Three Vermont Nonprofit Housing Groups Receive a Total of $325,000 in Housing for Everyone Grants from the TD Charitable Foundation

MARCH 8, 2022
CONTACT: Cara Hansen, 802-477-1330, (Downstreet) David Crandall, 802-698-0587, (Twin Pines) Chris Donnelly, 802 310-0623 (Champlain Housing Trust)

BURLINGTON, VERMONT – Three Vermont non-profit housing organizations – Champlain Housing Trust (CHT), Downstreet Housing & Community Development (Downstreet), and Twin Pines Housing (Twin Pines) – have been awarded a total of $325,000 in Housing for Everyone grants from the TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®. The organizations are three of 33 organizations selected from more than 357 applicants to receive a Housing for Everyone grant as part of the TD Charitable Foundation's annual grant program helping to provide affordable housing since 2005.

Downstreet and Twin Pines will collaborate to use their $175,000 grant to grow Twin Pines’ existing resident services program and pilot a resident services program at Downstreet. Funds will be used to support one new staff position at each organization, and Twin Pines will support Downstreet as they develop their program over the next 18 months.

Champlain Housing Trust will use their award for similar activities, as the organization has tripled its resident services staffing during the pandemic. CHT has housed over 120 formerly homeless Vermonters in the last year in addition to providing support to hundreds of existing tenants.

"Without the critical resident services provided by organizations like Downstreet, Twin Pines, and Champlain Housing Trust, many individuals and families would struggle to find - or risk losing - a safe, affordable place to call home. The support from the TD Charitable Foundation's Housing for Everyone grant program will help these organizations continue to provide services like eviction assistance, housing search assistance, and direct support to help manage day-to-day challenges to even more individuals and families across Vermont," said Sheryl McQuade, Regional President for Northern New England at TD Bank.

"The housing crisis in Vermont and New Hampshire is the worst I've ever seen it," says Twin Pines Housing's Executive Director Andrew Winter. "Our community's well-being and our quality of life depend on all of us rising to the challenge of addressing this critical situation."

“We always say ‘home is more than four walls and a roof,’” said Connie Snow, Interim CEO at Downstreet. “This grant gets to the root of housing insecurity, and will help people stay in their homes long-term.”

“CHT’s growing resident services staff support our residents every day, and often step up to intervene in more serious life and death situations,” said Michael Monte, CEO of the Champlain Housing Trust. “On behalf of all of us, thank you to TD Charitable Foundation for recognizing this work and supporting it.”

The TD Charitable Foundation awarded $5.8 million through the 16th annual Housing for Everyone grant competition to a total of 33 organizations across TD Bank's Maine-to-Florida footprint and Michigan to help support affordable housing organizations provide critical resident services. Since 2005, the TD Charitable Foundation has given more than $42 million dollars to non-profit and charitable organizations through the Housing for Everyone grant competition and helped support over 500 affordable housing projects and initiatives.

The Housing for Everyone grant competition supports TD's longstanding commitment to community enrichment through TD's corporate citizenship platform, The Ready Commitment, which actively promotes inclusivity, economic vitality and environmental wellbeing, enabling people of all backgrounds to succeed in a rapidly changing world.
Learn more about Housing for Everyone and see a full list of this year's grant recipients. 

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About Champlain Housing Trust
The Champlain Housing Trust is a community land trust that supports the people of northwest Vermont and strengthens their communities through the development and stewardship of permanently affordable homes and related community assets. CHT’s housing includes 2,500 affordable apartments and 650 homes kept affordable forever. It also operates a loan fund for home repairs, offers financial literacy, education and counseling, and a manufactured home replacement program – and recently launched a new farm worker housing rehab program. 
 
About Downstreet
Barre-based Downstreet Housing & Community Development is a non-profit organization that strengthens the communities of Central Vermont by engaging with people, providing affordable homes, and connecting people to the resources and services they need to thrive. Since 1987, Downstreet has enriched neighborhoods in Washington, Orange, and Lamoille Counties through a variety of home-ownership programs, Support & Services at Home (S.A.S.H.) for older and disabled Vermonters, real estate development, and a rental portfolio that provides safe, healthy homes for more than 850 people through mixed-income apartment and mobile home park rentals.

About Twin Pines Housing
Twin Pines Housing (TPH) is the primary developer and provider of affordable housing in the Upper Valley region for individuals and families with low to moderate incomes. Founded in 1990, TPH provides homes for more than 1,000 people. TPH currently owns 539 rental apartments at sites in Vermont and New Hampshire. TPH also has 60 shared-equity homeownership properties that are permanently affordable and has 4 additional units in development. In addition to developing housing, TPH provide property management, as well as supportive services that connect residents to existing social services and provide support where there are gaps. By coordinating case management, social services, food programs, financial coaching, and other supports, TPH ensures that its residents remain healthy and housed.

About Housing for Everyone
Since inception in 2005, the TD Charitable Foundation's annual Housing for Everyone grant competition has awarded more than $42 million to over 500 affordable housing initiatives. The Housing for Everyone grant competition supports TD's longstanding commitment to community enrichment through TD's corporate citizenship platform, The Ready Commitment, which actively promotes inclusivity, economic vitality and environmental wellbeing, enabling people of all backgrounds to succeed in a rapidly changing world. As part of The Ready Commitment, TD targets US $775 million in total contributions toward community giving by 2030 in four critical areas: Financial Security, a more Vibrant Planet, Connected Communities and Better Health.
Through this platform, TD aspires to create a more inclusive tomorrow — helping people of all backgrounds feel more confident, not just about their finances, but about their ability to achieve their goals.  

About the TD Charitable Foundation
The TD Charitable Foundation is the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, one of the 10 largest commercial banking organizations in the United States. Since its inception in 2002, the Foundation has distributed over $282 million through Internal donations to local nonprofits from Maine to Florida.