Place-based Investing

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) members CommonSpirit Health and Intermountain Health invest in Denver-based nonprofit Elevation Community Land Trust (ECLT), that provides permanent affordable housing by purchasing land and reselling or renting the homes on the land. The ECLT model keeps the home affordable by providing residents long-term leases on the land where their homes are located. ECLT also places maximum […]

Modern Healthcare recognized HAN member Kaiser Permanente for its investments in affordable housing through its Thriving Communities Fund. A recent change in the tax law provides a permanent 12% increase in the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, which creates an opportunity for health systems to partner with states to invest in affordable and supportive housing.  From the Modern Healthcare […]

HAN members Beth Israel Lahey Health, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston Medical Center, and Mass General Brigham, along with the City of Boston and other institutions, are investing in and providing financial contributions to the Boston Acquisition Fund (BAF) that was just awarded the 2026 Ivory Prize for Housing Affordability in the Finance category. BAF is a public-private revolving loan fund that preserves naturally occurring affordable housing and prevents residential displacement.  

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member Intermountain Health addresses structural issues through its place-based investing that “lead to people being integrated more fully and healthily into their community.” The Catholic Health Association of the U.S. article details the positive impacts of the investments in financing construction of permanently affordable homes through community land trusts, preserving affordable housing, and lending to people […]

HAN member CommonSpirit Health’s Community Investment Program recently provided a $5 million bridge loan to Step By Step, a Washington State organization that supports new mothers overcoming trauma and poverty. The loan funded construction of The Barn, a 14,000 square foot early learning center that opened in March 2026 and serves 200 children. The investment came at […]

HAN member SSM Health is partnering with Dane Workforce Housing Fund II and Lake Ridge Bank to invest in the construction of The Bankston Apartments, an $11.2 million, 40-unit workforce housing development in downtown Madison, WI. The apartments will help address the city’s growing shortage of affordable housing, with 30 of the units slated for […]

An introduction for health systems, prepared by Healthcare Anchor Network and Avivar Capital When health systems sign Healthcare Anchor Network’s (HAN) Place-based Investing (PBI) Commitment, they commit to redirecting a portion of their long-term investable assets toward geographically-focused impact investments, aimed at improving local conditions that affect community health. Place-based investing supports stronger, more resilient […]

Overview of place-based investing with case studies, key strategies, and tips for getting started.

Congratulations to the three HAN members, Kaiser Permanente (Hawai’i), Memorial Hermann Health System, and SSM Health who completed the Expanding Place-based Investing Cohort (EPIC), co-led by HAN and the Center for Community Investment. EPIC teams worked together over 18 months to understand community investment needs and frameworks, develop impactful community partnerships, and build a place-based investing strategy that advances positive community […]

HAN member Allina Health is a signatory to the HAN Place-based Investing Commitment and has committed 1% ($30 million) of its total investment portfolio for place-based investing to address issues intersecting with social determinants of health, such as affordable housing for homeless households. The health system invested $3 million with the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund (GMHF) to build affordable […]

Trinity Health’s Community Investing Program is explored in a new case study. The case study covers the program’s history, design and implementation. The purpose of the program is to support projects, or loan pools, that will reduce social and economic disparities that cause unequal health outcomes for minority and low-income communities. These focus areas include […]

HAN member Kaiser Permanente’s impact investments in affordable housing continues with project in New Mexico and California.  In California, Kaiser Permanente has committed $50 million to the SDS Supportive Housing Fund, an innovative real estate impact fund that is seeking to build up to 1,800 financially sustainable permanent supportive housing (PSH) units for people experiencing homelessness in […]

Healthcare anchors have a unique role to play as investors in their communities to improve community health and well-being, particularly for those impacted by a legacy of divestment and discrimination. Many HAN member health systems have committed to redirecting a portion of their investable assets toward impact investments that are place-based and address community conditions that […]

Kaiser Permanente’s Thriving Communities Fund is explored in a new case study. The case study covers the program’s inception and design, strategies employed, partnerships, key stakeholders involved. It also explores several of the program’s projects, including the Housing for Health Fund and the SDS Supportive Housing Fund. 

Rush University System for Health’s (RUSH) Impact Investing Fund (“the Fund”) is explored in a new case study. The case study covers the Fund’s inception and design, strategies employed, and key stakeholders involved. In addition, it examines Rush’s partnerships with other local anchor institutions through West Side United (WSU) on place-based investing projects. Finally, it […]

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) members are investing in and supporting affordable housing. One example is Boston Medical Center, Boston Children’s Hospital, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital providing $3 million over three years for housing stability in Boston through the Innovative Stable Housing Initiative (ISHI). In addition to funding and investing support, HAN members are also working to address upstream […]

HAN member UC San Francisco partners with Landed, which works with schools and health systems to help employees buy homes through a shared equity down payment program.  From the article: “We are thrilled to begin serving UCSF employees and supporting a research university and medical center at the forefront of confronting the public health challenges we face as […]

Healthcare Anchor Network member CommonSpirit Health, along with UnitedHealthcare and Aetna, has committed $35 million in financing to launch the Home Matters Arizona Fund for affordable housing projects. The project will invest $100 million in phase one to finance community development and affordable housing projects that proactively foster connected and healthier lives. From the Home […]

Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) member Intermountain Healthcare, along with a group of private institutions including the Clark and Christine Ivory Foundation and Zions Bank, created the Utah Housing Preservation Fund with the goal of raising $100 million to preserve subsidized and “naturally occurring” affordable housing. This year, the Preservation Fund helped secure 24 duplexes that will be rehabbed and targeted for rental to Housing Choice Voucher holders who earn less than 30 percent of Area Median Income.