Funders Together's Policy Principles

A national network of funders supporting strategic, innovative, and effective solutions to homelessness

Funders Together's Policy Principles

Our Approach

Because homelessness has no single cause or solution, Funders Together to End Homelessness believes that:

We must rethink the systems that have allowed homelessness to persist.
We must support those who are calling for the integration of homelessness systems with other systems working to improve the lives of American families.
We must improve collaborative efforts and strategic partnerships among philanthropy, government, business leaders, advocates, and service providers.

How We Get There

In order to end and prevent homelessness, we need adequate and affordable housing as well as appropriate income and employment opportunities.

Funders Together supports:

Full and adequate funding for housing vouchers, public housing, and housing-related supportive services for vulnerable individuals and families
Creation and funding of housing trust funds at national, regional, and local levels
Use of federal funds to provide emergency housing assistance to those in need
Creation of jobs for low income families that provide meaningful opportunities for work, skills development, and ultimately, career growth
Creation of jobs for youth and young adults, especially those not in school
Competitive grants to allow for the training of those who are unemployed
Adequate childcare and transportation programs so low income parents can keep their jobs
Strengthening the connections among federal assistance, job training, and homeless assistance programs

If you have any questions about these policy principles, please contact Anne Miskey.

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We joined Funders Together because we believe in the power of philanthropy to play a major role in ending homelessness, and we know we have much to learn from funders across the country.

-Christine Marge, Director of Housing and Financial Stability at United Way of Greater Los Angeles

I am thankful for the local partnerships here in the Pacific Northwest that we’ve been able to create and nurture thanks to the work of Funders Together. Having so many of the right players at the table makes our conversations – and all of our efforts – all the richer and more effective.

-David Wertheimer, Deputy Director at Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Very often a lack of jobs and money is not the cause of poverty, but the symptom. The cause may lie deeper in our failure to give our fellow citizens a fair chance to develop their own capacities, in a lack of education and training, in a lack of medical care and housing, in a lack of decent communities in which to live and bring up their children.

-President Lyndon B. Johnson, 1964 State of the Union Address

Funders Together has given me a platform to engage the other funders in my community. Our local funding community has improved greatly to support housing first models and align of resources towards ending homelessness.

-Leslie Strnisha, Vice President at Sisters of Charity Foundation of Cleveland

Our family foundation convenes local funders and key community stakeholders around strategies to end homelessness in Houston. Funders Together members have been invaluable mentors to us in this effort, traveling to our community to share their expertise and examples of best practices from around the nation.

-Nancy Frees Fountain, Managing Director at The Frees Foundation