Letter from the Treasurer
As we approach the end of the second year of the pandemic, I report to you that the Champlain Housing Trust’s work continues to address the critical needs of our communities and neighbors. This is directly due to the trust that donors, stakeholders and public funders place in our organization to rise to the occasion, day-in and day-out. For this, we are very grateful.
While the world continues to be ever-changing and volatile, CHT’s financials are steady and stable. This is due to the sound management of staff, as confirmed in our conversations with Otis | Atwell, who have prepared our annual audit and reviewed CHT’s financials.
The steadiness of our financials is also partly due to ongoing programs to support our residents who have struggled to pay bills during the pandemic. Thanks to the Vermont Emergency Rental Assistance Program, hundreds of our tenants were able to keep current on their rent and utilities in the face of job loss or insecurity.
Other items of interest include:
- CHT received a Payroll Protection Program loan in FY20, which was forgiven in FY21 and converted to a grant. These dollars have been put to work to support our mission.
- Just after the close of our fiscal year, we had four significant activities:
- In October, we received a $1 million grant from New England Federal Credit Union, the first in what we anticipate being three years of support, to address historical inequities in homeownership access for Black, Indigenous and people of color households by targeting marketing, down payment assistance and other efforts.
- In November, CHT received a $13.45 million grant from the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board to purchase TownePlace Suites in Williston and initiate a conversion of that hotel into 72 new apartments.
- In December, CHT received a $7.345 million grant from the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board to purchase the Days Inn in Shelburne, which will be the new home for Harbor Place as we begin to transform that property to a range of housing options.
- Also in December, we announced the receipt of a $500,000 grant from NeighborWorks® America to advance our development of shared equity homeownership with a goal of helping 40 households buy homes – just one of two grants made nationwide.
On behalf of the Board of Directors, thank you for your ongoing partnership and support of our mission. As you can see, there is a lot of work ahead, and with you we can tackle these big challenges and more.
Sincerely,
Jeff Smith, Board Treasurer