Take Action: Executive Orders and Impacts on the CDFI Fund​

Statement: Executive Orders and Impacts on the CDFI Fund

As certified Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), the Minnesota Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD) and many of our nonprofit consortium members strive to build an economy that works for everybody. A recent executive order by the Trump Administration threatens to dismantle the CDFI Fund, impacting community development across the country.

The CDFI Fund was established in 1994 to promote community development by providing loan capital, technical assistance, and financial services to underserved communities across the United States, and it has historically enjoyed bipartisan support from both federal and state lawmakers. MCCD and our CDFI certified nonprofit consortium members steward federal dollars into innovative opportunities for homeowners, entrepreneurs, and small business owners to build generational wealth, while leveraging millions in private financing.

Since 2005, Minnesota’s CDFIs have

  • Created over 30,000 new housing units, including thousands of owner-occupied units
  • Provided loan capital to 12,000 small businesses and microenterprises
  • Provided loans to over 13,000 consumers

Between 2017 – 2022 alone, CDFIs in Minnesota invested nearly $3.5 billion in capital in rural, suburban, urban, and tribal communities across the state.

Eliminating the CDFI Fund jeopardizes the vibrancy of communities across Minnesota, from the Iron Range to the Twin Cities. Not only would small businesses lose critical sources of capital, but investments in affordable housing could vanish, causing both a decrease in the supply of affordable single-family homes and an increase in homelessness statewide.

MCCD and our members are concerned about both the uncertainty of the CDFI Fund’s future and the potential loss of critical funding. Investments in affordable housing and small businesses are not “waste.” They are the backbones of thriving communities.

“As history has proven, Black, Indigenous, Latine, Asian/Pacific Islander, other Communities of Color and many more marginalized groups will take the brunt of the impacts.” said Elena Gaarder, Chief Executive Officer of MCCD. “MCCD will push against these threats and continue our work to collectively advance racial and economic justice.”

To learn more about MCCD’s response to current funding freezes, read the letter we recently sent to Minnesota’s Congressional Delegation. 

Take action with us and ask your elected officials to support the CDFI Fund! Visit linktr.ee/mccdpolicy for a letter template, communication tips, and contact information to get in touch with your representatives.

Dear Honorable Members of Minnesota’s Congressional Delegation:

The Minnesota Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD) is an association of nonprofit organizations committed to expanding the wealth and resources of communities through affordable housing opportunities and economic development initiatives. Many of our members carry out the work of the federal government and utilize federal funding to support their critical work in communities. In a recent survey, 86% of our members indicated they rely on at least some federal funding to support their work in communities across Minnesota. Cuts to program and department funding like Medicaid, CDBG, SBA, HUD, CDFI Fund and staffing cuts at the relevant government agencies are already having an impact on Minnesotans and the communities they call home.

On behalf of our 35+ affordable housing and community economic development members, we ask that you advocate to the Administration to honor congressionally authorized funding, financial commitments, and contracts to nonprofits. The funding freeze will have incalculable effects on the ability of our members to serve their residents and their clients, who are already struggling to maintain their housing and keep their businesses open. While we understand the courts have paused the federal funding freeze for now, please know that we are all very concerned about the impact of uncertainty and potential loss of funding. What program cuts would mean for Minnesota:

    • This would mean increased instability for people living in income-restricted housing and ultimately would result in an increase in homelessness in communities across Minnesota. Specifically, residents who live in affordable housing rely on the supportive services provided to maintain their health, their employment, and their stability. The loss of this support and rental assistance would force more people into homelessness and would make it more difficult for affordable housing providers to operate.
    • This would mean the loss of development and rehabilitation funding to help increase the supply of affordable single-family homes and could prevent thousands of first-time homebuyers from realizing the dream of homeownership.
    • This would mean loans to small businesses are unable to be processed resulting in the loss of additional private financing or even the ability to sign a commercial lease.

Ultimately, the uncertainty of federal funding is already having a detrimental impact on development in Minnesota – as predictable funding is necessary for construction planning for affordable housing. Because federal funding helps leverage additional public and private investment, we anticipate the loss of millions in economic activity in Minnesota. We are currently reaching out to our members to collect more information to understand the full impact of this decision and we will continue to communicate with the Minnesota Congressional Delegation as we know more.

Thank you for your time and consideration. MCCD and our members would like to make ourselves available for any additional information to best help inform your decisions. Please reach out to Kari Johnson, Director of State Policy & Field Building, kjohnson@mccdmn.org, should you need any further information.

Sincerely,

Elena Gaarder

Chief Executive Officer

Minnesota Consortium of Community Developers

New Bill Would Explore Solutions to Minnesota’s Growing Property Insurance Crisis

New Bills Would Explore Solutions to Minnesota’s Growing Property Insurance Crisis

There’s a multi-sector insurance crisis in Minnesota—and a new bipartisan bill, SF 2205, introduced this week in the state legislature aims to identify solutions to Minnesota’s growing property insurance crisis to better support the millions of Minnesotans that rely on it. 

“On top of the housing shortage driving up Minnesotans’ mortgages, the spiraling cost of insurance has become an alarming burden on property owners of all kinds. As the uncertainties of climate change hit the insurance market, Minnesotans need policies they can rely on when disaster strikes. We cannot allow the dream of homeownership to fall even further out of reach; the Legislature needs to take action. This task force on homeowners and commercial property insurance would help identify the forces behind the rise in property insurance costs and provide vital insight to lawmakers as we create a solution.”
Senator Lindsey Port (55, DFL), Chair of the Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee and the chief author of SF 2205

This week the Minneapolis Federal Reserve released a report, finding that multi-family housing providers have seen massive increases in their insurance costs, including an average 45% increase in premiums and a 700% increase in deductibles over the past three years alone. These troubling trends are also being felt among homeowners and small business owners in Minnesota

“As a statewide consortium of nonprofit affordable housing developers and economic development organizations, our members are on the frontlines of this crisis. Last year, our affordable housing members began sounding the alarm about the devastating impact insurance costs are having on their operations budgets and the people they serve. We knew we had to take action to preserve these essential properties —and the homes of thousands of Minnesotans.” 
Elena Gaarder, CEO, Minnesota Consortium of Community Developers

Mary Novak, Executive Director of Riverton Community Housing, which is home to approximately 1300 students and community members in Minneapolis, said they continuously struggle to secure insurance for their properties. “We have submitted as many as 50 applications, to just get one quote with a high premium and deductible,” she said. “This has resulted in unsustainable premium growth. For example, in the last 4 years we have seen premiums grow 60% when we used to see single digit year over year increases.”

"Habitat for Humanity homeowners and homebuyers across the state are reporting that rising insurance premiums are causing concerns about the long-term affordability of their homes or pricing first-time homebuyers out of their monthly budgets. It is deeply concerning that rising rates and higher deductibles are having such an impact on hard-working Minnesotans, potentially making it even harder for them to realize and maintain the dream of homeownership.”
Cristen Incitti, CEO of Habitat Minnesota

For years, MCCD has worked at the Minnesota state legislature to grow and strengthen communities across Minnesota through investments in affordable housing, homeownership and small business development. This session, in conversations with lawmakers and key stakeholders, there was clear consensus: Unstable insurance rates are a growing concern, but no one has answers. 

“We know this is a multi-sector, bi-partisan issue that requires careful study and collaboration. That’s why we’ve been working for months to propose a bill creating a homeowners and commercial property insurance task force that can identify solutions and serve as a catalyst for administrative and legislative changes in future legislative sessions.”
Kari Johnson, MCCD’s Director of State Policy and Field Building

Outlined in SF 2205 and HF 2228, the task force would convene shortly after the conclusion of the 2025 legislative session and include members from the legislature, the department of commerce, insurance industry experts and community development organizations representing affordable multifamily housing, affordable homeownership and small business economic development. Key focus areas for the task force would include costs drivers, a review of liability laws, data collection and the potential for a state supported reinsurance or insurance fund. 

"We’ve been hearing from homeowners and housing providers across the state who have struggled with property insurance issues. This bill takes an important first step towards addressing unstable insurance rates that we’ve been hearing about for years. Our bill creates a task force that gets all parties to the table so they can create recommendations for the industry to consider. This is a unique problem that requires a bipartisan solution, and I’m happy to be part of this effort."
Senator Karin Housley, (33-R)

Housing Rally Urges Lawmakers to “Start with Home” in the 2025 Legislative Session

Housing Rally Urges Lawmakers to “Start with Home” in the 2025 Legislative Session

Defying frigid -18 degree temperatures, more than a hundred housing advocates and legislative champions came together at the Minnesota State Capitol for the 3rd Annual Start with Home Rally last week. With colorful signs and energetic calls to action, the group urged state lawmakers to prioritize legislation that saves and creates more homes, expands housing access and opportunity, and secures predictable housing investments.

Like past years, the Start with Home Rally showcased how safe, stable, affordable housing is a bi-partisan issue. Legislative champions from both sides of the aisle addressed the crowd, including: Governor Walz, Lt. Governor Flanagan, Sen. Port, Rep. Igo, Sen. Boldon, Sen. Marty, Sen. Draheim, Sen. Kunesh, and Sen. Johnson Stewart.

“Housing is stability, and it is absolutely critical to Minnesota’s infrastructure,” says MCCD’s Executive Director, Elena Gaarder. “We know that children and families do better when they have a safe and stable place to call home. That’s why we need increased investments in Housing Infrastructure Bonds and across the housing continuum this year and every year after.

Addressing the crowd in the Capitol rotunda, Senator Lindsay Port, chair of the Senate Housing and Homelessness Prevention Committee, echoed that sentiment and emphasized the need to build on the big investments made in 2023. “I’m so proud that, when we had the opportunity, we put over $2 billion total into housing,” Port said. “Now, even though we have a different economic outlook, we cannot stop advocating for housing to be one of the top priorities of this Legislature.”

Along with our coalition partners, we’re pressing this legislature to pass $400 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds (HIBs) to build and preserve affordable housing, reduce homelessness and stabilize communities. Right now, more than 640,000 Minnesota households pay more than 30% of their income on housing — and more than half of those who are unhoused say they are homeless because they could not find an affordable place to live. But while HIBs are the largest state source of capital for affordable housing development and preservation, only 1 in 5 projects that apply for resources from the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency are funded.

Despite the urgent need for more investment, Governor Walz’s 2025 Infrastructure Plan did not recommend any new authorizations in HIBs. We responded last week with a letter that underscored: “We believe not proposing even $50 million in HIBs sets a bad precedent. State lawmakers may interpret that to mean that our affordable housing market is sufficient and stable, when we all know that is not the truth. We can’t go backward; Minnesotans are depending on us to keep them safely and stably housed.”

While it’s off to an uncertain start, the 2025 legislative session is just beginning and the rally was a great sign of the broad support for housing — across the state and political spectrum. But it will take all of us working together to secure the resources we need to make sure every Minnesotan has a place to call home. We’re hoping to schedule a hearing in the Senate for the HIBs bill in mid-February and will continue to encourage the Governor’s office to expand their 2025 Infrastructure Plan to include HIBs. If you or your organization is interested in sharing your insight at an upcoming hearing or advocating to the Governor’s office, please reach out to me at klaw@mccdmn.org.

As a consortium, we know that our advocacy is stronger when we leverage our collective power. Thank you to our Start with Home rally co-host organizations: Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative, Habitat for Humanity Minnesota, Minnesota Housing Partnership, and Our Future Starts at Home Campaign. We look forward to building off the momentum of the rally to ensure that Minnesota starts with home this session.

Reflections on Senator Kari Dziedzic, a true affordable housing champion

Reflections on Senator Kari Dziedzic, a true affordable housing champion

As I start my eighth legislative session with MCCD, I can’t help but reflect on the lawmaker that is no longer with us, Senator Kari Dziedzic.

On the first day of the 2025 legislative session I sat in the Senate gallery listening to her colleagues share stories about her and did a fair amount of crying. It is clear that Senator Dziedzic was just as respected  as I thought, by her colleagues from both parties. As Senate Dibble shared, “she was a giant in the Senate”, she was exactly that in so many ways. They shared her impact, but it went beyond her colleagues, advocates learned so much from her too, and I’m so thankful I was able to get to know her and work with her as an affordable housing advocate.

The first time I met Senator Dziedzic, I remember being both impressed and inspired. Even though I was new to the advocacy space in Minnesota she treated me with respect and let me know that if I ever had questions — about legislation, negotiations, processes — to ask. I had the pleasure of working on bills with her, including securing Housing Infrastructure Bonds to build and preserve deeply affordable housing across all of Minnesota. I remember meetings to discuss strategy, phone calls to get and give updates, and celebrating on the last night of the session with hugs when the bill passed.

