The National Association of State and Local Equity Funds (NASLEF), is a professional, nonprofit association formed to promote the efficient management of state and local equity funds. Throughout 42 states, NASLEF Active Members raise capital for affordable rental housing developments that qualify under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program. Collectively through 2019, member funds have raised over $16.9 billion in equity capital for rental housing developments throughout the country, creating or rehabilitating more than 201,125 units of affordable housing in 4,175 developments.
NASLEF’s mission is to promote a greater understanding of tax credit and other financing programs, to advocate for community development resources and to encourage the professional development of its member organizations all in support of the communities we serve. Our work is fueled by our members’ leadership in affordable housing advocacy, connection with community organizations, and knowledge of local markets. These organizational attributes enable NASLEF members to invest capital in strategic community endeavors, especially in underserved markets.
NASLEF Active Members are visible in the communities they serve by providing affordable housing opportunities, strengthening neighborhoods, and impacting the lives of residents. Many member funds have developed philanthropic affiliates and foundations that fund programs that assist residents socially, economically, and educationally. Member funds also provide value-added services to development partners in the areas of technical assistance, training, engaging in local and state housing policy groups, and providing lending opportunities as certified CDFI organizations.
NASLEF member funds will continue to lobby for the continuation of the most successful affordable housing program in the nation. Fund members will continue to raise capital to provide affordable housing options for families, seniors, individuals, and special needs populations. NASLEF will continue to be a local presence with national impact on affordable housing.
On balance, 2019 was another solid year for NASLEF members and the continuing success of the Housing Credit program. Compared to recent years, 2019 was stable with continuing strong support from investors and no major events negatively affecting the Housing Credit program. In fact, the Housing Credit program is garnering increasing bipartisan political support and the success of the program is being talked about more now than ever before.
I always thought the NASLEF tag line, Local Presence, National Impact said volumes about NASLEF and the work we do. In this report you’ll see that a dozen organizations working in 41 states have consistently invested $1 billion dollars annually which translates to roughly 10,000 units of affordable housing a year. Because of our local focus and our connection to the communities we serve, we are often asked to invest in developments that might otherwise not get funded. Nevertheless, our portfolios have always compared favorably with industry benchmarks.
As an organization, NASLEF is evolving. For all the reasons NASLEF members came together to better understand how the LIHTC program might work and how they could deploy it locally to create affordable housing, NASLEF members are leveraging their skills and resources to complement their syndication work. As an example, many NASLEF members are actively developing community development lending platforms, others have taken on property management and others have been active in New Market Tax Credits. There is one constant in all this and that is the free exchange of information among members. It happens at many levels – smaller meetings of NASLEF members focused on asset management, fund management, corporate administration and emerging leaders or at our national conference. Last fall Ohio Capital Corporation hosted a very successful, national conference in Cleveland. In 2020, CAHEC will host us all in Nashville.
The continuing success of the Housing Credit program and NASLEF members evolving to expand their impact is directly related to the ever-increasing need for affordable housing. People continually have difficulty finding affordable housing and when they do find housing, the cost of that housing limits their ability to afford other essential household expenses. Congress and others are now more than ever coming to view affordable housing as something that is fundamental.
This all means that NASLEF members can take a certain amount of pride in championing a response to the acute need for affordable housing. Going forward, NASLEF members will find themselves uniquely positioned to be part of the ever-broadening coalition concerned about housing needs. NASLEF members will surely continue to shape how others view housing and work to provide housing to those that need it the most.
The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit community made huge progress during 2019 in our efforts to build support for affordable housing while at the same time working to obtain cosponsors for legislation to expand and strengthen the Housing Credit program. Last June, the Affordable Housing Credit Improvement Act of 2019 (AHCIA) was reintroduced in both the Senate (S. 1703 by Senators Cantwell (D-WA) and Young (R-IN)) and the House (H.R. 3077 by Congresswoman DelBene (D-WA) and Congressman Marchant (R-TX). As I write this in March of 2020, the House version of the bill has now obtained cosponsorship of more than half the members of the House of Representatives, 221 of the 435 Representatives.
That level of congressional support is a testament both to the hard work of the affordable housing community and the seriousness of the affordable housing crisis in our nation. Indeed, in my long experience working on affordable housing policy at the federal level I have never seen such a high level of support and concern for affordable housing issues.
That is in large part due to the extent of the affordability crisis which exists across the county in every state. Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, strong economic conditions produced low unemployment rates that heated up housing markets. Yet economic gains have been uneven and incomes of those at the bottom have not improved sufficiently to enable them to afford higher rents.
According to the National Low-Income Housing Coalition, extremely low-income renters in the U.S. face a shortage of 7 million affordable rental units. Only 36 affordable homes exist for every 100 extremely low-income renter households. This has led to more than seventy percent of the nation’s approximately 11 million extremely low-income renter households to be severely housing cost-burdened, spending more than half of their incomes on rent and utilities. While the problem is most acute for the lowest income, the crisis is broader than that. According to the latest Harvard Joint Center on Housing Studies report, “vacancy rates are at decades-long lows, pushing up rents far faster than incomes. Both the number and share of cost-burdened renters are again on the rise, especially among middle-income households.”
Policymakers are increasingly aware of this situation and more inclined to act now than we have seen in the past. Indeed, almost every Democratic presidential primary candidate proposed robust affordable housing programs at a scale and cost that may be unprecedented. Almost all of those campaign proposals included increases in the Housing Credit program.
