MILWAUKEE-Donors Forum of Wisconsin is pleased to announce the winner of the annual Wisconsin Good Grant Award, which honors innovative grants and exemplary partnerships between grantmakers and nonprofit organizations. This year's recipient is the Coulee Community Land Trust (CCLT), a program of the Coulee Housing Development Corporation, administered by Couleecap, Inc.
 
The Coulee Community Land Trust was formed in 2008 by a group of community leaders and area nonprofits concerned about the lack of affordable housing in La Crosse County and the surrounding area. Following a needs assessment the La Crosse County Housing Commission determined a community land trust needed to be created. The initial effort was funded with a seed grant of $11,000 from the Franciscan Sisters of the Perpetual Adoration, which has since generated more than $2.5 million in residential developments and created 16 units of permanently affordable homeownership housing.
 
The power of the CCLT comes from employing a "shared-appreciation" model. A home is constructed or acquired by the CCLT. The CCLT then sells the house to a qualified household while the land trust retains ownership of the underlying land. When the home-buyer purchases the home, they enter into a "shared-appreciation agreement" with the CCLT limiting the amount of appreciation the home-buyer receives when the home-buyer sells their house. The agreement allows the home-buyer to access the subsidy and housing market and the CCLT control of the price of the home at resale allowing the home to be affordable to another low-income household. At resale the home-buyer still receives a share of the appreciation and the remainder is kept with the property making the home affordable to the next home-buyer.
 
"This model is replicable, and the benefit of permanently affordable housing is something within the reach of every Wisconsin community who sees it as a need," said Charlie Handy, La Crosse County Economic Development Fund County Planner.
 
The project has created homeownership opportunities and offers low-income families the ability to live in the community of their choice. Homes have been created in four different communities, offering low-income families the ability to own a home in a community they choose to live in versus a community that the market would select for them.
 
"The CCLT was formed in response to a community need identified by the La Crosse County Housing Commission. By creating a stock of permanently affordable homes, the Coulee Community Land Trust provides a new set of tools for low-income households in our community," states La Crosses County Housing Authority Executive Director, Patrick Dienger.
 
The Good Grant Award recipients will be recognized at the Donors Forum of Wisconsin's Annual Luncheon Friday, October 15th at The Pfister Hotel downtown Milwaukee, WI. The Franciscan Sisters of Perpetual Adoration will receive an award and the Coulee Community Land Trust will receive an award along with a $5,000 grant from the Donors Forum of Wisconsin for the Good Grant Award, generously sponsored by Rockwell Automation.
 
Donors Forum of Wisconsin's Annual Luncheon is considered the state's premier networking and educational event for philanthropic and nonprofit organizations. It offers hundreds of grantmakers, nonprofit leaders, and consultants the opportunity to learn about critical issues facing our communities and the sector. Tickets to the luncheon featuring keynote Rachel Hatch of the Institute for the Future are still available online at http://www.dfwonline.org.