The Housing Partnership Network has received $2.5 million from the Wells Fargo NEXT Awards for Opportunity Finance to expand the first real estate investment trust launched by a nonprofit.

HPN, a nonprofit community development financial institution that works to provide housing for low- and moderate-income people through partnerships with member organizations, the business sector, government, and philanthropic institutions, is one of three awardees sharing a total of $8.25 million from the Wells Fargo NEXT Awards program. HPN's Housing Partnership Equity Trust REIT, a collaboration involving HPN, twelve of its member organizations, and major foundations and financial institutions, offers a platform for raising capital to preserve and improve affordable multi-family rental properties for low- and moderate-income families and communities. Participation in the REIT enables HPN members to compete in a fast-moving marketplace with for-profit developers by providing timely access to financing for affordable housing. The award will enable the REIT to fund the preservation and rehabilitation of more than seven thousand units of affordable housing over the next two years.

Presented by the Opportunity Finance Network, with support from Wells Fargo and the Kresge and John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur foundations, the NEXT Awards honor innovative community lenders which invest in opportunities that benefit low-income, low-wealth, and other disadvantaged communities. In addition to HPN, this year's Next Award honorees are NCB Capital Impact, a certified community development financial institution working to improve access to high-quality health and elder care, healthy foods, housing, and education in low-income communities across the country, and Opportunity Fund, a nonprofit social enterprise working to help thousands of California families build financial stability.

"Winning the prestigious NEXT Opportunity Award is a tremendous honor for our member organizations, investors, and partners who were instrumental in launching the REIT," said HPN president and CEO Thomas Bledsoe. "Resource constraints and a changing housing sector necessitate innovative solutions to transforming lives and communities. Together, we are pioneering new ways for the nonprofit sector to access the capital markets and will use this award to expand the REIT to include more members and acquire and preserve more affordable housing around the county."