiscal Year 2022 Annual Report Supporting Affordable Housing
Letter from the Board of Trustees
Trustees Ralph F. Boyd, Jr., Chair Glynna K. Christian, Vice Chair Robert H. Abrams Richard F. Burns Sarah E. Feinberg Cherie Santos-Wuest Sheldon L. Schreiberg
REGARDING BOARDS OF TRUSTEES, you may be familiar with the three responsibilities of an effective board. They are “duty of care,” “duty of loyalty,” and “duty of obedience.” When it comes to the roles of the NHPF Board of Trustees in this past year, we are particularly proud of our adherence to these important duties. “DUTY OF CARE” Our board is comprised of ten individuals whose focus includes constructing affordable housing but whose vision includes what additional measures best benefit residents of such housing. Provision of services best exemplifies these measures and the NHPF board balances each development decision with the ability to build in onsite resident services as well as permanent supportive services, which are becoming increasingly important to affordable housing of today and the future. Our diverse board includes members with heavy non-profit experience as well as investment, legal and other areas of expertise, and we provide counsel to NHPF leadership on a variety of topics. For example, this past year the Board approved an increase in cybersecurity insurance further safeguarding NHPF employee communications and transactions. “DUTY OF LOYALTY” What does loyalty mean to the NHPF Board? In its 30+ years of service, NHPF has been fortunate enough to have had an illustrious mix of skilled and talented trustees. Several have continued to provide counsel to the organization, as well as financial contributions, long past their tenure on the board. This past year, in response to members’ request to expand roles in order to do more for the organization, we named a Vice Chair of the board. We also see many of our past and present members take part in NHPF’s Annual Symposium, which raises in excess of $500,000 each year and is revered as an industry event standout and award winner. It seems the work we do inspires our trustees to continue to give of themselves even as they move onto other endeavors. “DUTY OF OBEDIENCE” The simplest definition of obedience is “compliance with an order, request, or law.” In the context of the NHPF Board of Trustees, it is simple. We are there to ensure that every transaction NHPF undertakes, particularly those with complicated infrastructures such as this past year’s first scatter site home rental development, Hollander Ridge, adheres to organization and industry guidelines. We are here to observe that major organization policy ideas, such as intensive DEIJ employee training and new hiring practices, are implemented with care. Finally, in this past year, as well as those to come, we are a sounding board for future innovations the organization is continuously bringing to bear to keep NHPF at the forefront of creating and preserving as much affordable housing as we can.
RALPH F. BOYD, JR., CHAIR
Charu Singh Grace Torres Adam Weers
Ralph F. Boyd, Jr., Chair
Supporting Affordable Housing
A RECENT ARTICLE highlighted the fact that although the federal government has in recent years spent trillions of dollars to help stabilize the lives of those living at or close to the poverty line, a mere fraction of that federal funding has gone towards one of the most critical stabilizers in this societal equation—on-site support services for residents of affordable housing properties. The Fiscal Year 2023 omnibus spending package includes $2.5M for the Department of Health and Human Services to stand up a resident services demonstration in federally assisted housing. This was based on a larger proposal that Stewards of Affordable Housing of the Future (SAHF)—of which NHP Foundation is a member—had advocated for in the previous Congress. SAHF later met with HHS staff working on the demonstration, and has made recommendations to ensure nonprofit housing providers are eligible for grant funding and that the eligible service activities are resident-centered. Admittedly, this is a very small one-year pilot program but we are encouraged by this government action as all of our research and experience points to the same conclusion: where you live matters—how you live matters more! Therefore, in 2022 we acted to leverage funding from partners and other sources to provide, and in some cases offset, the cost of critical resident and supportive services. • Anacostia Gardens: In Washington, DC, United Healthcare invested in Anacostia Gardens, a 100-unit development. UHC’s $8.08M low-income housing tax credit investment supported this affordable housing project as part of the company’s commitment to advance health equity in underserved communities. United Healthcare has also provided mobile wellness events on-site for residents and is looking at providing more resident health opportunities in the future. • Covent Apartments: Renaissance Social Services will provide clinical care and housing services at Covent Apartments in Chicago, 30 one- and two- bedroom supportive housing apartments. • 17 Mississippi: The DC Department of Human Services working jointly with the DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD), the DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), the DC Housing Authority (DCHA), and the DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA) is providing $55k in funding for additional permanent supportive housing (PSH) services at the property. • Rasmus-Temenos: The Rasmus-Temenos Community Development Corporation will offer mental health and drug abuse intervention services at Rasmus-Temenos, 95 units of permanent supportive housing in Houston. Additionally, the award-winning NHPF Symposium, now entering its seventh year, raises money to fund Operation Pathways services at 17 NHPF properties. To date the event has raised nearly $3M. We at NHPF are proud of these accomplishments and grateful for the support of our partners.
