Housing Justice: Organizing, Power Building, and Opportunities for Philanthropy

Editor's Note: As of August 14th, 2024, Regional Measure 4 was pulled off of Bay Area ballots.

Shortly after the publication of this piece, the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority decided to withdraw Regional Measure 4 from the November ballot, citing a combination of legal challenges, strategic considerations, and a growing concern about voter support for new taxes. The campaign is now shifting focus to the statewide Proposition 5 which would lower the voter threshold for future housing bonds from 66% to 55%. Please read the CalMatters piece for information.

CALMATTERS: Bond voyage

"There are few communities that haven’t been impacted by homelessness, and while jurisdictions grapple with possible resolutions, we know that criminalizing unhoused people is not the solution to this growing problem. The real solution lies in addressing the root causes of poverty and homelessness, implementing a strategy to increase the production and preservation of affordable housing units, including extremely low income and no income housing, and protecting tenants so that they can maintain stable housing and keep from slipping into homelessness."

- Liana Molina, NCG

A cozy night in. A home cooked meal. A safe place to gather with family, to relax, refresh and rejuvenate. These are simple things, but for far too many of our neighbors, the basic necessity of safe, healthy and affordable housing is out of reach.

Recently, the Supreme Court issued a ruling in favor of Grants Pass, Oregon, a city which enacted an ordinance prohibiting camping and sleeping in public places. In their 6 – 3 decision the Justices decided that bans on public encampments are not unconstitutional, and jurisdictions may enact criminal penalties against those in violation, even if no shelter beds are available. In other words, cities can now cite, fine and arrest people for not having a place to live. Following this ruling, Governor Newsom ordered state agencies and departments to adopt policies to remove homeless camps on state property and is encouraging local governments to do this as well.

Meanwhile, homelessness has grown across the country, in California, and in our region. San Diego, Los Angeles, Long Beach, Fresno, Sacramento, Oakland, San Jose and San Francisco rank in the top 25 U.S. cities with the largest homeless populations. There are few communities that haven’t been impacted by homelessness, and while jurisdictions grapple with possible resolutions, we know that criminalizing unhoused people is not the solution to this growing problem. The real solution lies in addressing the root causes of poverty and homelessness, implementing a strategy to increase the production and preservation of affordable housing units, including extremely low income and no income housing, and protecting tenants so that they can maintain stable housing and keep from slipping into homelessness.

A Path Forward: Building and Preserving Affordable Housing in the Bay Area

The general election poses big questions for the future of our country and our democracy. While the presidential and congressional races are in the spotlight, there are some key electoral opportunities to advance housing solutions locally, in critical regions such as the Bay Area. In June, the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority approved a nine-county, $20 billion affordable housing bond measure – Regional Measure 4 (“RM4”) – for the November ballot. If approved, the bond revenues would help Bay Area jurisdictions build and preserve an additional 72,000 affordable homes over the next fifteen years.

Special taxes like bond measures currently require a two-thirds majority voter approval. However, another ballot measure – Proposition 5, a constitutional amendment (ACA 1) - would lower the voter threshold to 55% - the same as required for local school bond measures - for local taxes designated for affordable housing. If Prop 5 passes, the lower approval threshold would apply to the regional bond measure.

The YesonRM4 broad coalition of affordable housing advocates and developers, community-based organizations, labor unions, faith-based organizations, elected officials and others are campaigning across the Bay Area to pass the measure in November. Affordable housing organizations like the NPH Northern California Action Fund and Enterprise are playing a key regional strategy and technical assistance role, while hundreds of campaign partners and volunteers will get out the vote. Funders including the San Francisco Foundation, Crankstart Foundation, the Marin Community Foundation, and the Charles & Helen Schwab Foundation are supporting this effort, and inviting other foundations to help close the funding gap.

Keeping Families in their Homes

California is known as one of the most expensive places to live in the country. Almost half the state’s population are renters and over half of California families are considered “housing burdened,” meaning 30% or more of their household income goes towards housing. This creates a precarious situation especially for low- and moderate-income families struggling to make ends meet.

Over the last few decades, renters and advocates have been organizing for stronger state and local tenant protections against unjust evictions, exorbitant rent increases, and unhabitable conditions. According to Tenants Together, only about 39 out of 482 California cities have strong local tenant protection laws. In 2019 and again in 2023, the state legislature passed and then strengthened the Tenant Protection Act, which caps annual rent increases at a 10% maximum, and sets rules for enacting evictions.

Nonetheless, the struggle for housing rights continues in places like the Central Valley, the peninsula and inland Bay Area. Grassroots organizations across the region are leading campaigns to enact renter’s rights protections including rent control, just cause for evictions, and access to legal services and eviction defense.

In Fresno, Power California Action – in coordination with local community organizations – won $1.5 million to fund an Eviction Protection Program in the City of Fresno's FY 25 budget. In Redwood City, Faith in Action Bay Area is working with the San Mateo County Elections Office to determine why the rent control ballot measure was not certified for the November ballot; the organization has vowed to continue their efforts until Redwood City families are protected against skyrocketing rents. In Contra Costa County, the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE) and others are organizing for rent control in Pittsburg and San Pablo. The Raise the Roof Coalition waged a hard fought, multiyear campaign and won a tenant protection ordinance in the city of Concord earlier this spring. These are just a few of many examples of community-led fights for housing rights across the state.

Philanthropy’s Role in Supporting Solutions

The philanthropic sector in California contributes billions annually in efforts to contribute to the social good of our state and society. From the arts, to health care, education, and safety net services, one of the biggest issues facing our state is housing and homelessness. Funders have a key role in addressing this humanitarian crisis. Here are 4 steps funders can take:

1. Learn. Educate your organization on how the housing crisis impacts our communities and what interventions are needed. NCG hosts programing to jumpstart your learning. Learn more about this area of work by contacting NCG's Director of Regional Programs and Partnerships, Sarah Frankfurth.

2. Invest. Invest in comprehensive housing interventions.

Fund interim housing needed to bring unsheltered people indoors immediately.
Fund permanent housing solutions, such as housing subsidies or affordable housing, that allows people to flow from interim to permanent housing.
Fund holistic prevention services to keep people stably housed.

3. Fund organizing. Fund organizations leading campaigns for systemic changes to the housing system to actualize housing as a human right. Specifically, funding tenant organizing and legal defense work.

Support advocacy efforts to enact policies like rent control, just cause eviction protections, discrimination protections, security deposit limits.
Fund legal services for renters facing evictions.
Support efforts to shift our economic system and end poverty through campaigns and initiatives to raise wages and expand affordable healthcare, provide guaranteed basic income, and build a stronger social safety net.

4. Collaborate. Connect with funders and partners across the region who are working to advance collaborative solutions to the housing and homelessness crisis. Sharing three trusted partners below.

All Home

Destination Home

San Francisco Foundation – All in on Housing