Housing is a human right, yet in the U.S. today, affordable housing is further out of reach than ever, underscoring the importance of funding community ownership. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, a full-time worker earning minimum wage cannot afford a two-bedroom rental in any U.S. state. This crisis demands more than incremental solutions—it requires a fundamental reimagining of housing as a community resource, not a speculative asset. Today, with the federal government making drastic cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development that are sure to deepen our housing crisis, we’re calling on funders to join us and keep housing affordable – and in the community’s hands.

For decades, housing policy and market forces have prioritized profit over people, leaving low-income families, communities of color, and working-class households struggling against displacement, gentrification, and rent spikes. It’s time to rewrite the rules and move toward funding a community ownership model that serves people, not investors. This administration shows us limitations of and potential to politicize grant funding.

Our organizations know that today, more than ever, we cannot expect consistent public funding. We need to double down on funding community ownership, focusing on alternative, community-stewarded projects that are springing up in some of the most under-resourced communities across the country.

For a year, we came together as The Kresge Foundation’s grantees, in an Advancing Health Equity through Housing learning community to explore questions of community ownership as a pathway to healthy housing. (Disclosure: Next City receives funding from The Kresge Foundation.) Our organizations are working across housing justice, health and policy to engage funders and decision makers for housing solutions. Together, we are amplifying community-led housing initiatives that build affordable, stable housing and empower residents to take ownership of the spaces they call home.

Community ownership is not just a housing innovation – it’s a solution for decades of housing failures. It’s a community-stabilizing model where residents, rather than developers or investors, control their neighborhoods directly, instead of the profit-driven housing market. It enables local capacity to acquire land or housing with support from local organizations and funding partnerships, and benefits everyone by ensuring stable, affordable and healthy housing that directly strengthens communities and builds a social fabric across divisions and rooted in place. This means neighborhoods benefit in the long-term too.

Read the full article about funding community ownership by Mike Pollio, Will Delaney, Dawn Phillips, and Lorraine Deguzman at Next City.