Regional Housing Trust Funds: A Local Solution to the Affordable Housing Crisis 

Communities across South Carolina and the nation face an increasingly pressing issue: the housing crisis. Rising rents, stagnant wages, and limited housing supply create a landscape where safe, stable, and affordable housing is out of reach for many—particularly low- to moderate-income families.  

Regional Housing Trust Funds (RHTFs) are a proven, local solution to this crisis. By pooling public and private resources into a dedicated fund, RHTFs enable communities to strategically invest in the development and preservation of affordable housing. At CommunityWorks, we help local governments establish and grow these vital funding tools, expanding our mission of helping communities build wealth across South Carolina. 

Why affordable housing? 

Housing has become increasingly unaffordable in the past 15 years. The 2008 financial crisis caused a dramatic decline in housing construction, leading to a persistent shortfall in housing supply. Construction activity has gradually increased since then, but most of the country still hasn’t returned to pre-2008 building levels, contributing to today’s housing shortages.  

While this national housing shortage causes costs to rise for everyone, it has significant impact on low- to moderate-income (LMI) households. These households, who make under 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), are often cost-burdened, spending over 30% of their income on housing costs. Nationwide, over 12 million households are severely cost-burdened, including around 70% of extremely low-income households in South Carolina. 

For example, in Beaufort County, SC, rents have far outpaced what many families can afford. A typical two-bedroom apartment costs nearly $2,000 per month, requiring a household income of over $65,000 to be considered affordable. For families earning less, especially those in the extremely low- ($33,000) and very low-income ($55,000) brackets, that rent is out of reach. Even moderately low-income households earning just above these thresholds ($66,000) struggle to find affordable housing.

Stable and affordable housing is tied to numerous positive outcomes, including economic security, lower risk for homelessness, better educational outcomes, and increased access to healthy food and healthcare. Affordable housing also “contributes to significant economic impacts, including increases in local purchasing power, job creation and new tax revenues.” It’s no wonder then, that many areas are attempting to increase housing affordability in their regions. 

Why a Regional Housing Trust Fund? 

High-quality affordable housing, however, can be expensive to build and maintain. High construction costs combined with lowered rents means that developers need subsidies, tax breaks, and low-cost financing to create a viable development. Nonprofit lenders like CommunityWorks often step in to provide gap coverage and low-interest financing to lower the total cost of a project, but we need more local financing mechanisms to truly increase the supply. 

That’s where a Regional Housing Trust Fund (RHTF) comes in. RHTFs are funds, often revolving loan funds, that provide flexible, local capital for affordable housing financing. Unlike one-off grants or uncertain annual budgets, RHTFs offer consistent and strategic financing by blending public dollars with private and philanthropic investments. For example, many current RHTFs received money from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) allocations to their region or city or from an allocation of local accommodations tax funding. 

RHTFs are unique in combining the needs and resources of multiple cities or counties. Rather than focusing on building affordable housing inside the city limits, RHTFs can look at the broader picture of housing in their region, taking into account commuters and employment centers—where people live and work—to create a strategy that addresses the true needs of households in the area. These regional funds can also pool resources from different city or county budgets, generating more funding to support the appropriate affordable housing solutions. 

 In South Carolina, RHTFs can be used for the creation or preservation of affordable housing, prioritizing units that serve households at or below 50% AMI. Ideally, RHTFs are governed by a board of directors “that represents a broad range of housing interests within the community.” The board will help make decisions about which housing investments to pursue or prioritize to ensure funding is allocated appropriately. 

How CommunityWorks Helps 

CommunityWorks was initially founded as a housing trust fund in 2008, a brainchild of the local United Way and philanthropic community that was created to address affordable housing shortages in Greenville. As the impacts of the Great Recession played out, we quickly expanded into the micro business scene to support entrepreneurs reeling from the financial upheaval. Since then, CommunityWorks has held true to our values of operating with compassion, integrity, and respect to help communities build generational wealth through small business ownership and affordable housing across South Carolina. 

Thanks to our history as a housing trust fund, CommunityWorks has deep experience in the needs and challenges that face emerging funds. The organization incubated Greenville Housing Fund 2.0 in 2018 and established and continue to manage the Spartanburg Housing Trust Fund starting in 2020. As a CDFI, CommunityWorks can offer back-office support with underwriting and loan deployment in addition to operational expertise. 

Typically, CommunityWorks partners with a municipality that has a certain dollar amount dedicated to affordable housing. We help them with the initial startup, like developing specific products (dollar amount, loan term, AMI served) and working with community champions to identify areas of need and establish community support.  

Once the loan fund is established, CommunityWorks determines developers’ interest in the proposed products and makes any necessary changes to their structure. We continue to offer back-office support, helping with accounting and loan servicing, until the loan fund has a strategic plan and is ready to stand on its own. 

Conclusion 

As South Carolina communities confront rising housing costs and limited affordable options, Regional Housing Trust Funds offer a sustainable, strategic approach to addressing local housing needs. With the right partnerships, community engagement, and technical support, RHTFs can unlock new pathways to stable housing, economic opportunity, and long-term community resilience.  

CommunityWorks is proud to serve as a partner and catalyst in this work—helping municipalities design, launch, and manage housing trust funds that are tailored to their communities. By investing in regional solutions today, we can ensure that every South Carolinian has access to a place to call home tomorrow.

Read the full report below, which includes a case study conducted by CommunityWorks on the Beaufort Jasper Housing Trust.