Partners Foundation for affordable housing

Just to add to the previous post with the link to a Virginia Business article on the lack of affordable housing in this area, VISIONS just got some good news from Bill Warren, the president of the Partners for Lancaster Schools Foundation.

That organization and Rev. Craig Smith of Morattico Baptist Church have been working together on an affordable housing project here in the Northern Neck. Their commitment is, in their words: “We will build and operate affordable rental housing for our teachers, RGH nurses and employees, law enforcement, and municipal/county employees.”

Bill recently shared the exciting news that, through Morattico Baptist Church, the Partners Foundation initiative will receive $102,440 over a two-year period from the Jesse Ball DuPont Fund. This is one of the largest and most important grants to date because it gives them enhanced credibility and visibility in the charitable community, according to Bill. He gives Rev. Smith credit for making this possible.

The Partners Foundation has also benefited from a $100,000 grant from the Nettie Lokey Wiley & Charles L. Wiley Foundation and a $20,000 grant from the Lancaster County Industrial Development Authority. Within the last two weeks, they received a $20,000 grant from the Broaddus Foundation and $15,000 from local donors.

The Partners Foundation has raised $350,000 of the $600,000 needed to ensure that the project is “self-sustaining” based on the rents paid by residents. They seem to be well on their way to achieving their commitment to provide affordable housing. This is great news for those of us involved in VISIONS and in the Northern Neck Housing Study. Thank you, Bill, for sharing this information!