CARE Communities

A nonprofit organization

$14,867 raised by 48 donors

74% complete

$20,000 Goal

CARE Housing is now CARE Communities. We believe that opportunity begins with home. CARE Communities provides home to over 900 individuals including 450 children in Northern Colorado. By supporting CARE Communities, you are investing in affordable housing, healthy families and building a stronger community.

Testimonials

"CARE's After-School Youth Program helped with my 4 year-old's social skills development before starting pre-school. He was really shy at first, but now he's really opened up." - Danielle

"It is a blessing to have a program such as this to help keep families from being evicted when they face unforeseen circumstances." - Deb

"I am so thankful for all the help I have received through CARE, but it is finally time for me to move on and make new memories in a new home." - Jessica, former CARE resident

Mission

Our mission is to create an equitable and just community through high-quality affordable housing and transformative resident services. Each and every day, CARE works to improve housing affordability, expand the supply of affordable housing, and build equitable communities in northern Colorado. We envision a community where an affordable home is available to everyone.

Background Statement

CARE Communities was established in 1992 by community organizer, Sister Mary Alice Murphy, and many other selfless community members. These individuals came together from the private, public, and faith-based sectors to generously provide their time and resources to address the shortage of quality, affordable housing in Fort Collins.

In 1993, in a true grassroots effort, the first CARE community was developed in northeast Fort Collins. CARE's Greenbriar community offered 40 affordable 2 & 3 bedroom apartments to families earning between 50%-60% of the Area Median Income (AMI). Today, CARE owns and operates 7 affordable communities consisting of 368 apartments. Over 900 community members with low incomes call CARE home. CARE residents include 450 children, 87 seniors and 220 single parent households. The average CARE household size is 2.7 and the average income is $30,365.39.

The vision of Sister Mary Alice and CARE's founding Board of Directors was to provide more than just four walls and a roof but to also offer supportive services for CARE residents to create an environment where families can grow and thrive. CARE's Resident Services program offers support in the form of emergency assistance by way of the Eviction Prevention Program (EPP), and a rent assistance fund- the Sister Mary Alice Murphy Legacy Fund. The EPP was established in 2018 and the voluntary program offers residents the opportunity to enroll in a long term payment plan paired with action planning, budgeting, and resource referral support from CARE's social work staff. Additionally, CARE's Resident Services include youth programming, community building and engagement activities, and establishing connections to community partner organizations to enhance education, employment, and other housing opportunities for CARE residents.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

CARE Communities

other names

CARE Housing, CARE

Year Established

1992

Tax id (EIN)

84-1200958

Category

Housing & Shelter

Organization Size

Large Organization

Address

1303 W. Swallow Road, Bldg 11
Fort Collins, CO 80526

Service areas

Larimer County, CO, US

Phone

970-282-7522

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