WHEDA Announces $500,000 in Housing Grants Statewide

Madison – The Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) announced today that the WHEDA Foundation, Inc. is awarding $500,000 in housing grants to 49 special‐needs housing providers throughout the state. These grants, awarded during WHEDA’s annual Housing Grant Program competition, will help housing providers build new facilities or make improvements to their existing facilities.

“More and more special-needs housing providers are in need of financial support, so we’re thankful that we can still lend a helping hand to so many of them through our foundation,” said WHEDA Executive Director Antonio Riley. "Wisconsin residents in crisis depend on these providers for safe, affordable housing, and these grants will result in the creation or improvement of nearly 1,600 beds and housing units across the state.”

WHEDA received 97 applications through the housing grant competition this year totaling over $2.1 million in funding requests, an indication of the high demand in Wisconsin.

The winning 2010 grant proposals ranged from a kitchen and bathroom remodeling project for a women’s shelter in Ashland County to new construction of a handicapped-accessible single family house for a single mother of children with severe disabilities in Chippewa County. Each grant was awarded in one of two categories; emergency/transitional or permanent housing.

The annual Housing Grant competition is funded entirely by WHEDA reserves using no state tax dollars. Grants are awarded through WHEDA’s Persons-in-Crisis Housing Program Fund to nonprofit agencies, local governments, and tribal authorities in Wisconsin whose mission includes meeting the housing needs of low‐income or disadvantaged populations including homeless persons, runaways, alcohol or drug dependent persons, persons in need of protective services, domestic abuse victims, developmentally disabled persons, low‐income or frail elderly persons, chronically mentally ill persons, physically impaired or disabled persons, people living with HIV disease, and individuals or families who do not have access to traditional or permanent housing.

Since 1985, the WHEDA Foundation has issued nearly 900 awards totaling over $20 million to housing providers across the state. Established by WHEDA in 1983, the foundation is responsible for receiving and administering housing grant funds on behalf of WHEDA.

Click on the following link for a complete listing of 2010 grant award recipients.

WHEDA is an independent state authority that works with lenders to provide low‐cost financing for housing and small business development in Wisconsin. For more information on the WHEDA housing grant program, browse this web site or call 1‐800‐334‐6873.