Photo / Courtesy of Prosperity ME
Claude Rwaganje, founder and executive director of ProsperityME
Updated: January 29, 2024
ProsperityME launches initiative to develop affordable housing
ProsperityME, a Portland nonprofit that provides services for refugee and immigrant communities, is exploring a new initiative to develop housing for immigrant and low-income households in Maine.
“People come to us for help with housing on a daily basis, but there aren’t enough units available,” Claude Rwaganje, ProsperityME’s founder and executive director, said in the organization’s latest newsletter.
ProsperityME announced new board and staff members who will form a board committee on housing to provide strategic direction and oversight of the organization’s initiative to develop affordable housing.
Nicole McKeith, hired as director of housing initiatives, previously worked with Montana's Housing Finance Agency and specialized in multifamily affordable rental housing.
New board members are:
- Sherrin Vail, vice president of asset management and portfolio initiatives at Evernorth, a nonprofit organization that provides affordable housing and community investments in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont.
- Pat Clancy, principal of the Clancy Co., which is involved with the planning, development, and operation of affordable and mixed income housing.
- Gimbala Sankare, director of human resources at Preti Flaherty law firm in Portland and former vice president of talent acquisition at the National Basketball Association in New York City. He previously served as head of global talent acquisition and diversity, equity and inclusion at WEX Inc. in Portland.
- Tyler Norod, real estate development director at Westbrook Development Corp., where he oversees the strategic growth of the organization, including managing a pipeline of affordable housing projects worth $150 million.
ProsperityME’s housing initiative has support from the Genesis Fund.
Courtesy / Avesta Housing
Dana Totman, former CEO of Avesta Housing
Dana Totman, former CEO of Avesta Housing, is guiding the work by advising the organization and shaping the effort.
“We’ve looked at several roles the organization can play in the housing arena, and the one that makes the most sense, is to develop housing that will increase the supply of affordable units,” said Totman.
Growth of ProsperityME
In the pandemic, ProsperityME partnered with Maine Housing to serve immigrants at risk of being evicted. The Emergency Rental Assistance program was a lifeline to people who could not afford to pay rent.
From 2021 onward, ProsperityME went from being a small organization with less than $1 million dollars for financial education, to managing over $8 million in grants from Maine Housing for emergency rental assistance. During the process, ProsperityME realized there weren’t enough landlords willing to rent to asylum seekers who rely on general assistance funds from the state and municipalities until they can legally work in the U.S., according to the newsletter.
Affordable housing is expected to occur in phases, such as pre-development planning, land acquisition, engineering surveys, architectural designs and municipal approvals. ProsperityME will be looking for partners to support the effort.
“We want to do more than build housing. We want to build welcoming communities,” said Sarah Petrin, the organization’s director of development.
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