Join us from 3:30 – 5:30pm on December 4th! Come together with advocates, industry leaders, organizers, and housing champions from across the housing continuum at MHP’s Winter Social. This festive gathering is more than a celebration—it’s a moment to recognize our shared progress and gear up for the work ahead.
Join Our Future Starts at Home for a special conversation about successful ballot campaigns for affordable homes in Colorado and Los Angeles. We welcome Zach Martinez of Colorado and Aditi Shakkawar of Los Angeles to share stories of campaign strategies for election day success and expectations and results for affordable homes post-election.
Director of Policy and Advocacy at Gary Advocacy LLC and Gary Community Ventures
Zach brings deep expertise on the Colorado campaign for Prop 123. In November 2022, Colorado voters passed Proposition 123, a ballot measure authorizing the state to retain money from existing state tax revenue to support affordable housing investment. Learn more about Prop 123 and its implementation here.
Housing Advocacy Manager with United Way of Greater Los Angeles
Aditi worked closely with the coalition that was successful in passing the LA County sales tax, Measure A. In the November 2024 election, voters approved Los Angeles County’s Measure A, a campaign to increase the countywide sales tax by a half-cent to fund homelessness services and affordable housing. This measure replaced the previous quarter-cent Measure H, raising the county sales tax to 9.75% in most areas and generating an estimated $1 billion annually.
MHP is proud to present its 2025 Outstanding Advocate Awards. MHP recognizes outstanding volunteers and organizational partners who have made significant contributions to promote affordable housing solutions at the local, state, and federal levels.
MHP is proud to recognize Beacon Interfaith Housing Collaborative as an organizational recipient of our 2025 Outstanding Advocate award. Beacon has provided leadership for key housing campaigns, engaged hundreds of residents in advocacy activities to influence local, state, and federal lawmaker decisions, and helped to bring media and public attention to key housing issues. From leading the Start with Home rally at the State Capital, to serving as co-chair of the Our Future Starts at Home campaign, to championing the narrative of homes we can afford, Beacon has exemplified what it means to organize for housing justice.
MHP is proud to recognize Leech Lake Financial Services as an organizational recipient of MHP’s 2025 Outstanding Advocate Award. LLFS has built political will for homes, modeling the initiative, collaborative spirit, and “never quit” attitude needed to build a total of 15 new homes to serve community need through its Wealth Creation Project . Through collaboration with many funders and local partners, LLFS is creating homeownership opportunities for Native families and local community members. Their efforts promote empowerment and equity in homeownership and local asset building that will impact generations to come. LLFS is truly creating a model that demonstrates the incredible impact that investment in Native and rural homeownership can have!
MHP is proud to recognize the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless (MCH) as an organizational recipient of our 2025 Outstanding Advocate award. One of the premier organizations in the housing space with statewide reach, MCH has helped bring high profile attention to Minnesota’s housing needs from the Governor and legislative leaders year after year. Through its Advocacy Fellowship program and many other efforts, MCH has consistently ensured that those with lived experience are hands-on in developing policy, designing campaign strategy, and testifying at the Capital. Through its leadership on the Our Future Starts at Home campaign, and history of success in increasing funding for the Family Homeless Prevention Assistance Program (FHPAP), MCH’s outstanding commitment to housing justice is clear. MCH is truly a mighty organization!
Deanna has influenced rural housing policy development with examples and experiences as a community-based developer. As a champion of preservation efforts for deeply affordable rural homes, such as USDA Section 515’s, Deanna has helped educate community members and local, state and federal elected officials on the importance of these homes for rural residents and rural communities. As a trusted and effective communicator about the importance of affordable homes, she has helped to build political will and public support throughout Central Minnesota.
Julia is a positive, collaborative, and knowledgeable housing advocate, helping to inspire and connect her colleagues in the affordable housing industry. As a regular member of the rural development workgroup, and a brilliant housing finance professional, Julia has identified policy issues and solutions important to rural communities. With her colleagues at MMCDC, Julia exemplifies excellence as a trusted partner of the state in administering the First Generation Homebuyers Down Payment Assistance program. Julia has brought rural perspectives to policy and advocacy efforts, ensuring Greater Minnesota expertise is reflected in policy conversations.
