Frequently Asked Questions

Funders Together was created to galvanize the philanthropic leadership and dollars needed to end homelessness in America. Serving as an open knowledge network for funders, Funders Together shares strategic thinking, wide-ranging experience, and expertise to prevent and address homelessness.

The goals of Funders Together are to:

• work to end homelessness among individuals and families in the United States
• generate the philanthropic commitment necessary to transform political will and policies
• create 150,000 units of permanent supportive housing for the more than 250,000 homeless in the United States

Foundation and Corporate Members

• Funders Together membership is limited to private foundations, family foundations, community foundations, corporate grantmakers, and individual philanthropists who give at least $50,000 per year to organizations working to end homelessness.
• Foundation members can access all of the information on our website including the expanded foundation members list. Foundation members are also eligible to attend all of our events, including those held at the annual Council on Foundations conference, and receive other selected updates and invitations. For a complete list of member benefits, please review our value proposition.
• There is no fee for becoming a member. To confirm your membership, we request that you review and sign on to the Funding Principles for Ending Homelessness by selecting the box indicated on the membership signup form, and that you continue to share information about any new investments you make in the field of homelessness so that we may notify others in the Funders Together network of your important work.

Public Sector and Nonprofit Partners

• While membership is restricted to funders - nonprofits and public sector partners may also be eligible to be part of our network, and approved organizations may be displayed on our Partner Locator map for funders researching grant and partnership opportunities.
• Public Sector Partners means governmental or municipal funders such as Housing Finance Agencies, Departments of Public Health, public housing authorities, etc. Public Sector Partners are eligible to attend selected Funders Together events, and may upload and access examples of effective supportive housing and systems change efforts to our interactive map of best practices.
• Nonprofit Partners means service providers, housing providers and developers, advocacy organizations, research organizations, and technical assistance providers. Nonprofit Partners can upload and access examples of effective supportive housing, advocacy, and systems change efforts to our interactive map of best practices – including videos, audios, case studies, and photos.
• Please note that Funders Together reserves the right to restrict partner status to those organizations that reflect and support the Funding Principles for Ending Homelessness.

General Use of Website
Anyone interested in homelessness is invited to use the Funders Together website.

Funders Together is the only national network for funders working to end homelessness. Joining Funders Together is simple and cost-free, and offers a wide variety of benefits and services for eligible individuals and organizations, including:

• Access to a members-only section of the Funders Together website: post questions and share thoughts with other Funders Together members to explore effective funding strategies.
• Share your grantmaking accomplishments and questions with a network of experienced grantmakers who share your interest in this issue.
• Meet and interact with colleagues to cooperate and collaborate through special partner events and briefings.
• Receive invitation to special events, briefings and seminars on topics of interest, and learn about other conferences, sessions, and policy updates on relevant topics.
• Gain access to experts on local, state, and national policy, resources and major field developments/opportunities.
• Access assistance in planning your own community discussions and local initiatives on issues of ending homelessness.

Foundations that do not currently fund efforts to end homelessness may also find the information and resources of Funders Together to be valuable when thinking about how best to become engaged in this work.

Funders Together offers several options for those interested in staying updated in our work and on breaking news in the field. These include:

• or real-time updates on a daily basis, subscribe to the Funders Together twitter feed (available to members and non-members)
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• Rebuilding Lives E-newsletter: these monthly e-newsletters compile the top news for each month, along with other updates and announcements on our work (available to members and non-members)
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• our linkedin page provides the best opportunity for professional networking and contact with many of the funders in our network (members only: participation requires approval from Funders Together staff)
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• finally, you may also wish to become a fan of our Facebook page, which features Tweets, videos, and other general information about our work (available to members and non-members)
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More people than you might realize. The economic expansion of the 1990s obscured certain trends and statistics that point to an increased, not decreased, need for affordable housing.

The generally accepted definition of affordability is for a household to pay no more than 30 percent of its annual income on housing. Families who pay more than 30 percent of their income for housing are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording necessities such as food, clothing, transportation and medical care.

An estimated 12 million renter and homeowner households now pay more then 50 percent of their annual incomes for housing, and a family with one full-time worker earning the minimum wage cannot afford the local fair-market rent for a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States. The lack of affordable housing is a significant hardship for low-income households preventing them from meeting their other basic needs, such as nutrition and healthcare, or saving for their future and that of their families. (HUD)

On any given night between 700,000 and 800,000 men, women and children are homeless in America.

Over the course of a year, between 2.5 and 3.5 million people – nearly 1 percent of our nation’s population – will live either on the streets or in an emergency shelter.

Most homeless people are homeless only once or twice and only for a brief time. About 10 percent, however, spend long periods without a place to call home. Chronic homelessness is costly. People who are chronically homeless survive within the shelter system, or in a combination of shelters, hospitals, on the streets or in jail.

Homelessness does not discriminate. Families with children, single adults, teenagers, and elderly individuals of all races can be found struggling with the devastating effects of homelessness.

FT does not provide grants to non-profits or individuals. For more information on funding opportunities, visit the Foundation Center Web site at www.fdncenter.org.