Stories of Philanthropic Leadership in Advancing Regional and ...

REGIONAL OPPORTUNITYCalifornia when we’ve had an opportunity of thisscale. If the 80 percent of jurisdictions without aninclusionary policy adopted even a moderateinclusionary requirement, California couldpotentially increase its production of affordablehousing by as much as 35 to 50 percent. That meanshomes for Bay Area working families, our firefightersand nurses, and seniors on fixed incomes.”Doug Shoemaker, NPH’s deputy director agrees,adding, “Many social equity groups struggle to find aregional campaign hook that works around land useand affordable housing because these decisions arealmost always made“Many social equity groupsstruggle to find a regionalcampaign hook that worksaround land use andaffordable housing becausethese decisions are almostalways made at the locallevel. The key for policygroups is to recognize thatthese types of advocacynetworks can’t start and endwith one campaign. Theyneed to be thought of ascentral to the long-terminfrastructure of theaffordable housing andsocial justice movement.”— Doug Shoemakerat the local level.The key for policygroups is torecognize that thesetypes of advocacynetworks can’t startand end with onecampaign. Theyneed to be thoughtof as central to thelong-terminfrastructure of theaffordable housingand social justicemovement.”At the regional level,the Bay AreaInclusionaryHousing Initiativewill focus onproviding training,peer support, policy analysis, and communications tolocal governmental officials and communityadvocates. Efforts on the local level will focus ongrassroots organizing, technical assistance, andadvocacy targeted to key jurisdictions.Funder InterestAt a fall 2003 regional meeting of Bay Area fundersinterested in housing, participants voiced a sharedconcern to examine smarter growth strategies andhousing more closely. According to CassandraBenjamin, senior program officer with the Charlesand Helen Schwab Foundation, a number of fundersreadily agreed that policy work and IZ were projectprospects. Rather than follow the traditional approachin which funders identify priority areas, set criteria,and then review competitive proposals, this Initiativelaunched a collaborative process that engaged bothfunders and community groups in its conception.“We can see a real benefit to this approach,”observes Benjamin. “Our collaborative process andclear objectives have established a model for regionalcollaboration on a project with tangible goals.Hopefully, this is only the first project and otherswill follow.”For the Fannie Mae Foundation, the nation’s largestfoundation dedicated to affordable housing, therewas an early recognition of the need to connectsmarter growth strategies and housing more closely.“We understood concentrated support,” observesVera de Vera, director of Fannie Mae Foundation’sWestern Regional Office. “The question was what isthe best way we could come together to make afunding impact. The key was to work withcommunity groups to refine issues and concerns.When we reconvened in the spring of 2004, weidentified IZ. But we were also offered a plan thatwas outcome-driven.”The collaborative conceptualization among fundersand community organizations was also supportedby research and statistics from NPH and the Leagueof California Cities. According to Schwab’sBenjamin, “The really bad economic times made iteasier for government to buy-in to the project. Butthe initial success was to take advantage ofrelationships. This project happened more as apartnership than as something hierarchical.”Speaking for the Peninsula CommunityFoundation, its president, Sterling Speirn, explains,“Our foundations chose to support inclusionaryhousing because it is an affordable housing strategywith demonstrated success in providing muchneeded low- and moderate-income housing.”Regional/Neighborhood Equity ImpactsAccording to NPH’s Shoemaker, “California citiesand counties are at the forefront of an innovativeaffordable housing practice that is benefitingthousands of households. Compelling trends revealthat over the next few years, the number ofCalifornia communities adopting inclusionaryzoning practices for affordable housing is likely tocontinue at a rapid pace.”93Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities