YOUR PASSION.  YOUR LEGACY.  YOUR CAPE.

DONATE BY CHECK
Payable to The Arethusa Charitable Fund
The Cape Cod Foundation
261 Whites Path, Unit 2 | South Yarmouth 02664

Arethusa Charitable Fund

To support housing initiatives on Cape Cod

2/17/22

$1,919,519

Permanent Endowment.  Follows spending policy set and approved annually by Foundation’s Board of Directors

$156,810

$1,301,470* total grantmaking from all Foundation Funds to support housing initiatives from 2018-2022

FUND BACKGROUND
In 2022, we received a three-part bequest. The donor entrusted us to establish a designated fund to support specific nonprofit organizations and a scholarship fund to support local students. The third part provided the Foundation with discretionary resources to support “current needs on Cape Cod,” with a preference for housing initiatives.

FOUNDATION STRATEGY
While we have funded many housing initiatives throughout our history, we did not have a fund dedicated to this critical area. The opportunity to establish one was a huge gift to the community. With dedicated flexible resources, we can develop stronger strategies, seize more opportunities, increase our investment in housing initiatives, and build a community of support to meet changing needs over time. And, because we fund initiatives across many areas of community life, we can identify intersections (i.e. housing and the environment) to align and leverage resources from multiple sources to broaden impact.

SIDEBAR
President and CEO Kristin O’Malley currently serves on the Cape Cod Commission Regional Housing Strategy Steering Committee, tasked with creating a regional housing strategy for Cape Cod.  Having a seat at the table allows us to participate in strategic community leadership and stay current on community needs and opportunities for impactful grantmaking.

RECENT GRANTMAKING

Housing Assistance Corporation, $15,000
In 2022, we awarded a $15,000 grant to Housing Assistance Corporation to support one of its newest initiatives to address housing affordability on Cape Cod: THRIVE. Currently, there is a long waitlist for housing subsidies. Because of the increasing gap between wages and housing costs, households under 100% AMI (area median income) will not be able to continue living and working on Cape Cod without additional assistance. The THRIVE program provides a fixed, monthly rental subsidy to qualifying households living and working on Cape Cod for up to two years. Clients also participate in the organization’s HUD Certified Housing Counseling Program to set goals and work toward financial empowerment. During a recent pilot for a similar program, participants achieved various successful outcomes: reduced debt, increased savings, improved credit, and/or the creation of a plan for eventual home ownership. Using resources to help families build financial empowerment aligns with the Foundation’s ongoing goal to expand access to safe, affordable housing.

Community Development Partnership, $40,000
Since 2017, we have invested $40,000 in discretionary resources in Community Development Partnership (CDP) to support its ongoing initiative to develop affordable housing in the region: The Lower Cape Community Housing Partnership. This collaborative focuses on education and advocacy, among other strategies, to bring policy makers and voters together to make significant and strategic investments in housing preservation and production. Due to the Partnership’s activities, $38.6 million in local funding has been approved over the past five years. As of 2022, every Lower Cape town has at least one affordable housing project in the development pipeline. Seven permitted projects are expected to produce over 300 housing units in the next four years.

This year, we also awarded CDP a $25,000 grant from our Targeted Capacity Building Grant Program to advance human resources strategies designed to transform the organization’s culture. These grants effectively use education, advocacy, and technical assistance to support organizational and community capacity-building initiatives to achieve greater impact. Also, larger grants and sustained support from funders helps strong partnerships and organizations achieve greater outcomes.

All figures updated 10.16.23

*Since many initiatives overlap funding categories, some grants that have impacted housing initiatives are often reflected in Health & Human services reporting.

Building Flexible Resources to Support All Aspects of Community Life

You can donate any amount to any of these field-of-interest funds at any time.
Through collective giving, we can fund broadscale initiatives that lead to regional, systemic change.

HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES FUND

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