Front Porch Investments Outlines Plans for Omaha’s 100,000 Affordable Housing Gap

Local housing experts announced a new effort to fill the 100,000-unit gap identified in a recent study on housing affordability in the Omaha-Council Bluffs area.

Front Porch Investments has created a collaborative model to bring funders together with community stakeholders, impacted residents, housing-supportive nonprofits, and developers to meet the city’s urgent housing needs.

Dillon

“We envision a community where all of us have access to safe, high-quality affordable housing across the city,” said Meridith Dillon, executive director at FPI. “That’s the future we want for Omaha, and we’re ready to make bold, innovative moves to get there.”

FPI will launch impact-driven funds to provide a simplified investment model for funders and a one-stop shop for developers and nonprofits working toward filling the housing gap.

Funding will prioritize the preservation and development of affordable housing, homelessness prevention, and the creation of a “greenlining” initiative to promote homeownership in areas of historical disinvestment. Support will be available through a rolling application process in the form of gap financing, capacity-building grants, affordable capital, and other resources.

Hattaway

“We are ready to serve as a convener and coordinator of the many excellent organizations that are advancing housing stability in Omaha,” said Naomi Hattaway, director of operations for FPI. “It’s going to take an ‘all-in’ approach to address the urgent need we are seeing across the metro area.”

The organization will also prioritize equity and inclusion in housing by seeking the input of stakeholders who have been historically excluded from these processes in the past. An advisory board will center these voices in grantmaking decisions to ensure that funded projects are meeting community needs.

FPI launched as a support organization of the Omaha Community Foundation. We are proud to share space with them in our offices and be a collaborating partner in their work on housing, an area we track in The Landscape.

More information on FPI is available on the Omaha Community Foundation’s website and through an email newsletter. FPI is currently seeking investment partners and will be announcing more information on funding opportunities in the coming months.