Lack of affordable housing is a concern across Canada. In Ontario alone, municipal waiting lists for assisted housing numbered 124,032 households at the beginning of 2008. In Ottawa, the list exceeded 9,000, without accounting for people who have given up without solving their housing needs or who never registered due to long waits. In the absence of federal and provincial funding, non-traditional sources of financing are necessary to secure equity and finance the operating costs for affordable housing projects.
Enter the trustees of the Public Service Alliance of Canada’s staff and officers pension fund, who wanted to make an investment in affordable housing and secure a market rate of return. With groundwork laid by a feasibility study commissioned by the Centretown Citizens Ottawa Corporation, the group turned to the Carleton Centre for Community Innovation (3ci) to realize its vision.
One of Canada’s leading sources of expertise in social finance, 3ci brings together academic research and knowledge dissemination to communities in ways that promote long-term sustainable and equitable development. The centre has played a leadership role in grant-making, evaluation and policy analysis in the fields of community economic development and social enterprise.
“We acted like a matchmaker,” says Tessa Hebb, 3ci’s managing director. Drawing on international experience with responsible investing, the centre illustrated potential financing and investment vehicles and brought the idea to Alterna Savings Credit Union—and a partnership was born.
Created in October 2007, the Alterna Community Alliance Housing Fund brings together a $2-million investment from the pension fund, the community development expertise of the non-profit Ottawa Community Loan Fund, and the financial acumen of Alterna Savings Credit Union. The first of its kind in Canada, the fund will provide loans to groups that want to build affordable housing in Ottawa while earning interest for the union’s pension fund.
“I’m pleased that 3ci could use its knowledge to get concrete results,” says Hebb. “We develop tools and instruments to help the community—this is a great example of how we can affect change.”
Next ..