Paul’s efforts have helped build the public narrative for homes people can afford and enhanced excitement and support for housing solutions at the state level. Paul is the consummate networker, a skill he employs on behalf of affordable housing advocacy. From sharing his expertise with Housing Institute members, to participating in lobby days at the Capitol, to building support for the Our Future Starts at Home campaign, to championing affordable housing campaigns and organizations – Paul’s willingness to say “yes” is contagious and motivating. While he will claim he “has not done much,” Paul’s efforts reflect a critical ongoing commitment to housing justice and affordable housing solutions.
Ryan is a forceful advocate for fair housing and affordable homes. He has been a leader in advancing the Our Future Starts at Home Campaign, including providing strategy and organizing expertise, building political support, bringing in new organizational endorsers, and lending excitement and energy to this massive effort. Ryan has championed housing justice for all, including immigrant community members, by helping shape the public narrative, championing innovative policy wins like renter protections for use of individual taxpayer identification numbers, and supporting organizing efforts throughout the state.
MHP is proud to present its 2025 Legislative Leader Awards to housing champions. These lawmakers have promoted homes we can afford as an issue of public importance, advanced impactful policies and housing investments, and championed MHP’s policy initiatives. All of MHP’s awardees have demonstrated a deep resolve to make a difference for Minnesotans.
Rep. Dotseth, as co-vice chair of the Housing Finance and Policy Committee, was accessible to advocates and enthusiastically worked to advance meaningful solutions. As author of multiple housing bills, including the State Housing Tax Credit and land use and zoning reform, Rep. Dotseth was a key influencer in his caucus, and in the housing committee, for effective solutions and stable homes.
Rep. Howard has consistently acted to advance affordable housing investment and policy, and secure sustained support for housing as a top issue in the House of Representatives. As co-chair of the housing committee, he worked cooperatively to ensure bipartisan support for a robust housing target, lead bipartisan efforts to advance land use and zoning reform bills, and continued as chief author of the bill for dedicated revenue for home through a constitutional amendment.
As the co-chair of the Housing Finance and Policy Committee, Rep. Igo exhibited an inexhaustible desire to learn about statewide needs for affordable homes, and advance policies and funding for solutions. He was a present, engaging, and accessible leader—attending forums, rallies, and conversations where he elevated housing as a top issue for Minnesotans. He fought for a robust target for the housing committee, helped advance land use and zoning reform bills, and ensured that the housing omnibus bill addressed highest priority needs for housing, including for rural communities.
As Vice Chair of the Housing Finance and Policy committee, Rep Kozlowski has been a consistent champion for homes we can afford, advancing both policy and investment with significant effort. They have helped to shape the public narrative around housing by sharing personal stories and mentoring housing advocates, ensuring committee discussion is grounded in the personal experiences of Minnesota people and families. They have advanced and led on land use and zoning reform bills, helping to identify strategies and influence caucus support for structural change.
Rep. Kraft has provided critical leadership by convening bipartisan conversations and engaging diverse stakeholders, including MHP, as a champion for land use and zoning reform. He has worked tirelessly to build backing within his caucus, make a persuasive case for change, and advance substantial policy reforms to support homes Minnesotans can afford.
Rep. Mekeland promoted significant policy reform to support homes we can afford, including authoring a bill to advance regulatory reform for land use and zoning. He was accessible and engaged with MHP, lifted up the importance of homes for Minnesota families, and underscored housing as a top policy priority within his caucus.
Rep. Huldah Momanyi-Hiltsley advanced a vision for homes that all Minnesotans can afford, with enthusiasm and strategic effort. As chief author of a bill to increase emergency rental assistance, she fought tirelessly to prioritize support for renters and deeply affordable homes. Accessible to housing advocates and persuasive with her colleagues and leadership, she strove to establish bipartisan partnerships in support of home.
Rep. Nash has continued, year after year, to advance the case for homes we can afford in Minnesota. As a key leader of efforts to reform land use and zoning in Minnesota, Rep Nash has provided strategic insights to advance meaningful policy change for home and worked to build the case for affordable homes and homeownership within his caucus.
Sen. Boldon has been an engaged and influential housing leader, an important voice within her caucus, and a champion for Greater Minnesota housing solutions. She authored many housing bills and built support within her caucus, including for supportive housing, housing development, and emergency rental assistance. She has consistently championed structural change, including dedicated revenue for housing, as a necessary solution.
