In 2012, Neighborhood Housing Services of the Inland Empire (NHSIE), a San Bernardino, Calif.-based homeownership and community development organization, was in dire straits. The state of California, deep in fiscal crisis, dissolved the more than 400 redevelopment agencies, which had financed affordable housing and other redevelopment efforts in the state since the end of World War II.1 NHSIE, like many other California nonprofits, was reliant on redevelopment agency funds. The organization lost 65 percent of its funding in one year and was heading toward collapse.

During the turbulence of recent years, many other housing organizations faced equally difficult challenges. When organizations operate in a volatile domain such as real estate, financial crosswinds can develop into a perfect storm that devastates unprepared nonprofits in its path. As during past periods of financial or political turmoil, such as the 2008 recession, local and national nonprofits are currently scrambling to address growing community needs and their own financial insecurity at the same time. Grantmakers are being asked to fill in the gaps—but these gaps are generally too big for the philanthropic resources available.

To equip organizations to thrive despite turbulence, an experiment is under way at NeighborWorks America, a national organization dedicated to creating opportunities for people to live in affordable homes, improve their lives, and strengthen their communities.

Read the source article at Stanford Social Innovation Review