Stakeholder Update March 2023
Since our update last fall, CAHF has been busy focusing on building toward our mandate and establishing our contributing place in Calgary’s affordable housing ecosystem. Last time we wrote of changes, now we write about our progress. A great deal of this recent movement is in response to input we continue to receive from many of our stakeholders. We have also continued to see success in both government and Industry supporting the operations of CAHF while developing the framework for successful capital fundraising partnerships.
Three recent grants and donations have supported CAHF, and we would like to acknowledge these contributors for their faith and generosity.
The first was announced on October 5 when CAHF was notified of being selected to receive funding from the Government of Alberta Civil Society Grant. Our application was supported by strong letters of support from representatives with Government of Alberta and CMHC for our role to bring philanthropic donations into the funding stack for affordable housing capital projects. We are grateful for this critical funding that will go toward securing resources and executing our first fundraising activities for shovel-ready building projects.
Coinciding with this news, CAHF was featured as the charity of choice at Avalon Master Builders 40th Anniversary celebration event. We were given the opportunity to share what CAHF is planning to do and the need in community related to more affordable housing. With a commitment from Avalon for a $10,000 donation, another $13,000 was raised from attendees at the event. This amazing result represented a step forward for both CAHF and the profile of the affordable housing need in Calgary.
Finally, thanks to a Strategic Opportunity Grant from the Calgary Foundation, we were able to have an inventory of shovel-ready projects in Calgary compiled in a Partnership Readiness Study completed in February. The research included a survey and interviews with nine organizations that have affordable housing capital projects in advanced planning stages. The outcome of this work includes four themes:
Sector support for collaboration
Capital projects stretch organizational resources
Multiple barriers to project development
Variable fundraising capabilities
The study also identified organizations that are interested in collaboration and who CAHF will be following up with to assess the fit for capital fundraising partnerships.
These resources have allowed CAHF to announce our intention to hire a full-time CEO. Following a request for proposal process, Janet Soles & Associates was selected to conduct the search. A committee of the board has been working with JSA and we expect to be conducting interview very soon and subsequently selecting the CEO early in Q2. Stay tuned for this announcement.
We have also continued to develop our board expertise with the addition of Shaun Jones as our newest Director.
Shaun brings specific skills related to business planning and development, public private partnerships, construction project management and advisory services specifically for affordable housing. This background has strengthened and expanded the skills represented on our board. We plan to continue adding to the board through ongoing recruitment for community representatives passionate about our mission who possess skills and experience in fundraising, finance, and innovation. If you know of anyone who may be suitable and interested, please have them contact us at board@thecahf.com.
The additions to our board and staff will enhance CAHF’s abilities in bringing the donor community to the table as funding partners, along with all levels of government, to invest in affordable housing projects. Our urgency has also been heightened as more factors are driving housing demand - rising immigration, rental and mortgage rates, inflation, house prices and cost of construction amid falling vacancies and overall supply of affordable housing units.
To succeed and make rapid progress with building more affordable housing units, we believe a collective effort is required and some innovation applied to the processes that will deliver this. This needs to come from a coalition of organizations and people who know, support, and operate in this ecosystem. We see this as a call to action that brings like-minded people together to crack this nut of affordable housing so that everyone has a place to call home. It is our belief that CAHF’s ability to draw philanthropic funds into Calgary will accelerate the development of much needed affordable housing in Calgary.