In groundbreaking work, Genesis community partner Healthy Homeworks creates homeownership opportunities for aspiring first-time homebuyers in downtown Lewiston, Maine, where only 4 percent of residents currently own homes.

Three decades ago, residents of neighboring communities in Midcoast Maine discovered that a local family was living in the hollow of a bridge over the Sheepscot River. What started out as a simple effort to house the family soon expanded as a broader issue came to light—the lack of affordable housing in their rural communities.

There is much to be done to bring justice and equity to Black, Indigenous, and other people of color in Maine, Northern New England, and beyond. As a CDFI, the Genesis Fund is part of an industry that emerged from the civil rights movement with the explicit goal of addressing the systemic racism that has denied communities of color access

We had just experienced one of the Genesis Fund’s most remarkable years ever, with success in 2019 across all categories: lending activity, growth of the fund through investments and fundraising, and deployment of vital professional expertise to guide nonprofit partners moving projects forward. And then came COVID-19. Businesses shuttered. Offices emptied. Schools quieted. Families facing illness, eviction, lost work, food

For residents who want to “age in place” in their home communities, for members of the workforce, including parents heading single-income houses and workers with disabilities—basically, for everyone who needs affordable rural rental housing like Lester Hersey’s in Aroostook County, Maine (above), it is as important to preserve existing units as it is to build more of them. That’s why