It is clear to me that Senator Dziedzic wanted everyone around her to succeed, lifting up new lawmakers like Senator Zaynab Mohamed, building a friendship with Senator Housley, working to find compromise with her Republican colleagues, and supporting and cheering on Senator Port in taking a leadership role of the Senate Housing Committee. But she also supported so many of us as advocates, she has left a lasting impression on me and for that I am so thankful. I told her mom and sister we would all carry Senator Dziedzic’s legacy forward and that the work we do this legislative session, and every future session will continue to have her mark on it through all of us. 

So, Senator Dziedzic, thank you. Thank you for being the OG Affordable Housing Champion in the Senate. Thank you for being a guiding voice to the legislature, and lifting up affordable housing so it got the attention it deserved. Thank you for seeing advocates as partners, and for being a mentor, to me and so many others. I will miss you greatly. 

Senator Dziedzic passed away on December 27, 2024, after a tough battle with cancer. The Minnesota Senate is holding a special election to fill her seat on January 28, 2025. You can read more about her legacy here.

MCCD Policy & Advocacy Training Expands to Greater Minnesota!

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January 13, 2025

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MCCD Policy & Advocacy Training Expands to Greater Minnesota!

While the work of the Minnesota legislature impacts everyone, advocating at the State Capitol can feel intimidating. But input from local leaders in nonprofit affordable housing and small business development is essential to securing policies that advance racial and economic justice statewide. 

That’s why, every year, MCCD hosts a Policy and Advocacy Training to invite, inform and inspire more people to get involved in the advocacy process.

When I started at MCCD, there were no resources to help new advocates prepare to testify and feel comfortable delivering their expertise to lawmakers. So, based on the lessons learned by our policy staff, MCCD decided to put on a one-of-a-kind policy and advocacy training that helps participants navigate the Capitol. Our annual training gives attendees a chance to hear from legislative leaders, take a “behind the scenes” tour, and practice testifying in an actual hearing environment. 

This year we held our third annual training at the Capitol in advance of the 2025 legislative session and, as MCCD officially expands our policy and membership work statewide, we took our training on the road to Bemidji and Mankato! 

We know how hard it can be to participate in the advocacy process in the middle of winter when you live more than three hours away. But as the legislature provides more options for people to watch or testify in hearings over Zoom, we wanted to help our peers and partners feel just as connected to the process without having to physically be at the Capitol all the time.  

Between the three trainings we had more than 60 participants and just like in past years, we received tremendous feedback.

“It was educational and helpful to hear from lawmakers and the testimony practice was a great way to get my ideas on print and practice with feedback.”  – Bemidji Training Participant

“This was so useful to be able to visit the places I may end up at in the future! It was such an eye-opening experience. To be able to network with like-minded people is always so valuable. ”  – Capitol Training Participant

“The content and delivery of this session were fantastic. I loved that there was no slideshow, just the handout, opportunity to practice, and support each other.” – Mankato Training Participant

In fact, 86% of participants who filled out our survey said the training was better than they expected.

Want to stay updated on our advocacy efforts? Sign up for our e-news or get in touch with us directly:

Kari Johnson, Director of State Policy: kjohnson@mccdmn.org

Kelly Law, Policy and Field Building Advisor: klaw@mccdmn.org

You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, and BlueSky for more updates.

Thank you to our partners in Greater Minnesota for helping to Co-Host the Mankato and Bemidji trainings, Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership in Mankato and Northwest Minnesota Foundation in Bemidji, we could not have done these trainings without you! 

And, thank you to our  generous sponsors who made these trainings possible: 

Photos by Queerly Beloved Co. LLC

2024 Legislative Update

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May 21, 2024

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2024 Legislative Update

By: Kari Johnson & Kelly Law

The Minnesota state legislature wrapped up its work by 11:59 pm on Sunday, May 19, 2024. It will be remembered as one of the most chaotic endings to a legislative session in Minnesota history. You can read about the details on MPR.

Generally, during the even-numbered years of the two-year biennium, the legislature focuses on passing policy provisions, supplemental budget items, and capital investment for public infrastructure projects. MCCD’s legislative agenda was heavily focused on economic development policy, but we were also seeking substantial ongoing investments in affordable housing. Read more about what passed and what didn’t.

