The Housing Trust Fund of Santa Barbara County received a $600,000 capital and operating grant from the U.S. Treasury Community Development Financial Institutions Fund, the local group announced Monday.

The organization was among 35 nationwide to receive such grants, according to the Housing Trust Fund.

The Housing Trust Fund will use the capital grant to provide low-cost financing to sponsors of affordable community housing projects that support the downtown population experiencing high poverty rates — specifically low-income families, homeless persons, senior citizens and persons with special needs. The funds will be used to make low-cost loans to produce new rental housing and to preserve older affordable housing projects.

The organization will also apply funds towards its $4.5 million Revolving Loan Fund, an initiative that enables the production, preservation and rehabilitation of affordable rental and homeownership projects within Santa Barbara County. 

The HTF, which has been affected by limited state resources and the closure of the city’s redevelopment agency, remarked on the CDFI grant’s timely support.

“Due to the demise of local Redevelopment Agency funding for affordable housing, the CDFI Fund grant award to the Housing Trust Fund is particularly timely and provides a welcomed infusion of capital needed to facilitate new affordable rental and homeownership opportunities in Santa Barbara County,” HTF president Jennifer McGovern said in the press release.

McGovern said the organization would like to thank Congresswoman Lois Capps and the U.S. Treasury CDFI fund for bringing in essential resources. 

— Noozhawk intern Nikki Chan can be reached at nchan@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.