In January 2021, Cinnaire established the COVID-19 Resident Rental Relief Fund to provide support to renters throughout our footprint suffering from financial hardship due to the pandemic. Cinnaire contributed $250,000 and Delta Dental, the nation’s largest provider of dental benefits, provided a $250,000 contribution to support the COVID-19 Resident Rental Relief Fund. While eviction moratoria helped to keep people housed during the height of the pandemic, many low-income renters faced job loss and income reductions accruing large debts they were not able to repay without additional support.
Cinnaire designed our Resident Rental Relief Fund to provide financial assistance to families living in Cinnaire properties struggling to keep up on rent and stay in their homes. Homelessness in childhood is a trauma that is considered an Adverse Childhood Experience (ACE). ACEs are proven to have long-term negative effects on children in critical areas like education, life expectancy, employment, addiction, poverty, and crime. Cinnaire’s RRRF program provided financial support to 422 children, helping to mitigate the potential for an ACE related experience.
Cinnaire worked with our developers and property management partners to identify eligible residents and to administer the temporary relief program. This vital fund kept families intact, prevented evictions, and provided safety and peace of mind for families in the midst of a public health crisis.
As renters faced job and/or income loss, many were left with the difficult choice to use their limited resources for rent, medicine, food, or other necessities. Black and Hispanic households were disproportionally hard hit by job and income loss, putting them at even greater risk of housing instability and further compounding racial inequality. Low-income renters facing job losses and income reductions accrue large debts they are unable to repay without additional support. In our communities, the average non-paying resident owed more than $2,750 in April 2021 prior to Cinnaire’s RRRF program launch. As of 12/31/21, the average amount owed from our grantee pool was $2,171, a reduction of nearly 21%. In addition, of the grantees who owed back rent, 40% were able to climb out of that debt.
We are pleased to share over 450 households received an average of $1,097 in rental assistance, allowing relief and keeping families together in stable housing. Cinnaire’s RRRF distributed funding over a period of 42 days. 100% of funds raised went to the grantees and Cinnaire did not charge fees of any kind.
We extend our gratitude to our partners at Delta Dental for joining Cinnaire to address the extraordinary burdens renters faced during the pandemic and for investing in our fund to provide safety and security for families throughout Cinnaire’s footprint.
About Cinnaire
Cinnaire is a non-profit financial partner that supports community and economic revitalization initiatives through creative investments, loans, and development services. Since 1993, Cinnaire has invested $4.7 billion to develop 811 housing communities in 10 states, providing 49,700 affordable apartment homes for more than 100,000 individuals and families, and has provided community development loans to support the creation/retention of more than 187,000 square feet of commercial, mixed-use, and community space. In its mission to change lives and transform neighborhoods into thriving communities, Cinnaire has helped to create or retain over 76,000 jobs and spurt $7.9 billion in economic impact. www.cinnaire.com
