At the heart of our community lies the importance of housing, which provides a sense of safety, security, and well-being. Unfortunately, many hard-working individuals in Jefferson County face the challenge of being unable to afford to live near their place of employment.
To help bridge this gap and bring our community together, Colorado Gives Foundation invested $15 million to create a housing fund called Bring it Home to help bring affordable workplace housing to Jeffco, where nearly 20,000 new units are needed to meet the housing needs of the area.
“We want to help the missing middle, our teachers, grocery workers, nurses, and firefighters, who keep the most vital functions of our society functioning. The lack of workforce housing is hitting them the hardest,” said Kelly Dunkin, Colorado Gives Foundation’s CEO and President. “And so, we have decided to use what we’ve learned about housing challenges in Jeffco and dedicate funding, energy, and passion towards bringing more affordable workforce housing home.”
In November of 2022, Colorado Gives Foundation proudly supported Proposition 123 to unilaterally support renters and potential homeowners in their pursuit of thriving. “Colorado Gives Foundation listens emphatically to the needs of those we serve. And what we have heard is that there is no direct funding to get that missing middle off the ground. This is where we, together, can help Bring It Home,” added Dunkin.
Donors interested in joining the effort can do so in two primary ways. They can make a donation to the Bring it Home fund on ColoradoGives.org/story/housing support. Or, if they want to invest in long-term efforts, they can create a donor-advised fund (DAF) with $25,000, pooling resources with others to build collective impact. The Bring it Home funds are committed to the housing efforts in Jeffco, but after 10 years, the initial investment is returned with one-percent interest. Then, donors can choose to reinvest in housing, make another impact investment, or convert the donor-advised fund to a traditional DAF and make grants to any causes and organizations that matter to them.
Together, we can help solve this problem and ensure that all of Jeffco is thriving.
