Tapestry Community Capital is proud to share that we’ve been selected as a semi-finalist in the CMHC’s Housing Supply Challenge!
What does it mean? We’ve received funding to continue our work supporting affordable housing providers across the country in raising community capital. From building new affordable, net-zero housing in Kamloops, B.C. to preserving affordable units for residents of Toronto’s quickly-gentrifying Kensington Market, the work affordable housing providers do is essential and they need better financing options.
What is the Housing Supply Challenge?
From the CMHC website:
The Housing Supply Challenge invites citizens, stakeholders, and experts to propose solutions to the barriers to new housing supply. The challenge will distribute $300 million in funding over 5 years.
Successful submissions that address barriers to supply will receive funding to prototype or incubate their proposal. Following the prototype stage, a number of selected finalists will share a pool of additional funding to implement their proposed solutions.
Each round awards proposals that address housing supply barriers such as building timelines, construction productivity, and improving data on land availability.
How do community bonds support affordable housing?
Community bonds are a social finance tool that can be used by charities, non-profits and co-operatives to finance socially and environmentally impactful projects. Similar in many ways to a traditional bond, they are an interest bearing loan from an investor, which has a set rate of return and a fixed term.
For affordable housing providers, community bonds can:
- Help fill financing gaps — for example, there aren’t many other financing paths to cover pre-development costs like buying land, having architectural plans drafted, and legal and consulting fees.
- Build community support for more affordable housing — affordable housing providers can grow their network of supporters by offering their communities investment opportunities.
- Contribute to local economic development — by offering returns to everyday community members rather than big banks, community bonds build community wealth, indirectly helping to end the housing crisis.
Learn more about Tapestry’s Investing in Housing program here, and about the CMHC’s Housing Supply Challenge here.
For media inquiries, contact Kylie Adair, Communications Lead at kylie@tapestrycapital.ca. For general inquiries, get in touch with our team at info@tapestrycapital.ca.