Housing + Health Evaluation: How Early-Stage Funding Accelerated Affordable Housing in Central Texas

Introduction

Austin was once recognized as one of the country’s most affordable cities. Today, however, a decade and a half later, the region faces a significant affordable housing shortage. A 2021 Housing Affordability Report commissioned by St. David’s Foundation, Austin Community Foundation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and NI, estimated that Central Texas needs an additional 60,000 affordable housing units for families earning less than 80% of the Median Family Income.  

In response to this community need, St. David’s Foundation awarded over $8.4M in December 2024 through 18 grants to 16 organizations and collaborations. The funding supported planning and predevelopment activities; the critical work that takes place before construction that is often necessary to secure financing to move projects forward as well support for planning activities including community engagement, local coordination, needs assessments, and goal setting. These grants were intended to grow the pipeline of viable affordable housing projects by funding the early costs necessary to secure future financing. 

To better understand the impact of this investment, the Foundation partnered with csb philanthropic solutions to evaluate how flexible philanthropic funding for planning and predevelopment strengthens the capacity of affordable housing development in Central Texas. The evaluation explored the degree to which early-stage support helps catalyze projects, accelerate development timelines, increase project completion, and leverage additional public and private funding. 

Impact of Housing + Health

Funding for predevelopment and planning increased the quality, quantity and timeliness of affordable housing development. 

Collectively, more than 840 affordable housing units were envisioned, with 644 units in progress at the end of the one-year grant term.  

A key strength of this cohort of grantees was the variety of projects, each addressing different aspects of affordable housing development. During the one-year grant term, four projects began construction, two were on track to break ground in the next six months, one completed permitting, one finalized project design, and two had selected development partners and completed architectural renderings.  

Funding from St. David’s Foundation for predevelopment allowed grantees to move past some of the highest-risk phases of development, helping to position their projects to compete and apply for other funding sources.  

Funding for predevelopment and planning resulted in increased likelihood of additional funds secured, expediting the development of affordable housing projects. 

Investments through the Housing + Health funding opportunity helped recipients secure more than $25 million in additional public and private funding across all projects, representing an estimated 3-to-1 return on the original $8.4 million investment. Grantees reported that the credibility associated with St. David’s Foundation funds made it easier to raise additional funding, either directly through letters of support and references for other funders, or through the reputation that a large initial investment from a trusted source represents. 

“St. David’s Foundation was the first significant major gift that we then shared with all the next donors. It built early momentum.” – Housing + Health Grantee 

Flexible funding for predevelopment and planning encouraged innovation and risk-taking that builds organizational capacity. 

Many stakeholders emphasized the importance of the Foundation’s willingness to invest in the earliest – and often most difficult to fund – stages of affordable housing development. By providing flexible support for planning and predevelopment, the Foundation enabled grantees to navigate a period of high uncertainty, pivot as projects unfolded, and increased organizational capacity to hire staff and consultants with housing expertise, bring on new board members, and continue operations – even in instances when specific projects didn’t move forward.   

Looking Ahead

Stakeholders and grantees consistently described St. David’s Foundation’s planning and pre-development funding as filling a critical financing gap across a wide range of affordable housing projects and geographies. They also emphasized that the Foundation’s flexible, trust-based approach to funding enables organizations to respond to changing conditions and keep projects moving forward.  

Field experts and grantees agree – St. David’s Foundation’s planning and predevelopment funding filled a critical gap in the affordable housing financing landscape. This type of early-stage, flexible capital is needed across a wide range of housing projects and geographies. 

Following the results of these investments, St. David’s Foundation plans to provide capital grants annually through open calls, focusing our grant support on both the early and final stages of affordable housing development.