Advancing Homeownership as a Tool for Wealth Building

More than a roof over heads, homeownership is a critical tool for helping families increase their financial security, build wealth, and pass it down to the next generation.

What if there were a way to help Black and Latinx families build wealth, find new uses for vacant properties in disinvested neighborhoods, and help communities (not to mention the whole Chicago region) grow safer and stronger in the process? Homeownership does all this and more, which is why the Trust has made it a cornerstone of our work to close the racial and ethnic wealth gap.

The Trust’s Protecting and Advancing Equitable Homeownership strategy makes smart investments in organizations, projects, research, and policy efforts working to ensure more Chicagoans have access to opportunities to build wealth through homeownership. In addition to grants, the Trust also acts as a convener, bringing stakeholders together to collaborate on creative solutions.

An exciting example is Connecting Capital and Community (3C). Launched in 2022 as part of a national initiative, 3C is a three-year partnership led by the Trust with an initial $1.95 million commitment from JPMorgan Chase. 3C has built a diverse network of developers, nonprofits, community members, and others that is testing innovative ideas for increasing Black and Latinx homeownership in East Garfield Park and Humboldt Park. With a focus on affordable housing development, equitable home loans, and support for buyers, 3C aims to identify workable models that can be scaled and replicated in other communities.

The benefits of homeownership start with the household and funnel up to the block, the neighborhood, and the entire region. Chicago’s homeownership gap is complex, but with the right strategy and partners we can move the needle, one homebuyer at a time.

In the past two years, the Trust’s homeownership grants have:

• Advanced policy change that will increase transparency and equity in mortgage loans, including the City of Chicago Equity in Lending Ordinance and the Illinois Community Reinvestment Act.
• Helped over 700 households become homeowners and prevented more than 1,300 foreclosures.
• Supported research studies by Urban Institute and Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance that are helping us better understand homeownership disparities and envision what’s possible for the future.