The HomesFund is offering loans for developers of affordable housing projects to cover architectural services, geotechnical studies, environmental assessments, appraisals and other pre-construction costs. The money could fund projects similar to the The Lumien Apartments built on East 32nd Street.
The HomesFund is offering loans for developers of affordable housing projects to cover architectural services, geotechnical studies, environmental assessments, appraisals and other pre-construction costs. The money could fund projects similar to the The Lumien Apartments built on East 32nd Street.Durango Herald file

Multiple Southwest Colorado nonprofits received a total of $125,000 in donations from the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority to help pay for an array of services.

According to a CHFA news release on Wednesday, eight nonprofits in the region were selected through the organization’s Direct Effect Awards program.

Those recipients are:

$5,000 for Boys and Girls Club of La Plata County, which will renovate and outfit its new Science and Creativity Center.$15,000 for Careers in Construction Colorado, which includes La Plata County. That group will use funds to pay for U.S. Department of Labor-recognized pre-apprenticeship certificates.$50,000 for Hilltop Community Resources, which includes Ouray County. The group will use funds to help support the Latimer House, a community-based intimate partner violence and sexual assault response program.$10,000 for HomesFund, which serves La Plata, Montezuma, Dolores and Archuleta counties. That group will use funds to assist low-income households with the construction and acquisition of manufactured homes in Southwest Colorado.$20,000 for the Pagosa Springs Community Development Corp., which will use funds to hire staff to assist with grant execution and compliance.$7,500 for The Hive DGO in Durango, which is using funds to help pay for its relocation.$10,000 for the Women’s Resource Center in Durango, which will use funds to support “robust programs and services that empower clients to take control of their lives and create action steps for change.”$7,500 for the Young Americans Center for Financial Education, which includes La Plata County. That group will use funds to pay for a money management, economics, civics and philanthropy literacy program for fifth grade students called Young AmeriTowne.

“As part of the application process, organizations provide to CHFA a description of how the Direct Effect Award funds will be used and must submit a follow-up report one year after award to report on how the funds were used and the impact they had,” CHFA spokesman Matt Lynn said in an email to The Durango Herald.

To be eligible for the funding, Lynn said nonprofits’ work must help support affordable homeownership, affordable rental housing and/or economic development, as well as increasing access to education, mobility and transportation access, increased health access and improved health outcomes, and energy efficiency and energy cost assistance.

Lynn also said nonprofits that support rural communities, people of color, those impacted by systemic racial inequities, veterans, unhoused people, the elderly and those with physical and intellectual disabilities were all eligible for funding.

In all, the CHFA donated more than $1.3 million to 104 nonprofits across the state, the release said.

Eligible Direct Effect Award recipients include nonprofit and not-for-profit organizations including public housing authorities, cities, counties and local municipalities “whose missions align with CHFA’s work to strengthen Colorado by investing in affordable housing and community development,” according to the release. Since 2021, the CHFA has donated more than $6.1 million to more than 400 Colorado organizations.

The CHFA offers financial resources to strengthen homeownership, affordable rental housing and businesses, according to its website.

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