Economic Development 

Economic Development Final Bill Language  

The Economic Development and Jobs Committees received a small $1 million budget target, but there have been some changes and cancellations of funding allocated in 2023 that are resulting in roughly $5 million in additional funding expenditures going to fund some direct appropriations for mostly workforce organizations. MCCD’s policy items focused on our DEED Programs Review working group are in both the House and Senate Omnibus Bills.  

Policy Changes that passed and will impact the Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program, Expanding Opportunity Growth Fund, Community Wealth Building Pilot Program, and the Small Business Assistance Partnership Program. We will be working with DEED over the summer and fall to ensure that these changes take effect as soon as possible. We expect to ask for funding increases for these programs during the 2025 legislative session.  

  • Fee-based lending addition for the Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program (ELP), Expanding Opportunity Growth Fund, and the Community Wealth Building Pilot.
  • 10% interest rate cap for the Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program (ELP), Expanding Opportunity Growth Fund, and the Community Wealth Building Pilot.
  • Eligibility clarification that tribal economic development entities and Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) are eligible to access these programs.
  • Streamline the underwriting process for the Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program by removing duplicative underwriting for certain partner organizations.
  • Free technical assistance policy change will adjust the Small Business Partnership Program so that the grant can only be used to provide free technical assistance.
  • Incorporate automatic loan forgiveness for borrowers in good standing for the Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program (10%) and the Community Wealth Building Pilot (15%). 
  • 15% admin allowance for grantees of the Small Business Assistance Partnership Technical Assistance Program. 
  • 1% loan closing fee from DEED to help support administrative costs associated with loan closing and servicing for the Emerging Entrepreneur Loan Program and the Expanding Opportunity Growth Fund. 

 

Affordable Housing

Housing Final Funding Spreadsheet  

Following last session’s remarkable $1.5 billion investment in housing, housing had a much smaller budget target of only $10 million this session. Below, you will find some of the housing provisions that MCCD worked on or supported.  

Housing Infrastructure Bonds –  $50 million  
  • MCCD led efforts to secure new resources in Housing Infrastructure Bonds. This new investment will help ensure that new development of critically needed affordable housing can continue, while also working to ensure that we preserve our existing affordable housing.  
  • Expanded eligible uses in HIBs to include, for the first time, the development of cooperatively owned affordable housing.  
  • MCCD advocated for $500 million in HIBs this session, and we are disappointed that the allocation did not match the very clear need. We will continue to fight for additional investments in HIBs and other housing programs going forward until every Minnesotan has access to a safe and affordable home.  
Housing Affordability Preservation Investment Program – $50 million  
  • This vital new program will support the recapitalization of distressed affordable housing properties, preserving state-funded affordable housing assets and ensuring that families currently stably housed can remain in their homes. 
Emergency Rental Assistance – $8.1 million  
  • The Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program will receive $8.1 million for the biennium.  
  • These crucial dollars will ensure that Minnesota families remain stable in their housing and will decrease the number of evictions that Minnesota families face.    
Task Force on Long-Term Sustainability of Affordable Housing   
  • This task force will bring together experts from across the sector to study the financial health and stability of affordable housing providers and to provide recommendations to the Minnesota legislature to promote long-term sustainability to prevent the loss of affordable units and promote housing security for renters.   
  • MCCD was named as an appointee for the task force and will appoint two members with experience operating affordable rental housing.  
Metro Sales and Use Tax for Housing  
  • MCCD supported efforts to clarify in statute that funds from the new Metro Sales and Use Tax will be used as an additional resource, rather than to replace current sources of funding.  
  • We also supported clarifying that funds from the tax can be used to finance the operations and management of financially distressed properties, supportive services or staff of supportive services providers, and the costs of operating emergency shelter facilities. 
Minnesota Cooperative Housing Act (308C)  
  • This bill creates a new 308C cooperative housing statute that consolidates housing cooperative incorporation and governance under one statute. The purpose of this new chapter is to provide new housing co-ops with a standardized framework for development and to support the enabling environment for co-ops.   

