Meyer Foundation makes $1M impact investment to support affordable housing

On October 18, the board of directors of the Meyer Foundation approved an unprecedented investment of $1 million to support the production and preservation of affordable housing in the Greater Washington region. The funds will be invested through Our Region, Your Investment, an impact investing initiative launched this year by Enterprise Community Loan Fund and the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers.

Participation as an investor in this initiative marks the Meyer Foundation’s first impact investment using funds from the Foundation’s endowment.

Our Region, Your Investment was created in response to the more than 150,000 families in the Greater Washington region currently in urgent need of affordable housing solutions—a number expected to double in less than 10 years.

“Affordable housing is one of our region’s most significant challenges,” says Meyer CEO Nicky Goren. “For low-income individuals and families, it leads to an increased risk of homelessness, reduced access to employment opportunities, and financial instability. More broadly, a lack of affordable housing reduces our region’s economic competitiveness, which affects us all.”

The Meyer Foundation’s strategic plan, developed with community input, identifies four long-term goals for the DC region. One of those goals is that the region provides an adequate supply of housing that low-income individuals and families can afford. Supporting Our Region, Your Investment represents a step toward achieving that goal, and reflects Meyer’s strategy of collective action toward shared community goals.

With this investment, Meyer joins a growing number of grantmakers seeking innovative ways to fund solutions to persistent social problems. The Case Foundation has published a guide to impact investing, which is available on their website.

To learn more about Our Region, Your Investment, visit www.ImpactNote.com/OurRegion.