MacArthur Prize Winners Use Data, Communications, and Technology Creatively

By M.J. Prest
Chronicle of Philanthropy

The National Housing Trust doesn’t just advocate for better housing policies to help the needy—it also offers housing that poor people can afford to rent.

The group has overseen the development of 25,000 low-cost apartments in 41 states and has financed $1-billion in affordable housing since 2001.

It now owns and operates 3,000 apartments, which gives the nonprofit credibility when it talks to lawmakers about how housing regulations affect real people, says Michael Bodaken, the group’s executive director.

He says his comments to lawmakers are always fresh “because we’re always in the market.”The group’s mix of advocacy and service helped it earn a $1-million grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, one of seven groups the grant maker is honoring today with its Award for Creative and Effective Institutions.

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