 

What Did Not Pass This Session  

Source of Income Protections 
  • Despite broad majority support and 20+ other states passing protections for renters from the source of income (SOI) discrimination, Senator Ron Latz made it clear that he would not vote for a bill that contained SOI protections. Therefore, SOI protections did not make it into the final bill. MCCD will continue to advocate that all Minnesotans have access to housing that is safe and affordable, regardless of their source of income.   
 Housing Cooperative Package 
  • MCCD also looks forward to continuing advocacy efforts to support the development of affordable housing cooperatives. This session, we introduced two new programs: the Affordable Housing Cooperative Technical Assistance Fund, and the Affordable Homeownership Cooperative Down Payment Assistance Fund. Given the extremely limited budget for housing this session, we were unable to move the programs forward, however, we received extremely positive feedback, and we know that, once enacted, these programs will support the enabling environment for housing cooperatives and serve as a tool for generational wealth-creation. 
Land Use Regulation Changes  
  • At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, there seemed to be a lot of hope for passing a bipartisan, cross-sector supported land use and zoning changes reform package. Unfortunately, the bill did not make it across the finish line due to decreasing lawmaker support from the suburban metro districts. You can read more about here.   
Cannabis Business Development Changes  
  • MCCD saw an opportunity to help bring forth some changes to the cannabis business development programs this legislative session. We were focused on getting more admin support for organizations interested in cannabis lending, higher loan allowances for social equity applicants, and flexibility in the application process for new subsidiary entities of existing DEED partners. While these changes did not pass this year, DEED is preparing to launch the programs and is currently seeking input from organizations.  
  • The Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and Office of Cannabis Management (OCM) are seeking public input on the development of four new state programs for the legal cannabis industry: CanGrow, CanNavigate, CanStartup, and CanTrain. These four new programs were created to support a social equity-focused cannabis industry that supports small, independent businesses in Minnesota. DEED and OCM want to center community expertise in the design of these programs so they will meet the state’s needs.  
  • To accomplish this, DEED and OCM have launched a Request for Information (RFI) to invite input from the community. Please provide your feedback in this Request for Information (RFI) survey form to help guide the state as they develop the priorities for the grant and loan programs by June 14.  

We are thrilled about the many provisions in both the economic development and affordable housing bills that we have been championing. The potential impact of these investments on Minnesotans statewide is incredibly exciting.  

We are deeply grateful for the unwavering support from our members and community partners and can’t wait to collaborate throughout the year to shape policy and funding initiatives for the next legislative session. Stay tuned, and we encourage you to join our member meetings and events to actively influence our priorities!  

Hope to see you on June 13 as we celebrate the 2024 legislative session! 

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Policy & Advocacy Training at the Capitol

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February 17, 2024

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Policy & Advocacy Training at the Capitol

Thank you to everyone that joined us at our Policy & Advocacy Training at the Capitol! We learned, laughed, and teared up from some incredibly moving testimonies.

Access to the Capitol can be intimidating and difficult to navigate. Our training focused on using access to the Capitol as a powerful platform to share narratives and reaching advocacy goals with confidence. Attendees learned about plain language, wrote an elevator pitch, practiced their testimonies in ahearing room, and took a tour of the Capitol!

Thank you to our speakers!

  • Jeru Gobeze – Advocacy Director, Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota
  • Representative Mohamed Noor – Representative for District 60B
    Chair, Human Services Finance Committee
  • Kadra Abdi – Director of Local Policy & Field Building, MCCD
  • Kari Johnson – Director of State Policy & Field Building, MCCD
  • Kelly Law – SeniorPolicy & Field Advisor, MCCD
  • Tina Stennes – Communications Manager, MCCD

Thank you to our sponsors!

  • Habitat for Humanity of Minnesota
  • Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.
  • MN CDFI Coalition
 Learn more about our 2024 policy agendas!
Policy & Advocacy

Shared Ownership Collaborative St. Paul

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February 13, 2024

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Shared Ownership Collaborative St. Paul

One of our guiding goals for this years legislative session is to create and expand shared ownership opportunities to support worker-cooperatives, real estate strategies, and housing cooperatives to promote wealth-building, prevent displacement, and ensure community control of assets in BIPOC and intentionally underinvested communities!


