Residences
A planned public-service housing initiative for people facing housing instability.
What this division does.
Residences is the group's planning work for community housing built around public service: stable homes, clear house standards, and support that helps residents move forward, especially people facing housing instability. Nothing here is an operating program yet.
Because the work is meant to serve the public, it is planned to sit outside the group's creative and consulting work: either in its own nonprofit organization, with its own board and books, or under an existing nonprofit acting as fiscal sponsor. The structure will be settled before any program, funding, or housing is announced.
- Discipline
- Housing development
- Stage
- Planning
- Who it serves
- People facing housing instability
- Model
- Community and supportive housing
- Structure
- Separate nonprofit or fiscal sponsor, to be determined
- Funding
- Grants and public programs, pending eligibility
How the housing is meant to work.
Mission before margin
Decisions are tested against the mission and residents' stability, not profit.
Dignity and clear standards
Residents are neighbors. House expectations are written down, applied evenly, and explained up front.
Open books
Budgets, funding sources, and outcomes are documented so partners, funders, and neighbors can see how resources are used.
From concept to a 501(c)(3).
- 1Define the mission and the people served.
Write down the purpose, the population, and what success looks like.
- 2Choose a structure.
A new nonprofit corporation, or an existing nonprofit acting as fiscal sponsor. The sponsor route is often faster to start; a new organization gives full control.
- 3Form the organization.
For a new nonprofit: incorporate in California, obtain an EIN, and adopt bylaws and a conflict-of-interest policy.
- 4Seat a board.
An independent board oversees the mission, the money, and the standards.
- 5Apply for tax-exempt status.
File for IRS recognition as a 501(c)(3) and complete California's exemption and charity registrations. Typically not needed when operating under a sponsor's umbrella.
- 6Set up books and policies.
Bookkeeping, financial controls, and annual filings in place before any funds are received.
How grant funding would be pursued.
- 1Map the funders.
Federal, state, county, and city programs, plus private foundations.
- 2Confirm eligibility.
Many funders require nonprofit status or a fiscal sponsor before anyone can apply.
- 3Build the case.
A needs statement, program design, and a budget grounded in real costs.
- 4Prepare applications.
Complete each funder's forms and gather letters of support from local partners.
- 5Manage awards.
Separate accounts, tracked spending, and the reports each award requires.
- 6Report outcomes.
Share results with funders and the community.
This page describes plans, not services offered. No program, license, or funding is in place.