News

The passage of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act marks one of the most significant updates to federal housing policy in years. Rather than creating one large new housing program, the legislation modernizes dozens of existing programs and authorities that communities already rely on to finance, preserve, and develop housing.

Nebraska Public Media explored the impact of housing costs for Nebraskans, featuring interviews from local housing experts including our own, Jody Holston.

Front Porch Investments share recommendations from a Technical Assistance Panel (TAP), in partnership with ULI Nebraska and the City of Omaha, focused on accelerating affordable housing production in Omaha's urban core.

Front Porch Investments was named a recipient of the Greater Omaha Chamber's 2026 Business Excellence Award for Civic Engagement.

B2B sheds light on the opportunities to improve housing opportunities through policy & advocacy, and demonstrates how housing is a business issue with an interview with Executive Director, Jody Holston.

Front Porch and partners recently testified in support of a City Council resolution to review the city's tax increment financing (TIF) policy

Mayor Ewing announces new partnership with Front Porch Investments to distribute $40M for housing development in the urban core

Recap of the 2025 R2U Development Symposium

New land acquisition opportunity!

Front Porch is making news! Click here to read some of the recent local and national news stories featuring our work to develop and preserve affordable housing across the Omaha metro.

Front Porch Investments is pleased to announce nearly $6.2 million in awards from the fourth cycle of the Development and Preservation Fund through a partnership with the City of Omaha braiding philanthropic dollars with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars.

Front Porch Investments is pleased to announce over $13 million in awards from the third cycle of the Development and Preservation Fund through a partnership with the City of Omaha braiding philanthropic dollars with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars.

The Front Porch Investments' Home Equity Loan Fund (HELF) is designed to assist households with home repair and home renovation by providing zero-interest financing, fully amortized over a 30-year term, administered in partnership with Impact Development Fund, serving as the direct-to-consumer loan originator and servicer in accordance with consumer lending regulations.

Front Porch Investment launches the Greenlining Fund on June 19, 2023, providing intentional, community-led reinvestment to Eastern Omaha. The fund will direct resources to create or maintain homeownership in areas that have experienced decades of historical disinvestment through policies and practices including redlining. The first of its kind in Nebraska, the Greenlining Fund is also one of only a few national large-scale funds focused on addressing deeply rooted systems of racial bias, discrimination, and segregation. 

We are pleased to announce over $11 million in the second round of Development and Preservation Fund awards through a partnership matching philanthropic dollars with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support affordable housing development and preservation projects, as well as affordable housing supportive programs. 

One specific effort of the Community Advisory Committee (Greenlining Fund of Front Porch Investments) is to prioritize the program and impact that the Greenlining Fund will support for its pilot launch. Quickly, we realized together that we needed to first understand what down payment assistance resources already existed in the community, and what the usability of those resources are. A third question was: do the intended users and beneficiaries know about those resources? Learn more in this blog post.

Read this article for a summary of the Appropriations Committee of the Nebraska Legislature hearing of five bills on March 8th that would appropriate funds to expand the state’s ability to produce affordable housing.  Supporters representing for-profit and non-profit housing developers, multiple Chambers of Commerce, banking associations, municipalities, philanthropy, and a variety of nonprofits appeared in person and provided written comments in support of these bills. 

The Strategic Housing Council, with support from the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, Wellstone Collaborative Strategies, Queen City Development, and NIFA Board and staff, developed Nebraska's 2022 Strategic Housing Framework to outline the way forward.

Vision Statement: All Nebraskans have safe, affordable, quality housing choices to rent or own. As a result, affordable housing is the driver of community well-being and economic opportunity.

We are pleased to announce $11 million in the first round of Development and Preservation Fund awards through a partnership that matches philanthropic dollars with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds to support affordable housing development and preservation projects, as well as affordable housing supportive programs. 

Planning grants are typically sought by nonprofit agencies when a project, plan, strategy, or initiative needs to be developed from the beginning stages of an idea. The outcome of a planning grant is a structured plan of action, product, program design, or solution. In this post, we will share more about planning grants, how to use them, and when to apply for one.

In May, 2022, Front Porch Investments announced over $7.3 million in awards for the Innovation Round of funding for affordable housing development and preservation projects, as well as affordable housing supportive programs. The pilot program received 37 applications, totaling $49.6 million requests. A scoring committee reviewed applications based on a range of criteria, and loan funding applications went through rigorous underwriting by a funds management partner.