The McKnight Foundation announced that it will contribute $5 million each to two loan funds to help stabilize communities impacted by the foreclosure crisis in Minnesota.
The funds will be administered by the Family Housing Fund and Greater Minnesota Housing Fund, toward helping organizations acquire vacant, boarded homes to repair and sell to responsible homeowners, the foundation said at a press conference Tuesday.
The new loan funds will also help create new affordable housing opportunities for individuals and families so they can afford to purchase newly rehabilitated energy-efficient homes.
"The McKnight Foundation is pleased to support this coordinated response to community needs statewide," said Kate Wolford, president of the McKnight Foundation. "Through a nationally unique network of innovative programs and partnerships, our partners will reach thousands of Minnesota families hit hardest by the foreclosure crisis."
The foundation said the $10 million contributions to the loan funds are investments, rather than grants, which offer a potential modest return of capital within an established time frame.
The $5 million to the Family Housing Fund will support the organization’s Home Prosperity Fund that was established in early 2008 to revitalize neighborhoods and increase housing opportunities for families throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area.
Initial investments totaling $16 million from Wells Fargo, US Bank, TCF Bank, Thrivent Financial and Minnesota Housing initially launched the Family Housing Fund, which has grown to $25 million with the new McKnight commitment and more recent investments from Wells Fargo and the Pohlad Family Foundation.
The Greater Minnesota Housing Fund will use the McKnight funds to support its Greater Minnesota Foreclosure Recovery Fund to help stabilize communities throughout Greater Minnesota.