About Housing Nonprofit
Housing Nonprofit is on a mission to democratize how people access financing to buy a home. Our daily work includes tracking government, charitable, and private funding sources which are supposed to help people purchase homes. We bridge the gap by providing a Universal Housing Grants Application so anyone can check their eligibility from thousands of available programs.
Our Organization
Housing Nonprofit is a 501(c)3 not for profit. While we do realize the sale of homes is traditionally done for profit, we are instead doing it for the benefit of people. For anyone who needs help purchasing a home, we create custom financing solutions that include a mix of housing grants and flexible mortgage products. Our service is free for home buyers. Funding to do our work is provided through donors, sponsors, and lenders who contribute to our research. Everything in excess of our cost is duly invested into creating more housing grants. Anyone can access our housing grants database for free by filling out the Universal Housing Grants Application. Continue reading below for more details about housing grants and our services.
Using this website
On this website you can check your eligibility for Housing Grants to purchase a home across the United States. Our research on grants was created with the data of housing agencies, other nonprofits, and expert peer reviewed research. Our results span every county across the United States so anyone can check their eligibility for public funding using the Universal Housing Grants Application. We also take care not to include any grants that are part of a marketing scheme or don’t lead to any tangible support to purchase a home.
What are Housing Grants?
Housing Grants include down payment assistance, cash, discounts, lender credits, rebates or flexible terms towards the purchase of a home. We use the term “Housing Grants” as shorthand in reference to any one or a combination of assistance types to purchase a home. The most effective Housing Grants create both immediate access to home ownership for renters and long term value for cities. To meet its objective, every grant has its own terms. No matter what the Housing Grant is, both grantee and grantor enter into an agreement with specific “use of funds”. That means any money granted to you must be used for a particular reason. Often housing grants go towards the down payment to purchase a home or reduce closing costs. For example, housing grants might be designated to pay interest on a loan. If you get this kind of grant your loan may be reduced or interest free. Another example, housing grants that pay your taxes for a given period of time. Tax breaks are widely available particularly to first time home buyers. Naturally the most popular housing grants are the forgivable kind. Many grants become forgivable after a period of time. For example, a state housing agency may offer a grant of $30,000 that is forgivable after 5 years of living in a home. If you sell prior to that time the grant may require a portion be paid back, but so long as you keep the home for at least five years the grant is forgiven. These are a few examples to show the various types of housing grants. We’ve gathered the requirements for substantially all of these programs and they are included in the Universal Housing Grants Application.
Who is Eligible for Housing Grants?
Housing grants can be targeted toward specific populations, such as first-time homebuyers, active military personnel, veterans, teachers, and first responders are among the most talked about. It’s important to note that not all Housing Grants are from the government. Some housing grants are provided through for profit companies in exchange for your doing business with them. A large number of housing grants target people who make around the area median income. And yet many housing grants have no income limits at all. Those with no income limits are often part of broader economic development plans to attract residents to certain areas.
Housing Nonprofit was created because most people are not aware that these grants exist, don’t know if they qualify, or even where to find the application. That’s understandable because the terminology used to describe these products is not yet standardized. In addition, the term “housing grant” is an only too apt description that is often used by marketers to exploit people looking for such help. That’s why we have taken on this challenge to create an efficient gathering of public and private funding. Our website is updated every week for the benefit of the people and our organization reinvests its proceeds into providing more grants.
Structure of Housing Grants
Housing grants can be structured in a variety of ways including forgivable grants, zero interest, deferred payment, second mortgages, and below market interest rates just to name a few of the common structures. We prepare an eligibility report for each applicant that explains in greater detail how each grant works.
A History of Housing Grants since 1960’s
Housing Grants as a tool for financial inclusion became supported by law as a result of the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement. It was citizens who came together to force the government to take a hard look at inequality which existed in the housing market and prevented many people from owning homes.
From the struggle for Civil Rights we gained the 1968 Fair Housing Act, the 1968 Housing and Urban Development Act, and the 1977 Community Reinvestment Act. Collectively, these policies created the legal framework for financial inclusion in the home buying process for all Americans. Indeed, the struggle for housing grants and financial inclusion was hard fought and continues today. That struggle resulted in programs such as (1) Down payment assistance (2) Non-conventional mortgage products with no down payment requirement, and no closing costs or fees, (3) widespread availability of FHA loans to low and middle income borrowers.
President Lyndon B. Johnson meets with civil rights leaders at the White House on the day following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. It was less than a week later that Johnson signed the Fair Housing Act. April 11, 1968. – Courtesy White House
Can I get a mortgage?
Yes, you can apply for a mortgage at or below market rates through Housing Nonprofit. There are no fees charged to the borrower. Instead we ask the lenders to pay into the coffers of the Universal Housing Grants Application to fund research and additional housing grants.
Make your voice heard
In addition to providing information on housing grants, we sometimes encourage our subscribers to take civic action by supporting legislation that bolsters housing grant programs. You can add your voice to petitions that are directed to your local member of congress. We encourage you to join our fight to keep home ownership affordable and boost availability of Housing Grants nationwide.
Meet our CEO
Stay in touch
What’s the best way to know what we are up to? Subscribe to our newsletter. Doing so will automatically make you part of our community. If there are specific topics that you’d like to see us write about, or if you are a resource for housing grants and want to partner: Please email us at info@housingnonprofit.com