A recap by Robin Mockenhaupt, VFN’s Director, Policy & Advocacy
On November 13-15, I was fortunate to attend the 2024 Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference (VAGHC) in Virginia Beach. This was the second year both VFN colleague Patte Koval and I attended the conference, supported by our generous grant from VFN member, Virginia Housing. This was the largest attendance in the history of this annual event. Over 1,200 attendees came from many professional sectors, including nonprofit organizations, foundations and other philanthropic donors, affordable housing developers, economic developers, local and state government agencies, design professionals, financial institutions, community and faith-based organizations, etc.
Conference Breakouts
We attended several interesting breakout sessions, some of which highlighted work that our members are involved with in different parts of the Commonwealth. One breakout was on a regional model of housing in the New River Valley, the first regional housing trust fund created in Virginia. The New Regional Valley (NRV) Regional Commission, the NRV HOME Consortium, and the town of Blacksburg presented their partnership and journey from 2018 to the present, which included a study documenting housing needs in this rural part of the state, and the recommendation to create a regional housing trust fund. The fund provides low interest loans to affordable housing projects. The majority of financial support comes from municipal governments, business, and higher education partners. A pilot funding round is being implemented in two localities and will be expanded to three other counties over time. The Community Foundation of the New River Valley (CFNRV) helped to form the housing trust fund and serves on the oversight board. The effort is now transitioning to an independent 501©3.
Conference Highlights
A highlight of the conference is the conference awards luncheon, where the Governor speaks and awards are given to exemplary housing projects across the state. Governor Youngkin announced a $75 million program – the Workforce Housing Initiative – that over the next 5 years would fund the development of up to 5,000 housing units near large employers to help address growing housing costs. In addition, any localities that seek funding through the state economic development program (the Virginia Ready Sites program) must include a housing plan to show that the surrounding area either can or has plans to handle new employees attracted by economic development efforts.
The final plenary, “A Look Forward,” was a panel discussion with leaders of Virginia Housing, the VA Department of Housing and Community Development, and Virginia Economic Development Partnership. During the session the CEO of Virginia Housing, Tammy Neal, discussed the ways the agency is moving housing forward. One of the questions was about what innovations are happening in the state, and she gave a huge shout out to Virginia Funders Network as a way to bring funders and philanthropy to the table! It was a highlight for us to hear VFN and our members get visibility in front of hundreds of attendees.
I enjoyed the conference and brought home connections and ideas about how VFN can be more engaged in the housing space. Stay tuned for more focus on housing in 2025.
VFN’s Work Around Housing
Already, Northern Virginia, Region 7 has gathered for more learning around housing as a follow up to this summer’s Regional Funders Gathering where this work was a main topic of conversation. Hosted by Nicole Acosta from the Community Foundation of Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties and Ayan Addou from Virginia Housing, interested funders participated in the call to learn what each other was doing and share ideas about how to move forward in affordable housing in their local communities. The group shared an interest in continuing conversation and learning with each other about how funders can be involved in affordable housing. We will share news on future discussions taking place amongst members in Region 7.
With the help of Virginia Housing, VFN is hoping to break down some of the barriers keeping funders from supporting affordable housing initiatives. We’d like to encourage more funders to be involved in this growing and critical problem in our state. We have been hosting numerous conversations this fall with VFN members, nonprofits, and others to hear about what they have done in housing affordability, and how they got started. This input is helping shape our newest publication, “Finding your Lane in Housing Affordability: An Action Guide for Virginia Funders” to be published in time for VFN’s 2025 Annual Conference. Your input on the Guide’s content, format, etc. will ensure its usefulness to our members and other funders. If interested in adding to the discussion, please join us on Tuesday, December 3 from 2-3 pm. Click here to learn more and register.
