Innovation

Each of our solutions begins with approaching the thorniest housing problems as puzzles that can be solved piece by piece with the right team and resources. We listen to our partners to learn what obstacles stand between them and their ability to deliver housing at the cost, time, and pace our region needs. We work with our partners to identify the tools they need to unlock the delivery of affordable housing; and once we have a new idea, we roll up our sleeves and get to work.

Our urgent housing needs generate many opportunities for potential solutions.  HAF marshalls its extensive experience to determine where we think our intervention will generate the most impact:

  • We focus on solutions that we are uniquely positioned to tackle due to our small, flexible structure and our public-private funding model. If someone else is better-suited to take it on, we encourage the collaboration and re-focus on the next hairy problem. 
  • The problems we solve are tied to real projects and the solutions we implement are direct responses to our partners’ goals. The financial products we offer are the difference between these projects crossing the finish line or languishing.
  • When we find a solution, we work to scale it to maximize impact and share best practices. For example, instead of a one-off bridge loan, we scaled a full anti-displacement lending program. We worked with the Terner Center to compile and share lessons learned from our Permanent Support Housing prototype, Tahanan Supportive Housing. And while so far we have financed the first 20 permanently affordable ADUs in San Francisco, we are working to expand this approach more broadly.

Next we’re tackling:

Educator Housing

School districts around the Bay Area face constant teacher retention problems due to the high costs of housing.  HAF is working with SFUSD to bring the affordable middle-income housing our teachers need to the communities in which they work.

Workforce Housing

Critical members of the City’s communities (its restaurant workers, firefighters, entertainers, etc.) are often “forgotten” when it comes to accessing public or philanthropic capital. HAF is currently exploring how to expand its lending so that it supports the development of housing for these “missing middle” populations, and has one prototype project currently in development. 

Regional Expansion

Recognizing that housing affordability is a regional crisis, our team has begun to consider and evaluate potential opportunities to expand our work to support projects located outside of San Francisco city boundaries.

If you want to partner with us to take on a new housing challenge, reach out to info@sfhaf.org.