Impact Finance Consulting

Impact Finance That Actually Works

Many affordable housing programs fail because they fight basic economics instead of working with them.

Cities spend billions on initiatives that produce a trickle of units while homelessness grows and working families get priced out. The problem isn't lack of funding—it's incentive design.

We redesign the financial incentives to make affordable housing profitable.

What We Do

We rebuild housing finance systems from the ground up, realigning market incentives with public policy goals. Instead of fighting market forces, we harness them to deliver the affordable housing communities desperately need.

Financial Engineering - Design subsidy structures, rate buy-downs, and leverage mechanisms that make affordable housing development as profitable as market-rate projects

Incentive Alignment - Create programs where private developers compete to build the affordable units you need

Implementation Focus - Engineer solutions that launch quickly and scale effectively within existing regulatory frameworks

Revenue Optimization - Transform existing funding streams through bonding and revolving structures that multiply impact

Current Work: Spokane's 1590 Program Redesign

Spokane collects $5-6 million annually in dedicated housing tax revenue and desires to accelerate the production of affordable units for working families earning 60% of area median income. We're helping design a pilot project to test a new model.

Our Solution

Completely reimagining their program as an interest rate buy-down mechanism that subsidizes construction loans based on affordable unit count. More affordable units = lower interest rates, down to 0%.

The Innovation

Instead of traditional grants or loans, we're creating market-driven incentives where profit motives align with public policy goals.

Expected Impact:

Transform a revenue stream into a production engine capable of hundreds of affordable units annually while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Why We Get Results

We think like all three parties because we work with all three parties:

From the Bank's Perspective

We work with lenders regularly and understand their underwriting standards, risk tolerances, and operational constraints. Our programs maintain standard risk profiles while creating new revenue opportunities.

From the Developer's Perspective

We know what makes projects pencil, what kills deals before they start, and how to structure incentives that actually motivate private capital.

From the City's Perspective

We listen deeply to understand your unique political dynamics, coalition-building challenges, headline risk concerns, budget constraints, and community priorities. Every solution is designed around your specific context and implementation capacity.

We don't do studies

We engineer solutions designed to launch, scale, and deliver measurable results from day one—because we understand what it takes to get all stakeholders aligned and moving in the same direction.

Who We Serve

We work with municipalities, states, and community impact organizations looking to transform underperforming housing programs into scalable solutions that actually produce housing at the speed and scale their communities need.

Ready to stop fighting the market and start working with it?

Courage Housing provides financial incentive redesign consulting nationwide, specializing in helping fine tune public financing programs to better align with market incentives.