While the level of support for more Housing Credit resources is clearly a function of the overwhelming need for more affordable housing, it is also a testament to the sterling record we have been able to develop for the program as an effective and highly flexible means of providing affordable housing to fit diverse needs in varying geographies. The great success of the program –m serving rural, suburban and urban areas by providing housing to special needs populations, the elderly, the homeless, families and now increasingly public housing residents – gives elected officials a strong reason to support the program. This success is not by accident; it is a result of a positive role that each part of the industry plays – from housing finance agencies, to credit syndicators, developers, property managers, and industry consultants.
Each of us can be proud of the contributions we make toward making the Housing Credit program a success. But, of course, as we so often say, we cannot be satisfied with our strong record so far. We can’t assume election officials are automatically aware of how great the Housing Credit program is. We must continue to run the best program possible to serve families in need with quality affordable housing while also educating elected officials on both the overwhelming need for more resources and why the Housing Credit is a major part of the answer.
President and Chief Executive Officer
CAHEC
President & CEO
Cinnaire
Member
Hawaii Housing Finance, LLC
President
Housing Vermont
Director of Capital Development
Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation
President
Merritt Community Capital Corporation
President
Midwest Housing Equity Group, Inc.
President
Mountain Plains Equity Group, Inc.
President
Northern New England Housing Investment Fund
President
Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing
President & CEO
St. Louis/Kansas City Equity Fund, Inc.
President & CEO
Virginia Community Development Corporation
Ari Beliak joined Merritt Community Capital Corporation as President and Chief Executive Officer July 29, 2019. Ari comes to Merritt from Bank of America where he served as a Senior Vice President in Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Community Development Banking group leading a team of experts who provided debt and equity solutions to affordable housing developers based in Northern California, Nevada, and Colorado. Ari has been credited with reestablishing the bank as a leader in affordable housing in Northern California and expanding into Nevada. In addition, he was the key driver in Bank of America’s $2.2 billion financing of the nation’s largest affordable housing project, the San Francisco Rental Assistance Demonstration.
Ari has dedicated himself to attracting professionals into affordable housing via his management and expansion of the Bank of America Low-Income Housing Challenge, a business plan competition and supporting industry leadership and mentorship programs. In 2016, he was recognized as a “Top 40 under 40” in the San Francisco Business Journal. Prior to Bank of America, Ari practiced law for Sidley Austin LLP, served in various real estate finance capacities for Wells Fargo Bank, including their affordable housing group, and was a management consultant for A.T. Kearney. He earned his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Berkeley and a JD/MBA from UC Hastings College of Law and UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business.
Welcome to NASLEF, Ari!
There are two levels of membership in the NASLEF association: Active Member and Corporate Member. If you are interested in becoming an Active or Corporate member, please review the eligibility information below to ensure your organization qualifies. Membership in NASLEF must be approved by the NASLEF Board of Directors. We thank you for your interest in NASLEF and encourage you to submit an application. If you have any questions, please contact Mary Kay Meagher, NASLEF Executive Director.
Any organization whose principal employment is that of a regional, state or local equity fund not solely controlled by or managed by a national fund, consultant or third party.
NASLEF Active Members pay a base fee of $2,600 yearly and an additional yearly amount based on the number of Full-time employees (FTE) within the organization.
1-10 FTE’s $2,600
10-24 FTE’s $6,500
24 + FTE’s $13,000
Association voting privileges.
Listing of company information in NASLEF’s Membership Directory, website, and other NASLEF publications.
Participation in networking opportunities, IRR-seminars, special asset management sessions, annual conference, and Executive Director’s meeting.
Eligibility for service as a Director or Officer on the NASLEF Board.
Any government agency, corporation, syndicator, professional association, broker, consultant, attorney, accountant, or other individual having a professional interest and involvement in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program.
A national equity fund or consultant actively engaged in the management or co-management of a state or local equity fund.
Any investors in Active Member funds and state housing finance agencies.
Advantageous networking/business opportunities via access to 12 Equity Fund Members in 42 states.
Listing of company information in NASLEF’s Membership Directory and website.
Networking/training opportunities in LIHTC at the NASLEF Annual Conference.
Opportunities to promote your business to the industry.
Contact with peers who network with specific state industries.
CAHEC
Cinnaire
Hawaii Housing Finance, LLC
Housing Vermont
Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation
Merritt Community Capital Corporation
Midwest Housing Equity Group, Inc.
Mountain Plains Equity Group, Inc.
Northern New England Housing Investment Fund
Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing
St. Louis / Kansas City Equity Fund, Inc.
Virginia Community Development Corporation
NASLEF member funds not only invest in affordable housing communities but also invest in the residents who live in our communities. We know that providing safe, decent, affordable housing is a catalyst to revitalizing neighborhoods and stabilizing lives. We help provide supportive services that link residents to health, education, and employment services that will impact their lives socially, educationally, and economically.
Our residents value their housing and their lives are impacted daily by what it means to have a safe, stable place to call home.
While raising capital to provide affordable housing opportunities is our core business, NASLEF member funds also actively provide value-added services to our partners in the industry. Many member funds serve vulnerable populations by investing resources into programs and activities that impact residents’ lives. Member funds have developed philanthropic affiliates and foundations that fund programs that assist residents socially, economically, and educationally.
Examples for 2019 from Member Funds include:
Other funding includes:
Member funds engage development and management partners by providing opportunities for training and education on a regular basis. Examples include:
Member funds recognize that importance of providing technical assistance to partners navigating HUD and Housing Finance Agencies programs. Assistance is given in:
Member funds are actively involved in state and federal housing policy issues, engaging lobbyists, and serving on:
Member funds focus on raising capital and providing equity for affordable housing development and preservation. Many funds also offer loan products or operate a Certified Development Financial Institutions Program that offers: