How We Build Community
We believe that shelter is a basic necessity. We also believe that access to healthy, stable housing and beneficial community facilities improves the quality of life of individuals and families, and provides the foundation for accessing greater opportunity. CASA of Oregon is recognized nationwide as an innovative and effective developer of rural and farmworker housing. CASA’s Real Estate Development team partners with local community organizations to improve the stock of affordable rental housing and neighborhood community facilities throughout the state of Oregon. With our partners, we have developed affordable housing for seniors, people with disabilities, veterans, farmworkers, BIPOC individuals, low-income families, and other underserved populations. Because we believe in a holistic approach to creating sustainable communities, we have also developed Head Start facilities, medical clinics, and community centers. We work to ensure that mission-critical construction and rehabilitation projects are aligned with our Mission, Vision, and Values—well planned, completely funded, and responsibly managed.
CASA of Oregon received certification as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) from the U.S. Treasury in 2000. CDFIs provide credit and financial services to underserved communities and populations, including low-income individuals and others who have difficulty accessing traditional banking services. Originally designed to address the predevelopment funding needs of nonprofit organizations developing affordable housing and community facilities, CASA’s Loan Fund has since expanded to include construction, bridge, and permanent financing to eligible borrowers such as non-profit, semi-public or public entities. Through our Community Loan Fund, we provide predevelopment loans, construction loans, and manufactured housing park preservation loans for the creation of affordable housing throughout the state.
Our Family Economic Opportunity Program provides matched savings through Individual Development Accounts (IDAs). We do this through three IDA programs. First, Vida is a collaborative of nonprofit organizations, housing counseling agencies, housing authorities, and small business providers that deliver IDAs for homeownership, small businesses, education, and more. Second, our Matched College Savings Program (MCSP) engages rural high schools and community colleges to make college more affordable through education IDAs. Finally, our E3 program (Earn, Educate, Empower) offers educational IDAs for under-resourced, low-income and first-generation students of color attending one of seven local private universities, in partnership with the Oregon Alliance for Independent Colleges and Universities.
Houselessness and rising housing costs continue to be issues of great importance in Oregon, where a lack of affordable housing permeates every corner of the state. Compounding this problem is the fact that developers and investors are quick to purchase available real estate at high prices, including manufactured housing parks, putting affordable housing out of reach of those who need it most. MHCDC works with residents of manufactured home communities to purchase and transform them into resident-owned cooperatives that are affordable and self-governed. Staff provide ongoing technical assistance to residents so they can govern their communities using standards and resources from ROC USA, a nonprofit social venture that aims to scale resident ownership of manufactured home communities across the United States.
