Doubling the share of non-market community housing will take a strong and robust sector of community housing providers. In fall 2024 we, along with our partners The National Indigenous Collaborative Housing Inc. (NICHI), The Community Housing Transformation Centre, and The Black Communities Technical Housing Resource Centre (BCHC), released our proposal for the Canada Community Housing Growth Fund (CCHGF), a sector-led model that strengthens and grows the community housing sector by investing in training, capacity-building, knowledge transfer, and professionalization to get greater number of non-profits development-ready and prepared for growth.

Read on to learn more.

 

About the Canada Community Housing Growth Fund

The CCHGF model provides funding directly to community-based organizations, with priority to Indigenous-led and Black-led organizations, through a collaborative co-development process that leverages the organizational capacity of community-based fund managers to develop adaptable and culturally sensitive programming.

Funding will be provided directly to three fund administrators that work with community-based organizations to co-develop and deliver programming. This process will leverage the organizational capacity of the fund administrators facilitating the development of adaptable and culturally sensitive programming.

CCHGF will prioritize funding equity-based programs, including those that focus on Black, Indigenous, and northern communities. Funding for Black and Indigenous focused programs will flow through BCHC and NICHI respectively, taking advantage of their existing expertise and their mandates to support these communities.

 

Advantages of the Canada Community Housing Growth Fund Model

Community-based programming. By working in close partnership with housing providers based directly in communities, programs offered through the CHGF model are more adaptable and culturally responsive to local needs.

Leveraging funding from different levels of government. With existing provincial and territorial funding already being provided, federal funding can be used to create an even greater impact in strengthening the community housing sector.

Low-administrative burden and fees. By using the fund administrators’ existing infrastructure and providing appropriate programming, the CHGF model has proven to be highly efficient while exceeding mandated reporting requirements. This results in higher impact, lower cost programming.

 

Program Themes

CCHGF is organized around four main program themes.

Training the Next Generation of Housing Leaders. Initiatives supported by this key theme could include mentorship programs, certification courses, and internships with an emphasis on fostering diversity and inclusion within the profession.

Mobilizing Knowledge. This thematic area supports the development of new academic and community research into community housing, particularly in under-researched areas, and support the development of resource centres to share knowledge and best practices already available.

Scaling-up Community Housing Organizations. This thematic area will increase sector capacity by providing support in the form of grants, technical assistance, and training to improve financial management and operational efficiency.

Getting More Projects Shovel Ready. Funding will support organizations through both pre-development activities and the proposal development process.

 

Check out our proposal to learn more about the program themes, administrators, and costing and stay tuned to our communications channels for new CCHGF developments in 2025.