Integral to achieving this objective is our collaboration with organizations including our Shared Ownership Collaborative St Paul! This collaborative is BIPOC-led organizations working together with a shared belief that our communities should have the power, resources, and support to control and make decisions about their land, jobs, and housing. Our collaboration includes Metropolitan Consortium of Community Developers, Model Cities of St. Paul, Rondo Community Land Trust, and West Side Community Organization (WSCO)

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2023 Legislative Session Highlights

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May 27, 2023

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2023 Legislative Session Highlights

By: Kari Johnson & Kelly Law

It was a big year for the community development field and MCCD is proud to see our efforts, and those of our members and partners, pay off in a big way! The election outcome last fall surprised a lot of people, coupled with the massive $17.5+ Billion budget surplus, and advocates around the state set out to increase funding requests. MCCD’s final state policy agenda focused in on 4 key goals that informed our advocacy for the 2023 legislative session:

  • Close the Racial Homeownership Gap – Secure permanent funding for the Workforce Homeownership Program for the development & Preservation of Affordable homes. (HF 1635 | SF 3237)
  • Build more Deeply Affordable Rental Housing – Lead advocacy efforts to secure Housing Infrastructure Bond (HIB) investments and secure transformative policy changes. (HF 302 | SF 1094)
  • Support BIPOC and Immigrant Small Businesses – Advance permanent funding increase to support the Small Business Assistance Partnership Program. (HF 504 | SF 1720)
  • Create Commercial Shared Ownership Opportunities – Establish the Community Wealth Building Grant Program to support shared ownership business models. (HF 318 | SF 1696)

The MCCD policy team grew last year and for the first time ever, we doubled our advocacy efforts at the Minnesota Capitol! Kelly Law took on the affordable housing work and Kari refocused efforts on the economic development programs & funding requests. See the highlights below:

 

Economic Development

Economic Development Final Funding Spreadsheet

Small Business Assistance Partnership Grants – $12.85 million (FY 24-25) & $5.45 million ongoing
  • MCCD has been leading on this program and funding request for years and this year we are finally codifying this program and getting a significant funding increase.
  • This program is a competitive grant program at DEED that supports small business technical assistance. This grant has helped supplement technical assistance for small businesses around Minnesota for years. With codifying the program, we added LGBTQ + as a targeted group along with clarifying that cooperatives and commercial land trusts are eligible businesses that can be helped with this program.
  • $12.85 million is an increase from the previous base funding of $2.85 million and there will be at a minimum $5.45 million in future years.
  • DEED is currently working on the RFP for this grant program – we expect it to come out within a month or so. Sign up here to get notified of this grant opportunity as well as others! MCCD will also track the application and notify partners when available.
Community Wealth Building Pilot Program – $3 Million
  • This bill came together last year for the first time in an effort to get the state to do more to support commercial shared ownership businesses.
  • MCCD has been named as the organization to pilot the program for DEED to support commercial land trusts, worker cooperatives and other employee-owned businesses!
Expanding Opportunity Low-Interest Capital Fund – $10 Million
  • This is a new revolving low-interest loan fund that will provide affordable capital to DEED partner CDFIs and other non-profit economic development organizations. This is very exciting as we’ve never had anything like this at the state level!

 

Affordable Housing

Housing Final Funding Spreadsheet

Over a decade ago, MCCD helped create the Homes for All Coalition with some of our key partners. From the first $100 million in HIBs in 2014 to the Lt. Governor Affordable Housing Forum in 2018, little by little our advocacy efforts along with our partners and members has finally paid off! We hope that $1 Billion is the new standard so we can truly make the transformative changes that will not just change the stability of families across Minnesota, but also the communities they call home. In total, the bill includes $1 billion in investments for the entire housing continuum.

Housing Infrastructure Cash (In place of HIBs) – $200 million
  • MCCD led efforts to secure a historic allocation in Housing Infrastructure cash. This investment will allow our affordable housing members to build thousands of new units of permanently affordable housing.
  • We also worked to ensure that our policy changes were included in the final bill, including expanding the eligible uses of HIBs to include the development and preservation of housing at 50% AMI and under without supportive services. This change will ensure that folks between 30% and 50% AMI not needing supportive services will also have access to housing that is affordable to them.
Workforce Homeownership Program – $75.5 million
  • With $20.5 million authorized in the Housing budget and $55 million authorized by Taxes, the Workforce and Affordable Homeownership Program will receive a total of $75.5 million over the next biennium.
Homeownership Education, Counseling, and Training – $3.7 million
  • These resources will help get potential homeowners ready to access the new down payment assistance funding, along with increased affordable homeownership supply.
Emergency Rental Assistance – $115.5 million
  • The Family Homeless Prevention and Assistance Program will receive $65,538,000 for the biennium (2024-25), in addition to the $50 million already awarded, for a total of $115.5 million for this biennium.
  • These crucial dollars will ensure that Minnesota families remain stable in their housing TODAY, and will decrease the number of evictions that Minnesota families face.
Down Payment Assistance – $150 million
  • $100 million of the available down payment assistance dollars will be available through Midwest Minnesota Community Development Corporation as an administrator for the community-based first-generation homebuyers down payment assistance program.

