Anchorum Health Foundation Invests More Than $15 Million in Affordable Housing Efforts
Santa Fe, NM — Anchorum Health Foundation is investing $15.5 million in loans, grants, and other initiatives to expand affordable housing across northern New Mexico. This includes a $10 million loan to Homewise to help develop approximately 1,500 affordable homes in Santa Fe County and a $2.5 million impact investment in Native Community Capital to support a development loan fund for Tribal communities, including a housing project in Shiprock, New Mexico. These investments are key first steps in Anchorum’s housing strategy to spark additional funding from public, private, and philanthropic partners.
“Our vision for solving the affordable housing crisis depends on collaboration,” said Jerry Jones, President and CEO of Anchorum Health Foundation. “It will take strong partnerships and bold, long-term investments to increase access to affordable homeownership, improve overall quality of life, and transform our communities.”
Anchorum’s housing investments include:
A $10 million loan to Homewise: Anchorum has been a community partner with Homewise for years, including through the Community Catalyst Fund, which has raised over $20 million to advance affordable housing and community redevelopment initiatives. This new loan will be used to help finance the infrastructure for the third phase of Tierra Contenta, a long-planned mixed-use community in southwest Santa Fe. To make the 1,500 new housing units as affordable as possible, Homewise is also working with Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham and the legislature to secure capital outlay funds to help cover the cost of the foundational infrastructure.
“The affordable housing crisis is one of the most pressing challenges of our time,” said Mike Loftin, CEO of Homewise. “Thissupport will enable Homewise to deepen our impact and reach more families with the tools and resources needed to build equitythrough homeownership. We are immensely grateful to the Anchorum Health Foundation for believing in our vision and supporting our work to strengthen communities.”
A $2.5 million impact investment in Native Community Capital: Native Community Capital (NCC), is a Native-ledcommunity development financial institution and licensed mortgage bank, headquartered in the Pueblo of Laguna. NCC’s purpose is to advance Tribal self-determination by working as a lender and as an honest broker for unlocking the capitalresources necessary to
build Tribal economies. Anchorum’s investment will support a housing project currently underway in Shiprock.
“Many housing strategies that work well in towns and cities across our state fail to address the unique challenges Tribalcommunity members face,” said Olivia Sloan, Vice President of Native Health Partnerships at Anchorum. “Investing in NCC is a vital step to ensure our housing strategies are inclusive, culturally relevant, and responsive to the diverse communities we serve.”
Anchorum will also support NCC’s operations with a three-year $1.5 million grant. The grant funds will support work toconvene Pueblos and Tribal elected leaders on leveraged financing for homeownership on Tribal lands.
“Conventional financial institutions and other investors have avoided investing on tribal lands,” said Dave Castillo, CEO ofNative Community Capital. “However, models for public, private, and tribal investment have had success – it is key for the future of homeownership on Pueblo and Tribal lands.”
A $1.5 million Affordable Housing Loan Fund: This pilot project reflects Anchorum’s proactive approach to affordable housing. Designed to drive innovation, this fund supports speculative and pre-development activities—critical early steps thatdetermine if new projects get off the ground. By covering due diligence costs, it serves as an incentive for developers to pursuecreative and sustainable solutions and explore every viable avenue to address housing needs in our communities.
“We hope these loan funds will serve as a catalyst, encouraging other funders to collaborate and expand investment in affordable housing—especially in the pre-development phase—so we can successfully launch more projects across the region,” said Jones.
As loans are repaid, the funds will be reinvested to finance future projects, creating a continuous cycle of financial support.
Affordable Housing Caucus Convenings: Anchorum is also hosting Housing Matters, a speaker series of the Affordable Housing Caucus during the current legislative session. This weekly event brings together local and national experts to share insights and best practices for addressing the ongoing housing crisis in New Mexico. These gatherings provide legislators with numerous perspectives on strategies that have demonstrated success in New Mexico and other states.
Anchorum Health Foundation is dedicated to improving the conditions that have the greatest influence on the health of communities in our region. We are committing our resources to strengthening community-based partners tackling critical local issues. For more information, visit anchorum.org.
###
