ABSTRACT
This chapter provides an overview of nonprofit housing provision and an explicit comparison of the housing provision activities of faith-based and secular organizations in Michigan, including consideration of other traits that might impact the types and extent of housing and housing-related services provided. The chapter begins with a discussion of the findings of the 2003 and 2007 Community Economic Development Association of Michigan (CEDAM) surveys and continues with analysis of the Nonprofit Housing Provider Survey and interviews conducted by the authors in 2007 and 2009, respectively. The greatest numbers of nonprofits are very active in low-income housing and assistance, housing renovation, owner-occupied housing, and home-ownership counseling. The construction and renovation of multifamily housing is a priority activity for several secular nonprofits in Grand Rapids. Several points about the housing activities of faith-based and secular nonprofits are worth reemphasizing.
