Over the past month, EBHO and our Executive Director, Lindsay Haddix, have been featured in several news stories addressing a major shift in funding for local affordable housing efforts.
One of EBHO’s largest funders, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI), has significantly scaled back its support for housing justice work in California. CZI, founded by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Dr. Priscilla Chan, started in 2016 with the mission to “build inclusive and healthy communities.” CZI is winding down funding for a number of Bay Area housing nonprofit organizations, including EBHO, informing their grantees who are focussed on affordable housing advocacy and innovation and ending homelessness that it will not be renewing their grants going forward.
“[CZI]’s funding has been critical to our work,” Lindsay told Mercury News. “I am working as diligently as possible with our board and with our members to try to find a solution so that our operations will not be impacted.”
EBHO isn’t the only organization impacted by CZI’s pivot. “It’s a blow to the housing justice movement across California,” said Edie Irons, Director of Communications at All Home and a close partner of EBHO. “It’s touching many if not all of the most effective housing advocacy organizations across the state.”
In a subsequent interview with NBC Bay Area, which also featured Santa Clara County-based movement partner SV@Home, Lindsay shared, “We’re still kind of figuring out how [CZI] pulling back their funding is going to impact our … operations in the East Bay.”
In line with CZI’s funding cuts, Meta, Facebook’s parent company, has significantly stepped back from its initiative to promote affordable housing in California as well. In 2019, Meta (then known as Facebook) unveiled an ambitious pledge to invest $1 billion to help ease California’s affordable housing crisis. The Initiative ran in earnest for its first few years with the launch of the $150 million Community Housing Fund and several grants made to nonprofits focussed on technical assistance, advocacy, and research.
Prior to joining EBHO, Lindsay was one of the Meta Housing Initiative’s first (and only) team members and was excited to be able support organizations like EBHO with grant funding. In November 2022, Meta began laying off tens of thousands of employees – including the core members of the Housing Initiative Team. Since then, the Initiative has not launched another loan fund and significantly reduced its grantmaking to non-profit affordable housing organizations.
In another article with Mercury News, Lindsay shared, “I am extremely proud of the innovation and impact we were able to have during my three years on [Meta’s] Housing Initiative Team. It felt like we were really gaining momentum. Their money helped make real progress in solving the housing crisis, and I’d love for Meta to consider reviving its commitment to this work.”
While CZI and Meta pull back, other organizations are stepping up to fill the gap in funding for social justice-oriented causes. The San Francisco Foundation (SFF), one of EBHO’s most ardent supporters, recently announced that it will spend an additional $15 million from its endowment to support Bay Area organizations. In these uncertain times, we are grateful for SFF’s continued leadership and commitment to equity and inclusive prosperity.
At EBHO, we know that the fight for affordable, equitable housing cannot be solely dependent on corporate or philanthropic priorities which may shift over time. For over 40 years, we’ve been building a movement based on deep community roots, reliable partnerships, and a long-term commitment to housing justice.
Despite these challenges, EBHO remains steadfast in our mission. We are grateful to our extensive and passionate community of members, donors, funders, and partners who continue to stand with us. Your support ensures we can weather moments like this—and continue building a Bay Area where everyone has a safe, stable, affordable place to call home.
Want to support EBHO’s mission during this time of transition?
Make a donation, become a member, and/or spread the word about our impact and the importance of sustained investment in housing justice!