Latest news
January 26, 2012
Apartment building owners and renters could save up to $3.4 billion annually on electricity and natural gas bills by improving their buildings’ energy efficiency, according to a MacArthur-supported study by CNT Energy and the American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy. To make that happen, Engaging as Partners in Energy Efficiency: Multifamily Housing and Utilities says more partnerships between building owners and utilities companies are necessary, as is regulatory policy that supports the alignment of efficiency standards with utility business models. More »
December 2011
MacArthur grantee the Center for Neighborhood Technology has launched a new online tool, My Home EQ, to help single-family homeowners in Northern Illinois gauge their energy use, create personalized plans to save energy, and help pay for improvements with the money they save. More »
CDFIs Gain New Support and Visibility
December 16, 2011
Opportunity Finance Network's recent national conference featured announcements of new support for community development financial institutions (CDFIs). The Kresge Foundation awarded a $10 million PRI to support five years of the NEXT Awards, which were launched by MacArthur in 2007. In addition, Wells Fargo will provide $17 million in grants to support the program, bringing the total amount leveraged to date to almost $45 million. Finally, Bank of America announced the recipients of $55 million in new loans and grants it will provide to support energy efficiency financing programs led by CDFIs, most of whom previously received start-up funding from the Foundation's Window of Opportunity housing preservation initiative.
November 18, 2011
The need for affordable rental housing in Cook County has increased substantially in the last decade and is expected to continue growing, according to a study by MacArthur grantee the Institute for Housing Studies at DePaul University. These trends mirror a national shortage of affordable rental housing, which increased more than 9 percent from 2005 to 2009 and is still on the rise. More »
November 1, 2011
With MacArthur support, the Housing Partnership Network hosted a four-day program for the leaders of 80 non-profit and social housing organizations working in the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Australia. These leaders collectively manage more than one million homes for seniors and families with low incomes, physical disabilities, and other special needs. Discussions highlighted the growing fiscal challenges and budget cutbacks taking place in all four participating countries, and the new business approaches and innovative financing methods that leaders are pursuing to continue providing safe, decent, and affordable housing for people of modest economic means. More »
October 26, 2011
A new bi-partisan Housing Commission, supported by MacArthur through a grant to the Bi-Partisan Policy Center, will address the long-term challenges facing a struggling housing sector. Former HUD secretaries Henry Cisneros and Mel Martinez and former senators Kit Bond and George Mitchell have been named to lead the effort.
Read the press release »
View video of the event »
See list of commission members »
October 25, 2011
MacArthur-supported Partnership for New Communities released a report that documents its unique role in tackling urgent, large-scale issues in Chicago. The report chronicles the organization's experience supporting Chicago's Plan for Transformation – an ambitious, unprecedented effort to overhaul public housing and create vibrant, economically sustainable communities – and draws some lessons from it. More »
October 25, 2011
Mercy Housing has launched a new program, with $100 million in unused Troubled Asset Relief Program money, to slash loan balances to affordable levels on Chicago-area homes that are underwater, or worth less than their debt. The program seeks to buy distressed loans at a discount, alter them, and sell them at a profit to attract investors to the Illinois housing market. More »
October 19, 2011
Very-low income women who have the opportunity to move from high-poverty neighborhoods into lower poverty areas are significantly less likely to be extremely obese or to have diabetes. Those are among the key findings of a new MacArthur-supported study, Moving to Opportunity for Fair Housing Demonstration Program. An article in an upcoming issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM) highlights the positive health findings. More »
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