Sen. Mohamed has tenaciously advocated year after year for structural reforms that strengthen investments and policies supporting Minnesotans’ access to stable homes. As chief author of the constitutional amendment for housing, a supporter of innovations like adaptive reuse, and a leader ensuring grassroots partners have the resources to serve families needing stability effectively, she has been one of the legislature’s most consistent champions for making home a top priority.
As the Senate’s housing chair, Sen. Port continued to champion affordable homes, including fighting for a housing budget target, providing leadership on advancing multiple land use and zoning reform bills, and holding a hearing on the constitutional amendment for housing – helping to build support for dedicated revenue for affordable homes.
Sen. Rasmusson supported significant housing solutions through regulatory reform, working with his colleagues to advance the Minnesota Starter Home Act. He led meaningful conversations around policies that lead to safe and stable homes. His willingness to engage with MHP and its stakeholders reflected his commitment to addressing housing challenges.
Join fellow housing advocates, MHP, and co-hosts from 3:30-5:30 pm on June 12th at Lake Monster Brewing as we recognize, celebrate, and toast the hard work done by housing champions and lawmakers during the 2025 Legislative Session.
Co-hosts include the MN ERASE Campaign, Family Housing Fund, Habitat for Humantity Minnesota, Greater Minnesota Housing Fund (GMHF), Minnesota Consortium of Community Developers (MCCD), Minnesota Housing Stability Coalition, Our Future Starts at Home, Twin Cities Habitat for Humantity, and Yes To Homes MN.
The President’s “skinny budget”: has been released and, as anticipated, makes deep cuts to non-defense discretionary spending by $163 billion, representing a cut of 22.6% from FY25 budget levels. The President’s budget makes devastating cuts to HUD and housing programs in other agencies. A list of spending cuts and other spending proposals, including to HUD, are here. The President’s full budget proposal will be released in the coming weeks.
President Trump’s budget proposal includes a 44 percent reduction to HUD’s housing programs. The proposal calls for eliminating vital programs, such as the HOME Investment Partnership program (HOME), Community Development Block Grant program (CDBG), Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), Fair Housing programs, the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (NeighborWorks America) and the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH). It also includes significant cuts for homelessness prevention, Native American programs, resilience and utility efficiency, and rural development programs, and the Community Development Financial Institutions Fund (CDFI Fund).
Rental Assistance
The President’s budget proposal would slash rental assistance by more than 40%, or $26.72 billion, and combine all remaining funds and block grant them into one program, State Rental Assistance Block Grants. It would be up to states to continue to provide housing assistance to the millions of people who rely on it. The programs eliminated and replace with the block grant would include Housing Choice Vouchers (HCVs), Public Housing, Project-Based Rental Assistance (PBRA), Section 202 Housing for the Elderly, and Section 811 Housing for Persons with Disabilities. In addition, the President’s budget would impose a two-year time limit on receiving rental assistance for “able-bodied adults.”
Supportive Housing
The President’s proposal would eliminate the Continuum of Care Program and Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) and move them into the Emergency Solutions Grant Program, with a cut of $532 million. The ESG program cannot be used for long term housing, but rather only funds short-term shelters and housing limited to two years. See NYTimes coverage – impacts to supportive housing
USDA Rural Housing Programs
President’s preliminary budget would eliminate U.S. Department of Agriculture single-family housing direct loans (section 502), self-help housing grants, and rural housing vouchers, arguing these programs “are duplicative, too small to have macro-economic impact, costly to deliver, in limited demand, available through the private sector, or conceived as temporary.“
House Reconciliation Bill and Tax Provisions
The House of Representatives is expected to review all or portions of the reconciliation bill during the week of May 12. Republican goals for a reconciliation bill, which can avoid the Senate’s 60-vote filibuster threshold, including extending tax cuts, expanding border security and defense, and cutting federal spending. The Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, and Agriculture Committees are responsible for determining key provisions of the bill, including tax cuts and extensions, cuts to Medicaid and healthcare assistance, and cuts to food assistance.
While housing assistance has not been identified as a potential target for cuts, cuts to anti-poverty programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), both named as targets for potentially large cuts, would negatively impact economic stability and housing stability for families and people with low incomes.
