Earlier in her career, Robin Hacke believed that money alone could solve the problem of underinvested communities. As Hacke observed in a Center for Community Investment video, she thought, “They don’t have the money to do the projects and deals that they would like to do. We’re going to bring money—presto!—problem solved.”

Turns out it isn’t that simple. Marginalized communities typically lack development plans, which take money, time, and skill to develop. But those plans are needed to apply for state and federal funds, so, when funding becomes available, the communities that are most in need are shut out. “You can load money onto an airplane, and fly it to Detroit, and have it just circle around and around with no place to land,” Hacke said.

This is no accident. Because of structural racism, funding tends to flow toward the communities that need it least, often bypassing neighborhoods of color. The disparities between affluent neighborhoods and underinvested ones only grow over time.

Hacke and her colleague Marian Urquilla set out to disrupt that pattern. Between 2010 and 2011, they developed an approach they called the Capital Absorption Framework, designed to help communities build “landing strips” for investment that will advance racial and economic equity. Communities and practitioners use the framework to work with stakeholders to establish shared priorities, develop a pipeline of fundable projects, and strengthen local policies and practices. Together, these strategies give federal funding agencies, investors, and grantmakers confidence in the long-term viability of a project.

Hacke and Urquilla have since shared that model widely through the Center for Community Investment (CCI), which they founded in 2017. The framework has helped dozens of communities acquire the funding to realize their goals.

Here, we take a look at three long-disinvested communities that have used CCI’s framework to bring in nearly $50 million in federal and philanthropic funding, and explore how others can attract more investment in the future.

A Focus on Preservation in Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh, like many American cities, has a severe shortage of affordable homes. In 2016, there was an estimated shortage of over 17,000 units for very low-income households—with ever-growing demand across broader Allegheny County. Recognizing housing’s impact on health, UPMC Health Plan, a health care provider and insurer, began examining ways to preserve and increase the city’s supply of affordable homes.

But the organization soon realized it couldn’t take on such a challenge alone.

In 2018, CCI recruited six health care organizations for its Accelerating Investments for Healthy Communities (AIHC) initiative. The members, including UPMC, would work to provide affordable housing in their localities. Separately, the members convened local partners, and UPMC’s group determined that preservation of existing affordable housing was key. “What’s the good of funding two more LIHTC deals of 100 units if we lose 500 units?” Kevin Progar told CCI. Progar led the UPMC team for AIHC and is now a staff member at the Center for Community Investment.

To meet its new goal, UPMC started the Preservation Working Group, a critical step in creating an effective enabling environment for preservation. Today, the group identifies affordable housing in Pittsburgh that might be at risk, leads efforts to keep these properties affordable, and advocates for preservation policies and programs.

[Related article: Rescue Plan has Billions Available for Housing, Advocates Urge Officials to Take It]

The group takes a proactive approach to preservation. It uses the HouseCat database to identify properties that are strategically important to maintaining affordability, which can then be preserved by housing nonprofits.

Because the Preservation Working Group had established shared priorities and created a pipeline of affordable properties to preserve, it was ready when American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding became available. The group was able to obtain $10 million in ARPA funding for preservation work in Pittsburgh. And UPMC worked with local foundations to start an $11 million private capital fund, Preserve Affordability Pittsburgh, to help nonprofit buyers compete with market-motivated investors.

To date, two investments by UPMC have helped fund the construction or preservation of over 350 affordable homes through Bridgeway Capital’s Affordable Housing Loan Program, Progar says. Separately, UPMC Presbyterian hospital supplied parcels that will create a LGBTQ-friendly senior housing community in Pittsburgh through the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program.

Members of the group also succeeded in increasing the state housing trust fund from $40 million to $60 million annually, Progar says. The trust fund expands low-income housing, works to prevent homelessness, and promotes homeownership. And earlier this year, the Preservation Working Group, in conjunction with other advocates, received a $125,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency to create and preserve affordable rental housing in Pittsburgh.

Prepare for Opportunity

For those working in America’s underinvested communities, it’s hard to know when the window of opportunity will open. “You can’t tell when it will rain money,” says Hacke. But new funding sources regularly appear from infrastructure investments, disaster recovery funds, and changes in the tax code.

Right now, the plane is circling. Substantial funds are earmarked for historically disinvested communities, including through the American Rescue Plan, Inflation Reduction Act, and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. While time is short to prepare for the current round of funding, it’s high time to prepare for the next round.