Housing Innovation Fund

Help us determine how to use the housing innovation funds.

The Missoula County commissioners adopted a resolution to establish a Housing Innovation Fund to help support projects and programs that address housing affordability in the county.

The Housing Innovation Fund will prioritize support for public and private programs that benefit individuals or families making at or below 200% of the Area Median Income. According to 2022 data provided by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, 200% of the AMI in Missoula County is approximately $160,400 for a household of four. As housing costs continue to climb, residents in this income bracket and below are increasingly left out of the market but still make too much to qualify for assistance through other existing programs. In addition, housing supply at this level is also limited.

The County will put $750,000, generated from past sales of lots in the Missoula Development Park, into the fund initially and will pursue options to leverage outside sources to grow it. Examples of initiatives include housing development and preservation, acquisition of land for future projects, down payment assistance programs and infrastructure support. Have an idea of what else this fund could help pay for? Let us know in the ideas section below!

Have an idea of what programs the fund could help pay for? Let us know in the ideas section below!

Establishing the fund is the first major step in implementing the County’s Housing Action Plan: Breaking Ground, which recommends actions intended to improve the supply of housing units in the county. These recommendations fall under three broad goals:

• Use the County’s toolkit -- including zoning, infrastructure and use of County lands -- to increase the housing supply
• Provide more funding for programs to help people access and stay in stable housing
• Partner with the City, housing nonprofits and developers to improve policy

Opportunities for funding for outside organizations will likely be available later this year. So stay tuned! Funds are not immediately available, and programs under the Housing Innovation Fund are still in the initial development stage.

Why did the County establish the fund before determining what programs it will support?

It might seem counterintuitive to establish the fund before determining the programs it will support. The County needed to create the overarching structure first because the fund needs to be flexible so it can be used to address a range of evolving needs. Specific programs it funds can then be restrictive or target certain initiatives and priorities within the housing spectrum. And, just like with personal finances, where you determine how much money you have to spend before making a purchase, the County had to determine how much funding is available before specifying what initiatives it would support.

This also allows the County to be adaptable with spending the money in response to community needs. If community needs indicate more funding should support down-payment assistance, the fund could prioritize those kinds of programs. If those needs shift and rental assistance becomes a priority, the fund could prioritize those programs. The fund also is intended to encourage financial partnerships, not serve as a sole source of funding for any one project. Having this flexibility will allow support for a greater variety of programs and provides an opportunity to leverage additional funding through grants and/or private sector contributions.

Your input on these needs is important, and it will help the County determine how best to spend these funds on housing. Please share your ideas below!