The Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge 2022

Fannie Mae is proud to announce the launch of the Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge 2022: Advancing Racial Equity in Housing (IC22), a $5 million competition to identify innovative projects advancing racial equity in housing in the United States. IC22 will award contracts to organizations and individuals implementing or scaling projects that address barriers that many Black renters, homebuyers, and homeowners face, specifically related to the insufficient supply of quality affordable housing options, insufficient funds, and credit challenges.

The submission window for IC22 closed on June 17, 2022. Idea submissions are no longer being accepted.

We invite innovative ideas that respond to the following:

1. How will you address the insufficient supply of quality affordable housing options by creating, preserving or increasing the availability of affordable homes to purchase or rent in sustainable communities for very low-, low-, and moderate-income borrowers and renters? Potential solutions may include but are not limited to:

   • Execute innovative and/or cost-effective construction methods such as manufactured housing, modular housing, and 3D printed housing
   • Implement programs that incentivize affordable rental or home purchase
   • Reimagine/repurpose current buildings/lots to create new affordable supply

2. How will you address insufficient funds for security deposits, down payments, closing costs, and reserves for unexpected costs related to renting or purchasing a home? Potential solutions may include but are not limited to:

   • Implement and measure the impact of matched-savings program and other models to build reserves for pre-and post-purchase costs
   • Create/develop cross sector partnerships that accelerate wealth building for very low-, low-, and moderate-income families
   • Design and test new models to reduce costs to close, application fees, move-in fees, security deposits, etc.
   • Implement education programs, tools or partnerships that provide access to capital

3. How will you address the obstacles faced by many households, including Black households, of lower credit scores and credit invisibility? Potential solutions may include but are not limited to:

   • Leverage credit evaluations that include non-traditional trade lines such as rent and utility payment reporting
   • Use innovative approaches to credit counseling services that address an individual’s low credit score and credit invisibility
   • Implement innovative underwriting practices to increase accessibility for prospective Black homebuyers
   • Develop or enhance platforms to allow landlords, property management or real estate investment companies to streamline positive rental reporting