The Ventura County Housing Trust Fund will celebrate the launch of its new Revolving Loan Fund during its “Building TRUST In Housing” from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 6 at The Tower Club in Oxnard.
The Ventura County Housing Trust Fund was recently awarded a $2 million matching grant from the State of California’s, Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) through its 2006 Proposition 1C – New Local Housing Trust Fund Program (LHTFP), Linda Braunschweiger, chief executive officer, stated in a media release.
VCHTF board members and staff are hosting the event to thank their supporters; to introduce other community leaders to the benefits and priorities of the fund; and to provide an overview of the fund’s program guidelines, she said.
Over the last two years, VCHTF received over $1.1 million in matching funds from local cities and the county, and is poised to raise an additional $900,000 over the next couple of years to leverage a full $2 million. State match bringing the total funds available to the community to $4 million.
“At a time when affordable housing dollars from local, state and federal sources are being cut or reduced, this new infusion of State of California funds into Ventura County is very exciting,” Braunschweiger said.
Since 2006, the VCHTF reported that it has worked to bring about a regional solution to the insufficient supply of housing that is affordable to local employees and residents throughout Ventura County. The VCHTF supports housing projects that enhance the quality of life and preserve the long-term affordability of housing as a community resource.
“Leveraging public and private funding sources to expand the supply of affordable housing for extremely low-to-moderate-income residents of Ventura County provides a valuable investment in our community,” said Supervisor Kathy Long who co-sponsored with Supervisor Steve Bennett the County of Ventura’s support of the initial $500,000 in matching funds.
“It’s great to see our initial investment bear so much fruit. The need for affordable housing is still great in our county, and the ability to assemble a funding pool of up to $4-million will assist many families,” Bennett said.
Monies from the Housing Trust Funds will be made available to qualified developer applicants through grants and loans, and will be awarded through a Notice of Funds Availability (NOFA) or Request for Proposals process to help create new and rehabilitated housing units.
“Priority funding will be given to projects that create homes for veterans, homeless individuals and families, transitional aged youth coming out of foster care, and farm workers,” said Dawn Dyer, chairperson of the VCHTF board of directors.
VCHTF’s Revolving Loan Fund will be issuing its first NOFA in the third quarter of 2012.
“The celebration is open to the public and those interested are encouraged to contact VCHTF at 805-407-2455. Registration is required for the event,” Braunschweiger said.
Proposition 1C, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund, was passed by California voters in 2006 which provided up to $35 million in bond proceeds for matching grants for local entities bringing investments and innovation to affordable housing.
The Ventura County Housing Trust Fund Steering Committee was created in 2006 as a special initiative of Housing Opportunities Made Easier (HOME), a 501(c) (3) nonprofit corporation. Today, VCHTF is an independent 501c3 nonprofit corporation. VCHTF’s mission is to support more housing choices, by generating and leveraging financial resources, working in partnership with the public, private, and non-profit sectors throughout Ventura County. VCHTF is led by a diverse Board of Directors representing private industry, banking, legal, education, affordable housing developers, housing advocates, and local government.