The Housing Trust Fund of Johnson County (HTFJC) is a private nonprofit organization incorporated in 2002 by area leaders who recognized both the need to address the lack of affordable housing in Johnson County, as well as the opportunities represented by the creation of the State Housing Trust Fund and the campaign to create a National Housing Trust Fund.

Working with the University of Iowa's Nonprofit Resource Center, HTFJC applied for and received tax exempt status under 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service. Since its incorporation, HTFJC has received support from a variety of public and private sources.

At HTFJC, our goal is to alleviate the shortage of affordable housing in Johnson County by providing a flexible source of financing to entities that address the housing needs of households with income at or below 80% of the area median level.

Several hundred housing trust funds throughout the United States address housing needs on the local level. The two primary advantages of housing trust funds are that they respond to local priorities and they provide more flexible financing than is available through federal and state programs and private financial institutions. The additional source of funding provided by a housing trust fund often makes a worthy project financially feasible.

At HTFJC, the Distribution Committee of the Board of Directors analyzes information regarding the local housing situation and develops funding priorities that respond to the most pressing needs. Successful applications are carefully reviewed to ensure that projects funded are financially feasible and that the applicants have the capacity to complete the projects as presented.

To date, HTFJC has awarded $631,000 in below market loans to area nonprofits and businesses to help finance land acquisition, development and rehabilitation expense and down payment assistance. These funds have assisted, or will assist, twenty Johnson County households obtain affordable rental or owner occupied homes. All programs funded by the HTFJC must assist households with income at or below 80% of the area median as defined by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

HTFJC has also partnered with the East Central Iowa Council of Governments (ECICOG) and Hills Banks to obtain $100,000 from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines to assist homeowners in rural Johnson County with needed repairs.

The Board of Directors of HTFJC is actively involved in seeking additional ways to capitalize the fund. As more resources are secured, HTFJC looks forward to providing not only a flexible but also a meaningful source of funding to address the critical housing needs in Johnson County.

As the only entity in Johnson County that seeks to address the whole continuum of housing needs (homeless and transitional housing, rental and home ownership) throughout the county, HTFJC is also uniquely situated to provide a forum for addressing regional housing issues. By providing balanced information and involving all stakeholders in the discussion, HTFJC hopes to build broad based consensus and support for solutions to the shortage of affordable housing in Johnson County.

Click on the links below to download copies of our reports and newsletters.

2006 Housing Assistance Plan - Draft

2006 Annual Report

Strategic Business Plan 2005-2007

Winter 2006 Newsletter