Gift Will Be Used to Launch and Grow a First-Of-Its-Kind Housing Innovation Fund to Seize Unprecedented Opportunity to Generate Affordable Housing Under “City of Yes”
NEW YORK (April 23, 2024) – Today, Volunteers of America-Greater New York (VOA-GNY), a housing and human services nonprofit with 125+ years of experience, announced a $20 million commitment from an anonymous private donor to support the development of affordable housing in the New York metropolitan area. In recognition of VOA-GNY’s track record of developing leading-edge, quality housing for low-income and formerly homeless individuals and families, the gift is intended to seed and grow a Housing Innovation Fund (HIF). The HIF will enable VOA-GNY to deploy capital nimbly and rapidly as it seeks new deals in the affordable housing space.
The announcement comes as a historic housing and homelessness crisis persists in the Greater New York area. The availability of vacant rental apartments recently reached a fifty-year low in New York City, homelessness spiked 53% in New York State last year, and rents continue to rise in the metropolitan region, bucking the trend of rental decreases in and around major cities across the country.
“At a time when all levels of government are struggling to apply sustained attention to a growing list of intractable issues, we must acknowledge the power of non-profits like VOA-GNY to be catalysts for responsible and sustainable solutions at scale,” said Jeffrey R. Ginsburg, President and CEO of VOA-GNY. “In a moving demonstration of generosity, modesty, and social responsibility, this anonymous donor is modelling for the philanthropic community how to strike at the heart of the housing and homelessness crisis.”
VOA-GNY is also launching a Real Estate Advisory Council of volunteer leaders with experience across the real estate, government, urban planning, legal, and social services sectors. Members will inform and contribute to the organization’s housing and community development strategy including growing the HIF, sourcing new deals, conducting site analysis, and enhancing the benefit of projects to the local communities they will be built in.
“VOA-GNY has a track record of exceeding expectations around what the scale, quality, and aesthetic design of affordable housing can be,” said Reginald Goins, Board Chair of VOA-GNY and President and COO of The Honickman Companies, one of the nation’s largest independently owned bottlers and distributors of soft drinks. “At this critical moment when the organization is unveiling large-scale housing and community development initiatives, we are incredibly grateful for this support and vote of confidence.”
VOA-GNY’s recent accomplishments include being selected by the City of New York as co-developer of Hillside Grove, a major community development project near the North Shore of Staten Island that will advance housing, food, and environmental justice on one campus. Hillside Grove is partially modeled after two affordable housing projects for low-income and formerly homeless seniors that VOA-GNY completed within the past three years. Together, these developments yielded 240 new units and received attention for their cutting-edge approach to combatting social isolation through architectural design and human services. VOA-GNY’s pipeline of upcoming projects will result in the development of nearly 1,000 units of affordable housing over the next five years, leveraging an anticipated $550 million in public and private investment.
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About Volunteers of America-Greater New York
Volunteers of America-Greater New York (VOA-GNY) is an anti-poverty organization with a rich 128-year history of serving its neighbors in need. The organization’s vision is fueled by its experience as a leading provider of services to families and individuals experiencing homelessness in the greater New York area. Through 70+ programs located in New York City, Northern New Jersey, and Westchester County—including emergency shelters, transitional housing, and permanent supportive housing—VOA-GNY supports more than 30,000 adults and children annually. It is also the largest provider of residential services for veterans within a coalition that has virtually ended chronic homelessness for veterans in New York City. For more information, visit www.voa-gny.org.
Media Contact:
Rochelle Heinrichs, 646-531-0975, rheinrichs@voa-gny.org