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IMPACT HUB AUSTIN’S 2018 AFFORDABILITY ACCELERATOR COHORT TO PRESENT SOLUTIONS FOR AUSTIN’S AFFORDABILITY ISSUES AT COMMUNITY SHOWCASE DAY DEC. 17

Eight ventures from Impact Hub Austin’s Affordability Accelerator to gather at Impact Hub Monroe St. location to address Austin’s affordability crisis
(AUSTIN, TEXAS – Dec. 10, 2018; source: Juice Consulting) – Impact Hub Austin and their 2018 Affordability Accelerator announce their upcoming Community Showcase Day, taking place Monday, Dec. 17, 2018 from 6-8:30 p.m. At this event, the eight ventures participating in the accelerator will present their solutions to Austin’s affordability issues. The Affordability Accelerator is composed of several companies that focus on policy, innovation and financing to keep Austin diversely weird and affordably engineered. The cohort includes Almost Home Financial, The Chicon Micro Units, Built with Humanity, The Tiny Heights, Blue Zero Homes, Affordable Housing Data Hub sponsored by Austin CityUP, Boomers Collaborative Foundation, Inc. and MEASURE. The groups in the cohort have strengthened their commitment and investment in addressing Austin’s affordability crisis and will present their work to a room full of investors, subject matter experts, entrepreneurs and leaders from government, nonprofit and business sectors. The Showcase is free and open to the community; donations are accepted to further Impact Hub’s social impact accelerator programs. For more information about this event, see here.
“My venture, Almost Home Financial, is working on a pilot to be launched next year that will help working families access homeownership by getting them qualified for a mortgage,” said Haydee Moreno, Almost Home Financial.“Impact Hub Austin’s Affordability Accelerator has been incredibly helpful in connecting us to various resources. My background is in financial services, where I’ve worked for fifteen years, which makes me a little less familiar with the housing ecosystem that exists. It’s been incredibly helpful to connect with different homeowner models, developers, and city representatives to understand how everything works together and not only how it can support my venture, Almost Home Financial, but also how we can support the greater housing ecosystem in our community.”
The chosen ventures in the 2018 Affordability Accelerator include:
  • Almost Home Financial – Almost Home Financial (“Almost Home”) is building new financial products for today’s working family by helping first-time homebuyers become mortgage-ready.
  • Building with Humanity – Build with Humanity aims to undermine the economic effect of historically racist urban development and systemic inequities by educating Black and Latinx innovators to lead equity-centered innovation in their communities; also aims to build leaders that can reshape the design of their communities by providing them with education in design, policy and social entrepreneurship as well as support them in venture incubation.
  • The Tiny Heights – A community of houses under 1,000 square feet that can be paid off within 15 years, with aims to reduce the barriers for first-time home buyers.
  • Blue Zero Homes – Their mission is to build safe, affordable and healthy homes for everyone no matter where they live using recycled materials that last for generations.
  • Affordable Housing Data Hub sponsored by Austin CityUP – Aims to provide an immediate prioritized list of currently available locations that best meet tenants’ needs, using information from housing providers, housing counselors, GIS and other sources.
  • Boomers Collaborative Foundation, Inc. – Their mission is to create a new and sustainable model for senior co-living and neighborhood co-working that allows Baby Boomers to share resources and responsibilities to thrive and age in place in retirement.
  • MEASURE – An Austin-based nonprofit that generates groundbreaking research on racial disparities and empowers communities to improve local agency services to meet their needs.
  • The Chicon Micro Units – Creating sustainable workforce housing in East Austin focused on serving the creative community.
“The Tiny Heights is a neighborhood of homes under 1000 square feet and exists to lower the barrier of entry to homeownership,” Jennifer Drew, The Tiny Heights. “Tiny homes and micro home units give families access to buying a home that might otherwise not be able to afford traditional single-family homes. Impact Hub Austin’s Affordability Accelerator has been such a great opportunity for us. It’s been so helpful to be in a cohort of individuals while getting real-time feedback on problems that we’re having. The solutions and dialogue that happens during a session have been phenomenal for our venture.”
Impact Hub Austin’s 2018 Affordability Accelerator cohort
Impact Hub Austin’s Affordability Accelerator is a three-month program focusing on advocacy, innovation, and financing to keep Austin (diversely) weird and affordably engineered. The program brings together Austin-based teams and ventures to help sustainably address Austin’s affordability challenges. Impact Hub works with civic, tech and real estate industries to create these ideas and solutions and the members of the accelerator cohort not only learn and work together during the program, but also learn and work with mentors, industry leaders and experts. Supporting sponsors for the Affordability Accelerator include Google, JP Morgan Chase, BuildFax, The Austin Board of Realtors, Capital Plus Financial and Noble Capital.
“It’s been a gift to work with this cohort!” said Impact Hub Accelerator Program Manager Reagan Pugh. “It’s been inspiring to witness their dedication as they’ve worked diligently to grow and mature their ventures over the last three months. What’s even more exciting are the creative ways they’ve partnered together – by creating alliances and offering services to one another along the journey. On showcase night, the Austin community will not only hear from the unique and innovative ventures this cohort, they’ll also see how each business compliments one another as they move forward together to tackle affordability in our city.”
About the Affordability Accelerator:
In the last year, Impact Hub Austin has hosted two accelerators focused exclusively on solving Austin’s greatest challenges. The first cohort in fall 2017 tackled affordability, and in the spring of 2018, Impact Hub Austin hosted a cohort focused on workforce development. This fall, the focus is back on affordability.
This issue continues to be one of Austin’s most challenging. Affordability is not defined solely by a reduction in housing costs. For the majority of Austinites, housing and transit costs are their largest monthly expenses and in this second accelerator, Impact Hub Austin is also producing innovative options that address the intersection of transit, housing and systemic inequities.
Cohort participants will benefit from Impact Hub’s strong network of organizations and experts working in Austin’s housing sector as well as one-­on-one intensive coaching, and thoughtfully developed sessions created to produce sustainable solutions to Austin’s affordability issue.
About Impact Hub Austin:
Impact Hub Austin offers a powerful combination of mission, community and space to support game-changing ideas for social impact. At once an inspiring coworking space, incubator and community hub, Impact Hub Austin connects local entrepreneurs and creatives to a global movement for good. To learn more about the Affordable Housing Accelerator (AHA) or Impact Hub Austin, visit www.impacthubaustin.com.
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MEDIA NOTE:
For press inquiries about Impact Hub Austin or interview requests, please contact the team at Juice Consulting:
Heather Wagner Reed
713 208 3891
Tyler Ostby
210 854 9119