As our region grows and housing becomes increasingly out of reach for many residents, the NoCo Foundation is bringing partners together to build creative, regional solutions.

By Brooke Cunningham, Regional Housing Officer, NoCo Foundation

The first time I met Dan, he told me something I’ve heard far too often in the last year: “I’m doing everything right and still feel like I’m falling behind.”

Dan is 36. After years as a welder, the company he worked for shut down during COVID, pushing him into a string of odd jobs until he retrained in software programming for manufacturing robotics. Today, he earns about $60,000, a solid income in many places. But not here. After rent, groceries, insurance, and medical costs, homeownership feels out of reach. Most months, he breaks even. Some months, he doesn’t.

But what if someone like Dan could afford a home? Or a rent payment that doesn’t drain their paycheck? What if there were tools, real, accessible tools, that made down payment loans, affordable mortgages, and long-term stability possible for hard working residents across Northern Colorado?

That’s exactly the work we’re tackling at the NoCo Foundation.

Why Housing? Why Now?

As the Foundation’s first Regional Housing Officer, I’m fortunate to meet daily with people who care deeply about Northern Colorado’s future: developers, local governments, nonprofits, business leaders, and residents who simply want to stay in the communities they love.

And there’s urgency behind our conversations.

The 2024 Northern Colorado Intersections Report revealed what many of us have felt: our region is growing rapidly. State demographers project a 92% increase in population across Larimer and Weld Counties over the next 20 years. Greeley is expected to double in size, becoming the largest city in Northern Colorado.

When that many new neighbors arrive, and many longtime residents also want to remain here, housing becomes the hinge on which everything else depends. As our partners in Economic Development often say, “Without attainable housing, economic opportunity stalls.”

So in late 2024 and early 2025, we rolled up our sleeves. We met with housing stakeholders across the region to help us map the gaps. We also attended summit after summit to understand not just who was doing this work, but where the silos, barriers, and missing connections lived.

And we heard something surprising:
Everyone agreed housing is critical, and that smart folks are working on the issue, but no one was coordinating regional solutions.

Five Workgroups Taking Action on Market Barriers

From dozens of conversations and literal piles of sticky notes, we convened five regional workgroups, each bringing together cross-sector leaders committed to doing things differently.

  1. Cash
    • Exploring creative financing strategies
    • Identifying untapped opportunities to attract new capital
    • Helping shape the NoCo Foundation’s emerging Impact Investing Funds
  1. Cost
    • Examining the biggest drivers of rising construction and development costs
    • Comparing regional cost patterns
    • Exploring ways to reduce costs through innovation
  1. Partnerships
    • Identifying missing partners and collaboration opportunities
    • Creating a clear picture of who is doing what across Northern Colorado
  1. Public & Political Will
    • Understanding current community perceptions
    • Addressing myths and misconceptions
    • Developing shared messaging and language around affordable & attainable housing
  1. Regional Solutions
    • Planning workshops for local governments to exchange best practices
    • Exploring regional goals, standards, and reporting tools
    • Working to reduce barriers and silos between communities

These groups are just getting underway, but the momentum is real and energizing.

Impact Investing Funds: Making More Possible

There’s a simple truth at the heart of this work:
Philanthropy alone cannot solve the housing crisis, but philanthropy can bring together innovators and create space for solutions.

That’s why the NoCo Foundation is launching two exciting funds:

  • $2 million Down Payment Assistance Fund
  • $3 million Revolving Loan Fund for construction lending
  • Additional investment and funding partnerships to grow both pools

These funds are designed for people like Dan; people who are working hard, building our communities, and deserve a path toward stability, belonging, and a future they can invest in.

Join Us Because Housing Belongs to All of Us

If this work resonates with you, we hope you’ll get involved.
Housing is a regional challenge, but it’s also our shared opportunity.

Together, we’re building a Northern Colorado where home is possible for more people and where our region’s bright future is one we create side by side.

– Brooke Cunningham