On October 14, 2021, the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of Savannah adopted the Housing Savannah Action Plan (Plan), developed by the Housing Savannah Task Force appointed by the Mayor in August 2020. The taskforce found that housing costs in Savannah have outpaced incomes at a rate of at least 2:1 during the past 30 years, resulting in about 21,000 (40%) of Savannah households being unable to afford quality housing.

The Plan has five (5) Strategies and 43 Action Items, including the need to raise, sustain, and leverage significant local investments to $12.5 million annually by 2032 for housing affordability initiatives, which are expected to leverage another $87.5 million annually. To accomplish this, the Plan calls for the establishment and support of a Housing Savannah non-governmental organization (NGO) dedicated full-time to increasing awareness, partnerships, and financial resources, including resources for the Savannah Affordable Housing Fund (SAHF), and to support the implementation and achievement of Housing Savannah Action Plan goals.

Community Housing Services Agency, Inc. (CHSA) is an established 501(c)(3) non-profit created in 1989 that has administered the SAHF in partnership with the City of Savannah since its inception in 2012. In 2021, without a dedicated full-time fundraising staff, the CHSA raised a record $222,500 in private donations for the SAHF and $424,000 from the U.S. Treasury Department. As a result, CHSA’s Board of Directors has expressed an interest and willingness to establish the new 501(c)(3) Housing Savannah NGO under its umbrella, distinct from CHSA and its existing development subsidiary, to further help implement the Housing Savannah Action Plan.

Approval