Homelessness is a complex issue but it is not an unsolvable problem. It can be ended and philanthropy has a vital role to play.

A wide variety of resources are available to help you increase the overall effectiveness of your grantmaking, but very few offer specific advice about grantmaking to end homelessness. This factsheet provides a brief overview of effective grantmaking in general followed by a list of questions intended to help you assess the effectiveness of potential grantees working in homelessness as well as resources to reference that will help guide your homelessness grantmaking.

The Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act, passed in 2009, is the most important piece of federal legislation on homelessness in 20 years. HEARTH affects how homeless services are funded and delivered, including consolidating funding programs, increasing local flexibility, and introducing new community-level performance expectations.

This brief describes the paradigm shift embedded in both the HEARTH Act and Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness, which call for local communities to create coordinated, crisis resolution systems. It describes the essential role of philanthropy in helping communities to make that shift and provides examples of strategic investments and recommended actions for grantmakers to support this transition.

This brief describes the key role that data collection and utilization will play under HEARTH and how philanthropy can be instrumental in the improvement of data systems and practices for measuring homeless outcomes.

This brief describes the importance of every homeless crisis response system’s having a centralized or coordinated method for reaching and assessing homeless and at-risk clients and directing them to the appropriate program or service. It describes the role philanthropic organizations can play in supporting this effort and provides examples of recent community leadership and investment strategies.

This brief describes the important impact that rapid re-housing approaches can have in shortening periods of homelessness and securing housing for homeless households. It describes the role philanthropic funders can have in promoting rapid re-housing approaches and provides examples of leadership and investments.

We can end homelessness with coordinated, strategic investments—both public and private—in effective solutions. Or, put more simply, by funding what works. The key is housing combined with the right supports for people who are or may become homeless.

Not seeing what you're looking for?  Do you have a suggestion for a resource that would be helpful for your work?  Contact Lauren Bennett at lauren@funderstogether.org or 617.245.0314.