Program Background
Program Background
Minnesota's success depends on a 21st century competitive region. For us, this means attention to developing and maintaining a region where all the important pieces align — vibrant neighborhoods, regional growth, housing, transit, and more. McKnight's Region & Communities program aims to increase efficient and sustainable regional metropolitan development that creates livable communities and expands opportunities for all to thrive.
In 2008, McKnight undertook a comprehensive review of one key strategy in the Region & Communities program — affordable housing — to identify opportunities for improvement. The review included input from experts in design, finance, and development; site visits to examine affordable housing in other regions; and a systematic collection, analysis, and discussion of trends and best practices. As a result, McKnight now focuses on three new objectives: First, to educate and advocate to increase public acceptance of and support for affordable housing; second, to promote innovation and high-quality housing design for livable communities; and third, to accelerate the pace of affordable housing production, preservation and permanency.
In 2010, the Region & Communities program sought to recalibrate their work. Historically, housing-related funding had been approximately 50% of Region and Communities grantmaking as foundational to neighborhood and community vitality. As a principle of the program, it had consistently encouraged connections across silos of work and partnerships to achieve goals. In order to further connect their work and achieve greater coherence, the program gathered its work into three strategies: homes for all, healthy neighborhoods, and sustainable regional development. Revised program guidelines were issued in 2012.
Today, McKnight works to achieve its Region and Communities program goal through grantmaking, collaboration, and encouragement of strategic policy reform around sustainable regional development, homes for all, and economically vibrant neighborhoods. Across all funding strategies, we promote integration, alignment, and balanced participation from all sectors: nonprofit, government, private, and civic. Our primary geographic focus is the Twin Cities metropolitan area.