Homeownership has long been a cornerstone of the American dream, offering a path to stability, wealth-building, and opportunity. Yet, too many families in Detroit and across the nation face barriers to achieving or maintaining stable housing, threatening their ability to achieve prosperity. At Rocket Community Fund, we’re working to close this gap. In 2024, we expanded our efforts to prevent displacement, reduce homelessness and increase access to affordable housing.
Rocket Community Fund firmly believes in making data-driven investments that are informed by the communities we serve. That’s why we developed our flagship community engagement program, Neighbor to Neighbor, which connects residents to critical resources while also collecting data to inform future investments. Though Neighbor to Neighbor began in Detroit, we have subsequently expanded the program to other markets including Cleveland, Atlanta and, for the first time in 2024, Milwaukee.
Over a four-month period, which included both door-to-door canvassing and an online survey campaign, our partners at United Way of Greater Milwaukee and Waukesha County and INPOWER connected Milwaukee households to resources focused on tax foreclosure prevention and eviction support. The findings of our work in Milwaukee were released in early 2025, providing critical insights to drive future investments.
In addition to launching our work in Milwaukee, we continued to deepen our investments in Atlanta and Cleveland with an eye toward protecting residents from displacement and creating alternate opportunities for homeownership. In Atlanta, we announced a combined $550,000 in two different programs. The first was a $250,000 grant for a pilot program with the City of Atlanta to cover the cost of property tax increases for qualified homeowners, and the second was a $300,000 investment with the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation (AVLF) to strengthen their eviction defense services.
In Cleveland, we launched the Make It Home Cleveland program in partnership with Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless, CHN Housing Partners and The Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. Modeled after the original Make It Home program in Detroit, the Cleveland pilot program aims to support approximately 50 households living in tax forfeited properties to purchase and repair their homes.
“Displacement negatively effects everyone – uprooting families while creating vacancy that drives blight and instability,” said Laura Grannemann, Executive Director, Rocket Community Fund. “Building on valuable lessons learned from running Make It Home in Detroit, we’ve developed a program tailored to Cleveland residents that disrupts this cycle by creating and supporting new homeowners.”
Speaking of Make It Home Detroit, Rocket Community Fund committed an additional $700,000 to the program, which provides a critical lifeline to renters at risk of displacement because their landlord didn’t pay property taxes. Instead of being displaced, the families in Make It Home get the option of purchasing the property through a 0% interest land contract for the cost of back taxes owed.
We joined Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan and the United Community Housing Coalition (UCHC) in November to announce the addition of 96 more Detroit families to the Make It Home program. With these new families, the Make It Home program has helped more than 1,600 Detroit families not only avoid eviction, but become the owner of their home since the program’s launch in 2017. We also contributed an additional $300,000 to support the associated Make It Home repair program, which has provided critical repairs to 566 homes since 2019.
In other homeownership news, Rocket Community Fund joined the second round of the City of Detroit’s Down Payment Assistance program, which helps make homeownership more accessible for Detroit residents. Saving for a down payment remains one of the biggest barriers to buying a home, especially for first-time buyers and families with limited financial resources. By providing financial support toward down payments, this program helps more Detroiters achieve the dream of homeownership. In the program’s first round, 434 total applications were approved, marking a promising step toward increasing homeownership rates and building generational wealth in the city.
Finally, Rocket Community Fund continued to support Built for Zero, a national movement of 148 communities focused on measurably and equitably ending homelessness. We have been a proud partner of Built for Zero, which is led by the national nonprofit Community Solutions, since 2018. Since joining the movement, our support has helped Built for Zero communities house more than 100,000 individuals, including more than 54,000 veterans. We are especially proud of the progress made by our home community of Detroit, where the collaborative efforts of the Detroit Continuum of Care have led to a 52% decrease in veteran homelessness since 2018.
Looking ahead, Rocket Community Fund remains focused on addressing the root causes of housing instability and advancing solutions that promote long-term affordability and homeownership. By listening to residents, partnering with local organizations, and investing in innovative programs, we are working toward a future where stable housing is within reach for every family, strengthening communities and creating lasting opportunities for generations to come.