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• Opportunities Within the Disability Housing Market
• Advocating for the Disabled: Interview with Jean Langendorf, Easter Seals of Central Texas

• Disability Opportunity Fund: Opening Doors to Financing of Disability Housing

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Disability Opportunity Fund: Opening Doors to Financing of Disability Housing

In September 2011, the Disability Opportunity Fund (DOF) and the Dallas Fed partnered on a conference that addressed the financing of disability housing. The intent was to explore capital solutions to improve and expand housing options in this market. Leading the discussion was the Disability Opportunity Fund. The mission of DOF is to provide technical and financial services to individuals and organizations serving the disability market throughout the United States, with a focus on affordable housing. DOF wants to create a society where financing is readily available to address the gap in housing and related services for people with disabilities and their families. DOF offers a variety of approaches to help finance a project successfully.

“We look at a project holistically and help organizations structure their investments with an eye for all the moving variables involved,” DOF President and CEO Charles D. Hammerman said.

Created in 2007, DOF also became a community development financial institution (CDFI) and began to work with other CDFIs across the country to leverage their finances, community outreach and technical assistance to create efficiency and scale. Although based in New York state, this CDFI intends to focus part of its work in Texas. Since 2008, its clients have borrowed over $2.5 million from DOF for various projects in California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

e-Perspectives, Volume 11, Issue 4, 2011

Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas  Community Development Office  P.O. Box 655906, Dallas, Texas 75265-5906 214-922-5377
Alfreda B. Norman  Vice President and Community Development Officer		Julie Gunter  Senior Community Development Advisor
Jackie Hoyer  Houston Branch Senior Community Development Advisor		Wenhua Di  Senior Economist
Elizabeth Sobel Blum   Community Development Research Associate		Roy Lopez  Community Development Specialist
Emily Ryder   Community Development Analyst
The views expressed are the authors' and should not be attributed to the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas or the Federal Reserve System. Articles may be reprinted on the condition that the source is credited and a copy is provided to the Community Development Office.