The Dwindling Supply of Affordable Rental Housing

In September 2019 Elizabeth La Jeunesse, Alexander Hermann, Daniel McCue and Jonathan Spader of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University, authored the paper   Documenting the Long-Run Decline in Low-Cost Rental Units in the US by State. In this paper the researchers sought to answer the following questions: “1) has the number…

NBC News Gets it Right: USDA Housing Needs More Investment

By Bob Rapoza, NRHC Executive Secretary We read with great interest the recent report by NBC News “Rats, roaches, mold: Under USDA’s watch, some rural public housing is falling apart.” The families profiled in the article are living in a terrible situation that must be remedied, and Washington policymakers must take action to ensure other…

Shutdown Impacts Rural Housing

As the budget stalemate in Washington drags on the consequences and impacts are becoming clearer and increasingly disturbing. Without any justification, the Administration has closed 25 percent of the federal government and among the casualties are agencies with the responsibility for financing affordable housing, clean drinking water, and community opportunity. NRHC members have reported about…

Housing and Community Development Organizations Boosted the Rural Economy by $380 Million and 40,000 Jobs in 2013

Today, the National Rural Housing Coalition (NRHC) published a new report, “Impact Report: The Economic and Human Impact of Nonprofit Organizations on Rural America,” summarizing the results of its annual survey of over 100 rural housing and community development organizations. The report estimates that in 2013 alone, nonprofit organizations generated $380 million in economic activity and…

USDA Leaves $100 Million In Rural Affordable Housing Funds on the Table

On Monday, October 27, NRHC delivered a letter to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Tom Vilsack, criticizing the Department’s failure to spend $100 million in program funding that aims to help families in rural America obtain and improve affordable housing. NRHC asserts that demand for rural housing assistance remains high, but USDA did not process applications in a timely…

Social Media Webinar: How to Create a Social Media Strategy

The focus of this webinar was on how to create an effective social media strategy, regardless of your organization’s limited resources. By providing this webinar, in addition to other critical resources and information, NRHC aims to help build the capacity of rural housing organizations and to help raise awareness of the issues impacting rural families and…

NRHC 2014 Impact Survey

In recent years, funding for USDA Rural Housing programs has been cut significantly, making it more difficult for nonprofit organizations and state and local governments to improve housing conditions in their communities. To help protect these resources, rural housing and community development organizations must find new and better ways to document their impact and effectiveness. That’s…

Opposition Mounts to Proposed Cuts in Federal Rural Development Programs

Today, NRHC delivered a petition signed by more than 1,400 rural organizations and advocates to Congress, voicing strong opposition to the significant funding cuts proposed in the President’s 2015 budget for U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development programs, including a 60 percent cut in low-cost homeownership loans and over $150 million in grants that…