Building the Future of Community Ownership: Updates from the CLT Capacity Collaborative

At SFCLT, we believe that building community ownership requires more than acquiring buildings—it requires building power. That’s the foundation of the CLT Capacity Collaborative (CCC), a project we launched to help democratize access to the tools, training, and technical expertise that Community Land Trusts (CLTs) need to grow and thrive. Through CCC, we support both emerging and established CLTs in building the knowledge, confidence, and capacity to lead housing solutions in their own communities.

As part of that work, we recently hosted a two-part workshop series on pro formas, a powerful financial projection tool that estimates the income, expenses, and long-term viability of a real estate project. These workshops walked participants through the fundamentals of creating and troubleshooting pro formas, and gave them hands-on experience with a skillset that’s often siloed within large institutions. 

Over the course of the two sessions, 32 people from 16 different organizations participated, with multiple participants reporting in a post-workshop survey that they felt more confident using pro formas going forward. It’s exactly the kind of technical knowledge we aim to make accessible across the movement.

At the same time, we’ve expanded our Capacity Catalyst program, which provides one-on-one technical assistance to help CLTs move projects forward. In our pilot phase, we’re partnering with four incredible organizations—Bolinas CLT, Richmond LAND, Northern California Land Trust, and Supportive Housing Community Land Alliance—to offer targeted support ranging from Certified Needs Assessments and asset stabilization planning to property acquisitions and renovation project management.

These engagements have already delivered tangible results: saving partners thousands of dollars in consulting fees, strengthening long-term planning capacity, and deepening collaboration between CLTs. More importantly, they’re helping organizations overcome key roadblocks to creating and preserving permanently affordable housing.

At SFCLT, we’re committed to democratizing access to affordable housing creation—an arena that’s often technical and exclusionary. Through CCC and Capacity Catalyst, we’re working to change that, so communities historically left out of housing development conversations can lead their own solutions.

Interested in joining the CLT Capacity Collaborative or learning more about the Capacity Catalyst program? Contact Victoria Beckley at vbeckley@sfclt.org to get involved.