Rocket Community Fund Invests In ‘Stable, Healthy Housing’ For Underserved Communities

Sponsored by Rocket Community Fund

Detroit resident Romell Johnson had two goals: build his savings and launch a new career. Rocket Community Fund, the philanthropic partner to Rocket Companies, helped make it happen through the Rocket Wealth Accelerator program.

The program, launched in late 2022, is a $2 million investment with Local Initiatives Support Corp. (LISC) that promotes financial stability for underserved residents in Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Atlanta. Designated LISC Financial Opportunity Centers assist clients with enhancing emergency fund management, building credit, and accumulating generational wealth.

The program helped Johnson gain a $500 savings match, buy a new car, and build a budget for the future.

“I feel unstoppable. I’m more secure in my financial stability if an emergency arises,” Johnson said.

“It made me see that new goals are possible. Why not work to get a house next?”

Michael T. Pugh, president and CEO of LISC, shared that more than 2,400 people accessed financial coaching focused on building emergency savings and saving for a home, among other topics.

Pugh added, “The Rocket Wealth Accelerator matched savings program has already unlocked $280,000 for community members. And Rocket’s commitment to financial inclusion and well-being syncs perfectly with LISC’s mission and dedication to closing wealth and opportunity gaps—we are deeply grateful for this catalytic partnership.”

The accelerator is among a wide range of programs backed by the Fund to help underserved communities overcome systemic challenges in building and transferring wealth.

MISSION INCLUDES VOW TO SIMPLIFY INEQUITABLE SYSTEMS

The Fund aims to simplify complex and inequitable systems to ensure every American can access stable, healthy housing. It focuses on four national investment pillars: ending homelessness, preventing displacement, building wealth through homeownership, and bridging the digital divide. A fifth investment pillar, shared with the Gilbert Family Foundation, centers on building opportunity in Detroit. Since 2010, Rocket Community Fund has committed more than $230 million to community organizations and programs.

The foundation of the Fund’s work is Neighbor to Neighbor, a door-to-door canvassing campaign to connect residents with resources while also collecting information to inform future investments. The program was launched in 2017 in Detroit to reduce tax foreclosure. It has since expanded to Cleveland, Milwaukee, and Atlanta.

“The access to housing resources and information, combined with the connectivity that happens during Neighbor to Neighbor, is the secret sauce of the program,” said Rob Lockett, national team leader for Housing Stability at Rocket Community Fund.

“Community members become stronger and better advocates for themselves through the process.”

Through Neighbor to Neighbor, Lockett explains, “Residents are encouraged to get out and talk to each other about housing-related issues affecting their community, which are felt the most at the neighborhood level.”

ADDRESSING A FULL SPECTRUM OF HOUSING ISSUES

In 2018, Rocket Community Fund became a lead sponsor of Built for Zero, a national movement of more than 100 communities focused on ending homelessness. More than 176,000 people have been housed by Built for Zero communities since 2015.

“Our support for Built for Zero is about helping communities across the country develop a better system to respond to the challenge of homelessness,” said Rocket Community Fund Executive Director Laura Grannemann.

“Data shows that providing housing with supportive services is not only more effective in reducing homelessness, but significantly reduces expenses incurred through emergency services like hospitalizations, incarcerations, and shelters.”

She added, “By identifying broader trends, we can also work to get upstream of the problem so we’re preventing more people from becoming homeless in the first place.”

An example of this upstream approach is Rocket Community Fund’s recent investments in Atlanta. In March 2024, the organization announced $250,000 in new funding to protect legacy and senior Atlanta homeowners from displacement by paying past property balances. This followed a 2022 investment of $500,000 into the Atlanta BeltLine Partnership’s Legacy Resident Retention Program (LRRP), which stabilizes property tax levels for income-qualified residents into 2030.”

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens applauded the effort to prevent the displacement of longtime residents.

“Our vision of ‘one city with one bright future’ can only be achieved through collaborative partnerships that prioritize our most critical needs, like stable and secure housing. I am grateful to Rocket Community Fund for their commitment to fostering the equity and economic inclusion of Atlantans.”

The Rocket Community Fund understands renters’ important role in a healthy housing market. In Atlanta, the organization made a $300,000 investment with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation to strengthen its eviction defense services. It also invested $1.25 million to launch the Cleveland Eviction Defense Fund program.

I feel unstoppable. I feel as though my destiny is written by me. I’m more secure in my financial stability because if an emergency does arise, I now have the flexibility.”

While protecting renters from eviction prevents instability, Rocket Community Fund works to help renters become homeowners through programs like Make It Home.

Started in Detroit, the program allows eligible renters occupying tax-foreclosed houses to become homeowners instead of facing eviction. The program leverages the city’s “right of refusal,” allowing it to buy properties before the tax foreclosure auction for the value of the back taxes owed. The properties are then purchased by a nonprofit partner with funding from the Rocket Community Fund and sold to the renter on a land contract for the cost of taxes owed. Altogether, 1,500 families have become homeowners through the program.

BUILDING GENERATIONAL WEALTH

The Rocket Community Fund aims to ensure that more Americans enjoy the benefits of homeownership and can pass on generational wealth. That is especially true for Black Americans who have faced systemic barriers to homeownership.

Since 2010, the wealth disparity between Black and white families has expanded. With the rising cost of homeownership nationwide, significant effort and focus will be required to help stop the trend.

While the scope of the challenge may seem overwhelming, the Rocket Community Fund team leverages its core philosophies or ISMs to identify solutions.

“One of our ISMs is ‘You’ll See It When You Believe It,” says Grannemann. “This means that we lead with positivity and the belief that we can overcome big challenges. Rather than sitting on the sidelines and waiting for change to happen, we’re working with community partners to make it happen.”