Honoring Towbes

Grant to Housing Trust Fund

By Yardi Blog Staff on May 2, 2017 in Giving

The Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County (HTF) has received a $5,000 contribution from Yardi in honor of the late Michael Towbes, local businessman and philanthropist, and to support the agency’s new South Coast Workforce Homebuyer Program.

“Michael Towbes was a champion of workforce housing and was committed to the Housing Trust Fund’s mission to expand workforce housing opportunities. Yardi is pleased to be a ‘seed sponsor’ of HTF’s new South Coast Workforce Homebuyer Program. We hope that our donation in honor of Michael Towbes will inspire other business to contribute to this worthwhile workforce housing program,” said Gordon Morrell, Executive Vice President of Yardi.

Michael Towbes served on the Board of Directors of the Housing Trust Fund for 12 years and the agency greatly benefited from his expertise, experience and generosity.

The grant award from Yardi will provide key operational support for HTF as it launches the South Coast Workforce Homebuyer Program, which will provide low-cost down payment loans up to $100,000 to help first-time working households buy an entry-level home in the community where they work.

The Housing Trust Fund is a non-profit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) whose mission is to expand affordable rental and homeownership housing opportunities throughout Santa Barbara County for working households and our most vulnerable populations.  HTF operates a countywide $6.7 million Revolving Loan Fund for affordable housing in partnership with community lenders.

The loan fund provides short-term, low-cost loans to qualified sponsors of affordable housing for the production, preservation, and rehabilitation of affordable housing for low-income households. The agency also operates a countywide Workforce Homebuyer Program that provides down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers.

HTF was created by countywide community leaders to address our region’s critical affordable housing needs by building innovative partnerships between the private, public and nonprofit sectors.  The organization raises capital, design innovative housing solutions and provide technical assistance and low-cost loans to community sponsors of affordable housing.

HTF has been certified by the U.S. Treasury CDFI Fund as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). HTF is also a HUD approved Non-Profit Secondary Loan Provider.