There were many other provisions in both the economic development and affordable housing bills that we are excited about and have been supporting, including the supplemental funding support for supportive services, affordable housing providers relief, 4d, public housing bonding investments, small business grants and economic corridor redevelopment. We are so excited to see what all of these investments can do to help Minnesotans across the state and are super thankful to all of the support we have from our members and community partners.

Member Meeting Recap

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May 22, 2022

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Member Meeting Recap

Thoughts on Community Development
Economic Development: An Update on the Twin Cities Labor Market

By: Kelly Law, MCCD Policy & Field Building Advisor 

On Wednesday, September 7th, MCCD hosted a community economic development member meeting with a specific focus on labor market conditions in the Twin Cities. MCCD was lucky enough to be joined by two guest speakers from the Community Development and Engagement team at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis: Mary Hogan, Senior Policy Analyst and Tyler Boesch, Economist and Analyst.

The Minneapolis Fed serves the public by supporting a growing economy and operates in an area known as the Ninth Federal Reserve District, which includes Minnesota, Montana, North and South Dakota, and 26 counties in northwestern Wisconsin, and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Community Development and Engagement team works to advance the economic well-being of low- to moderate-income people and communities living and working in the Ninth Federal Reserve District.

During the presentation, MCCD members gained insights on the status of the labor market across the Twin Cities Metro and Minnesota. We learned employers are reporting that labor availability for open positions is the most challenging obstacle that they are facing when operating their business, indicating the tight labor market present in Minnesota and nationally.

Despite low unemployment rates and a competitive labor market, disparities in employment persist. In Minnesota, the overall unemployment rate, which is defined as the percentage of those in the labor force looking for work, has dropped to pre-pandemic levels, however, this same trend has not been felt equally by all Minnesotans. While the unemployment rate for White Minnesotans is sitting right around 2.3%, the unemployment rate for Black Minnesotans and Hispanic Minnesotans is 6% and 4%, respectively. Tyler and Mary shared explanations for why these disparities continue to exist:

  • Occupational Segregation: Workers of diverse groups are not proportionally found in each occupation; rather, some occupations have larger shares of BIPOC workers than others. Certain occupations that are more vulnerable to economic shocks, like the COVID-19 pandemic, which are also more heavily concentrated with BIPOC workers are more likely to have higher levels of racial disparities in unemployment.
  • Systemic Factors: Other factors, including education, housing, and criminal justice also contribute to disparities in employment. Minnesota has some of the largest gaps in educational outcomes in the country by race and ethnicity. Additionally, racist housing policies like redlining and systemic housing discrimination have heavily influenced regional patterns for BIPOC communities, including labor market patterns.

Racial discrimination also plays a notable role in creating labor market disparities. As seen in the graph above, White applicants typically had a higher callback rate than Black applicants when applying for a job in the Twin Cities. This disparity is evidenced more acutely when also accounting for factors such as having a criminal record.

The consequences of labor market disparities are significant. The Minneapolis Fed estimates that if racial gaps in the labor market were closed, the GDP, or total economic output, in Minnesota would have increased by $6.6 billion from 2005 to 2019. As Tyler and Mary both stated, when individuals are fully able to participate in the labor market, the economy benefits.

To conclude the presentation, Mary shared potential avenues for rectifying labor market disparities that the Minneapolis Fed is specifically focused on:

  • Ban non-compete agreements, which limit workers’ employment opportunities.
  • Remove occupational licensing requirements that are not needed to ensure public safety as BIPOC workers are less likely to be licensed than White workers. This matters as licensed workers tend to receive higher wages and more secure employment than unlicensed workers.
  • Establish or expand short-time compensation (STC) programs to prevent layoffs, as well as expand unemployment insurance eligibility.

Below are some links to additional materials and resources shared by Mary during the meeting:

MCCD is grateful to Tyler, Mary, and our members for sharing their time with us, and we look forward to continued efforts to ensure equitable access to the labor market for all Minnesotans.