House Tax Bill Expands Tax Credit
The House Ways and Means Committee, on May 12, released legislative text for the House tax reconciliation bill, which includes an expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit), and expanding the Opportunity Zone tax credit. The bill would:
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The House Ways and Means Committee, on May 12, released legislative text for the House tax reconciliation bill, which includes an expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (Housing Credit), and expanding the Opportunity Zone tax credit. The bill would:
Right now, leaders in the House and Senate and Governor Walz are negotiating joint budget targets. It’s not too late to influence Minnesota’s FY26-27 budget. The stakes are high, and state housing investments are more important than ever. President Trump just released his “Skinny Budget” last week. The proposed cuts to HUD would have devastating impact on Minnesota families. We need state leaders to prioritize housing. The Minnesota House’s initial budget proposal invests $75M in one-time appropriations and $100M in Housing Infrastructure Bonds. We need leaders to support the House’s position.
Governor Walz’s Telephone Number: 651-201-3400
My name is [name] and I live [address]. Support $75M in appropriations to housing and $100M in Housing Infrastructure Bonds. Safe, stable, affordable homes are the foundation of a thriving state. Minnesota does poorly when Minnesotans don’t have homes that they can afford.
Thank you,
[name, org, contact]
MHP hosts Federal Focus on Housing virtual events on the fourth Friday of the month, from 10:00 -11:00 a.m., or as needed. You can register for the meeting series here.
Minnesota Legislative leaders from the House, and Senate will soon begin negotiating with the Governor to set a universal budget target. This will determine how many resources are dedicated to housing in the final state budget.
Ask Governor Walz to support the House Budget of $75 million for housing, with $30 million for FHPAP, and $100 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds.
Governor Walz’s Telephone Number: 651-201-3400
Hello, My name is [__name__] and I live/work at [___address & city___]. Please support the House’s budget for housing of $75 million, including $30 million for the Family Homeless Prevention Assistance Program, and $100 million in Housing Infrastructure Bonds. Our families are facing hard times financially, and paying the rent or mortgage, including utilities, is the biggest cost for household budgets. Our Minnesota families and neighbors need help with housing more than ever
[tell your story – why housing is this important]
Thank you,
[name, org, contact]
Yes to Homes! has been busy at the State Capitol the last few weeks. We’re a large and diverse coalition united around the common goal of creating statewide housing policy focused on meaningfully increasing the variety and supply of housing options so that all Minnesotans have a safe and stable place to call home.
Great news – Thanks to advocacy from supporters like you, several of the Yes to Homes! bills were heard and passed out of the House & Senate Housing Committees! The next step at the legislature is a critical moment in need of your advocacy. The bills are on their way to their next committee stops, and we need to ensure that committee members hear from their constituents about the importance of abundant housing.
Between now and Monday, March 24th, you can support Yes to Homes! by calling your members of the House Elections Finance & Government Operations Committee and the Senate State & Local Government Committee to ask for their support. It is crucial that our elected leaders hear from as many constituents as possible about the Yes to Homes! package of legislation.
As a reminder, the coalition’s full agenda includes seven bills designed to make it easier for our state to increase the housing options we need to grow and prosper. By passing this legislation, we can make housing reform a reality and ensure that our state remains a place where every Minnesotan, from every neighborhood and every income level, has a roof over their head.
Use the links below to find the full lists of committee members in both the House and the Senate. Use the Who Represents Me tool to see if you have a Representative or Senator on one of these committees. Call the phone number listed next to the member and use the phone script below as a guide to ask your lawmaker to please support our key legislation.
Hello, my name is _______, I am a constituent in your district and I’m excited to share about key housing legislation that is scheduled to be heard in a committee you serve on.
[Share why this issue is important to you – Example: Housing in Minnesota is too expensive and we continue to face a housing shortfall of over 100,000 homes as housing production struggles to keep up with demand.]
The Yes to Homes! coalition is championing legislation that would address our growing housing shortage by increasing the variety and supply of housing options across our state.
This year, our bi-partisan coalition is supporting seven bills. Three key bills include: The Minnesota Starter Home Act (Senate File 2229 and House File 1987), the Increased Housing Options Act (Senate File 2231 and House File 2140), and the Transforming Downtowns Act (Senate File 2286 and House File 2018).
Together, these bills will help solve our housing shortage, and I am reaching out to ask you to please support them! I would love to discuss more and can be reached at __________. Thank you for your leadership and attention to this issue.
Yes to Homes! legislative champions authored an op-ed earlier this month – check it out: “A Bipartisan Vision to Build More Homes in Minnesota.”
For more on zoning and land use reform, read MHP’s Revitalizing Minnesota: A Call for Statewide Land use and Zoning Reforms