Agency Details:

Lighthouse Communities

Lighthouse Communities’ mission is to help grass-roots non-profit community development groups create affordable housing in their neighborhood for the purpose of stimulating community revitalization.

Description:
Lighthouse Communities is a "business based" non-profit. Lighthouse has developed dynamic synergistic relationships with local community based organizations. We work together in partnership to achieve joint community development neighborhood revitalization goals. In these relationships Lighthouse handles the real estate development and the community-based organizations maintain the social service-people oriented aspect of community development. Lighthouse has intentionally structured our organization financially to operate primarily with program related revenues, and developer's fees so that we do not become competition for the community based organizations in quest for charitable contributions and individual donations.

History:
o Lighthouse Communities is the result of several years planning and input from several community based organizations, City Hall, MSHDA, HUD, and key funders.

o A board was formed that includes building, non-profit, and mortgage professionals, along with representatives from the community and program participants.

o The planning and organizing centered around one basic question… What would a community based housing organization look like?

o The answers to this question make up core values of Lighthouse Communities.
CORE VALUES
Lighthouse Communities believes that:
o Community reinvestment takes precedence over housing production.

o Effective community reinvestment can only occur when there is a collaboration of several organizations working together.

o Income from every housing project in a community must flow back to a local CDC in a fee for service relationship.

o A healthy community is a place where neighbors manage change successfully.

o Community revitalization is maximized when income from the revitalization projects stay in the community.

Contact people:

David Allen, Executive Director, (phone), (email) Jeremy DeRoo, Operations Director, (phone), (email)

Office fax number: (616) 451-0615

Address:

1422 Madison Avenue SE Grand Rapids, MI 49507 (See a map)

Web Site: http://www.lighthousecommunities.org

Last updated on March 10, 2009