Vancity Affordable Community Housing Program.

We’ve joined forces with the Vancity Community Foundation to deliver a program that aims to support the development of affordable housing projects across BC by providing early-stage financing to the organizations that need it most and building the capacity of non-profit housing developers.  

Born with $7 million from our Shared Success program, our members helped make it possible for this fund to provide low-cost, flexible loans to support expenses during the early phases of affordable housing development — from detailed project design to project costing and financial planning.

The process of progress.  

Non-profits, co-operatives, and Indigenous housing organizations have the potential to help the affordable housing problem in our province through the acquisition, development, and redevelopment of aging buildings or under-utilized land.  

If fully developed, these opportunities could provide housing to many communities — including seniors, single parents, people with disabilities, and Indigenous people. Here’s the problem: projects often get stalled before they're construction-ready.

The buck stops here. Usually.  

The pre-construction process, like design, planning, and getting municipal approvals, is expensive and time-consuming. For non-profit developers, receiving conventional funding and financing options for this can be particularly difficult. At this stage, affordable housing development projects are often either slowed or shut down altogether.  

When they break ground, we break barriers.  

That's where the Vancity Affordable Community Housing Program comes in. Administered by the Vancity Community Foundation, the program provides grant funding, advice, and low-cost loans to support these affordable housing developments. With the help of this program, projects like Soroptimist Apartment House, Rivermark, and Mount Douglas Manor can reach the finish line — providing permanent, sustainable, and affordable housing for our local communities.

Since 2011, the fund has:

• helped build 5,658 affordable rental homes
• issued $39 million in financing
• provided 96 loans to community organizations

Whether you’re interested in applying for or investing in the program, please visit the Vancity Community Foundation website for investment and application information.