Wisconsin Rural Affordable Workforce Housing Initiative

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WHEDA is sponsoring a pilot project to address housing disparities in rural Wisconsin. Participants will work through a community-based design process to identify local needs and priorities, develop ideas through collaboration, and implement solutions. The focus is on access to safe, affordable housing as a foundation for public health, economic well-being, and environmental stewardship.

The pilot will use human-centered design as a framework with a structured process founded in experimentation and creative problem solving. The work will be completed in stages, focusing on advancing the goals of each pilot design team and fostering collaboration across stakeholders, participants, and the pilot community.

Details of the process, expected outcomes, and schedule is available in the application instructions.

Eligible applicants are communities in Wisconsin that are within a county where over 25% of the county's residents live in a rural area. A map of rural counties is provided in Appendix A of the application instructions.

Applicants must demonstrate:

• Collaboration among stakeholders within and outside of the proposed pilot community
• Meaningful representation from the proposed pilot community
• Stakeholders who have direct experience with and/or contextual knowledge of workforce housing and the ability to advance projects

A total of $10,000,000 and additional supplemental financing tools will be invested in at least 3 rural communities.

Links to additional guidance, application instructions, and the application are available on the program website.

Email completed applications to ruralaffordablehousing@wheda.com.

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