Caldwell County Foundation puts together impressive representation for St. David’s Foundation

By Kyle Mooty

LPR Editor

St. David’s Foundation’s funding opportunity, which began July 31, has Caldwell County and City of Lockhart leaders coming together in hopes of addressing its affordable housing issues.

At a round table discussion hosted last week by the Caldwell County Foundation, members of St. David’s Foundation engaged in a conversation about the current state of affordable housing inventory and projects with about a dozen individuals from the community.

“It was wonderful to be with community leaders and visionaries hosted by Caldwell County Foundation who share our passion and commitment to creating vibrant communities where everyone has the potential to thrive,” said Abena Asante, Senior Program Officer with St. David’s Foundation. “This gathering gave us the opportunity to listen and hear early thoughts on how we can potentially partner with organizations in Caldwell County.

“In particular, we were excited to share two new funding opportunities for Central Texas organizations to address our region’s affordable housing challenges and to strengthen the capacity of local partner working to address health needs in their communities. We encourage interested and eligible organizations to apply at www.stdavidsfoundation.org.”

The meeting was held at the First Lockhart National Bank Community Room.

Joining Asante with St. David’s Foundation was Program Associate Joycelyn Jurado, Caldwell County Judge Hoppy Haden, Commissioner BJ Westmoreland, Lockhart Mayor Lew White, Assistant City Manager Joseph Resendez, City Planning Director David Fowler, City Planner Evan Olszewski, City Council Member John Lairsen, First Baptist Church Pastor Dr. Fritz Williams, Lockhart Housing Authority Executive Director Brandy Spencer, Caldwell County Foundation President Sally Daniel, and board members Stephaine Carter, Phil McBride, and Christine Ohlendorf.

St. David’s Foundation defined its funding to support nonprofit organizations, local government, or collaboratives working to improve affordable housing for low- to moderate-income households in Central Texas. The initiative will provide planning and/or predevelopment support for projects with the potential to help address the region’s affordable housing challenge. Projects and plans from all parts of Central Texas — rural, urban, and regional — are encouraged to consider the opportunity.

St. David’s Foundation has set aside $8 million for a maximum grant amount of $750,000 per project.

Affordable Housing is a broad term where the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development states that a household pays no more than 30 percent of its gross income for housing costs, including utilities.

“There are multiple programs addressing affordability with different criteria for qualification,” Daniel said. “Among the programs are subsidized apartments as well as those assisting with home purchase expenses, all designed to help people below the medium income level to rent or purchase a home.

“We eagerly anticipate that this new funding opportunity from St. David’s Foundation will serve as a catalyst for increasing affordable housing options in the county.

St. David’s Foundation invests $80 million annually across Central Texas.

“Affordable housing and other funding provided by these grants from St. David’s are critical to our county being able to attract and retain professionals such as teachers and first responders to our county,” Haden said.

Commissioner Westmoreland added, “This is an exciting and wonderful opportunity for the City of Lockhart and Caldwell County. The St. David’s Foundation has not only been a wonderful community partner in the past but through this effort, they demonstrate their continued commitment to improving the health and wellbeing of citizens in Caldwell County. I look forward to seeing that this effort continues and ultimately begins to positively affect affordable housing concerns in the local area.”

White said, “St. David’s Foundation has been a fantastic community partner. Lockhart welcomes its interest in investing in affordable housing and look forward to finding opportunities to work together.”

Caldwell County Foundation is a 501c3 organization that was the brainchild of Haden and former County Grant Writer Dennis Engelke. It was founded in 2019 as the Caldwell County Community Services Foundation, which has since regranted nearly $500,000 to local nonprofits, primarily addressing health and wellness.