RICHARD F. BURNS, CEO
Richard F. Burns, Chief Executive Officer
THE NHP FOUNDATION | FISCAL YEAR 2022 ANNUAL REPORT 3
Service Provision Challenges Top Industry Takeaways from 2022
EVERY YEAR, we ask NHPF leaders and staff to review the past year for lessons we can take into the following year. This helps keep NHPF thriving and successful in fulfilling its mission to provide affordable housing. Interestingly, the takeaways we are reflecting upon most as we work in a fast-paced year of housing transactions, center on the importance, value, and challenge of providing on-site services to the affordable housing rental population. THE NEED FOR SERVICES IN LONG-TERM HOME RENTING According to Zillow, more Americans are renting than any other time in recent history, evolving our notion of the standard renter. NHPF has been at the forefront of expansion into single-family home rentals, as numbers show that a lot of potential buyers who want a traditional home lack the funds for down payments, or in some cases don’t want to be tied down by homeownership. Whatever the reason, our experience shows that long-term home renters do best when the organization from whom they are renting is also providing resident services designed so the renter can flourish in a single-family home neighborhood. SECURING FUNDING FOR ON-SITE SERVICES The industry has benefited from programs that acknowledge the overwhelming importance of “housing first” using every tool in the toolkit to create and preserve affordable housing. However that same financial largesse does not cover the services that would address even more needs meaning that many properties are actually providing ‘housing only’ which perpetuates concentrated poverty and its associated problems. Though solving this conundrum remains a clear challenge for the years to come, with increased fundraising efforts, successful grantwriting, and partnerships with health care companies and others, funding is being secured for these services. INTEGRATING HEALTH INTO AFFORDABLE HOUSING We have seen a trend towards more holistic integration of “health” into affordable housing both in terms of physical upgrades (better ventilation, increased opportunities for physical movement, ability to garden on-site) and a focus on trauma-informed community engagement, building, and resident services. This combination of physical and mental health enhancement has been shown to greatly improve quality of life. Research shows that simply living in housing that is truly affordable helps one’s mental health—add in on- site resident services that offer nutrition-based cooking classes, access to fresh fruits and vegetables, fitness programs, and even financial wellness services and the odds go way up for successful resident outcomes. INCREASING PSH (PERMANENT SUPPORTIVE HOUSING) TO MEET THE GROWING NEED Over half a million individuals are experiencing homelessness in America today, an increase of about 2,000 people since the last complete census conducted in 2020. About one third of people without homes are experiencing chronic patterns of homelessness. Thirty-percent of people who are chronically homeless have mental health conditions and 50% have co-occurring substance use problems. NHPF has developed strategies to increase creation of permanent supportive housing in Houston and the other cities in which we do business. Finding creative ways to fund on-site services at our affordable properties remains an overarching goal for NHPF this year and in those to come.
ERIC W. PRICE, PRESIDENT
Eric W. Price, President
4 THE NHP FOUNDATION | FISCAL YEAR 2022 ANNUAL REPORT
Mission The NHP Foundation is a not-for-profit real estate organization dedicated to preserving and creating sustainable, service-enriched multifamily housing that is both affordable to low and moderate income families and seniors, and beneficial to their communities. Vision A future where communities flourish because attractive, sustainable housing options and life- enhancing services are ensured for income-challenged Americans. Values NHPF seeks to promote greater diversity, inclusion, racial equity, and social justice in addition to its long- established mission of providing sustainable, service-enriched affordable housing. NHPF is committed to increasing access to opportunities for historically underrepresented individuals and businesses in the development and operation of affordable housing communities.
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