Stable, dignified, affordable housing for families in Central Virginia. We are building toward it with faith, intention, and the early founders who believe in it before the walls go up.
Before you can understand why Elijah’s House matters, you need to understand what families in Central Virginia are up against. These are not abstract statistics. These are the people we serve — the single mothers, cost-burdened families, and seniors who cannot find a safe, stable, affordable place to call home.
“Without stable housing, the work we do in Rebuild, Rise, and Restore can only go so far. Elijah’s House is our declaration that housing is not a privilege. It is the ground everything else grows from.”
A household is considered cost-burdened when it spends more than 30% of its gross income on housing costs. Severely cost-burdened means spending more than 50%. In Central Virginia thousands of families — especially seniors, single mothers, and low-wage workers — fall into this category, leaving little for food, healthcare, childcare, or emergencies.
The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program is the primary federal mechanism for building affordable rental housing in the US. Virginia Housing administers it — but the credits are limited, competitive, and cannot come close to meeting the full need. This is why private nonprofits, community organizations, and donors are essential to filling the gap.
A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a nonprofit that owns land permanently and leases it to homeowners — keeping housing affordable in perpetuity rather than for just a few years. Grounded Solutions Network supports CLTs nationally. Virginia Housing is a Grounded Solutions member. This model is part of the long-term framework Elijah’s House is studying and building toward.
Rural Central Virginia — including Goochland and Hanover — faces a unique and often overlooked housing crisis. Seniors aging in place in unsafe structures. Families with no access to affordable rentals and no nearby transit to reach urban services. The 2021 Goochland Housing Study documented this gap in detail and helped shape the geographic focus of Elijah’s House.
We are honest about where we are. Elijah’s House is not built overnight. It is built with intention, with community trust, and with a realistic roadmap that grows as we grow. Here is how we are getting there.
Home repair and safety upgrades for seniors. Housing resource navigation. Financial literacy focused on housing stability. Site visit with GoochlandCares completed. Partnership with Goochland Habitat for Humanity in development.
Land identification and acquisition in Goochland and Hanover. Feasibility study for pilot cottage community. Partnerships with Virginia Housing, Better Housing Coalition, and Partnership for Housing Affordability deepened.
Community-centered affordable housing with wraparound support. Cottage-style homes for seniors and cost-burdened families. A model that outlasts any one person’s generosity and serves Central Virginia for generations.
We are in the foundation-building phase — establishing trust, building partnerships, advocating in community spaces, and inviting early founders who believe in this vision to sow a seed before the walls go up. Every dollar given today is a brick in the foundation of Elijah’s House.
We believe an informed community is a more generous one. These are the organizations, studies, and tools shaping the affordable housing landscape in Central Virginia and beyond. We update this section as things change — bookmark this page and come back.
The primary affordable housing strategy organization serving the Richmond region. Leads research, advocacy, and coalition-building on housing affordability across the metro area. Friends of Ezra’s primary housing strategy partner.
Virginia’s housing finance agency — administers the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program, provides grants and loans for affordable housing development, and is a Grounded Solutions Network member supporting Community Land Trust models across the state.
A comprehensive study documenting the affordable housing gap in Goochland County — the needs of seniors, cost-burdened families, and rural residents who are too often left out of regional housing conversations. This study directly shaped Elijah’s House’s geographic focus.
The national organization supporting Community Land Trusts and shared equity housing models that keep homes affordable permanently — not just for a few years. The CLT framework is part of the long-term infrastructure Elijah’s House is studying and building toward.
A federal home repair loan and grant program specifically for very low-income rural homeowners — particularly seniors. One of the primary funding sources for Phase 1 of Elijah’s House, supporting safety upgrades and critical repairs for aging residents in Goochland and Hanover.
One of Richmond’s leading nonprofit affordable housing developers with experience in Goochland County. A key partner in the regional affordable housing ecosystem and a model for what community-centered development looks like at scale.
We are committed to keeping this page current. As new research, policy changes, and funding opportunities emerge in Central Virginia’s affordable housing landscape — we will share them here. Check back regularly. And if you have a resource we should include, email us at hello@friendsofezra.org.
This is not just a donation. It is a declaration that you believe affordable, dignified housing in Central Virginia is worth fighting for — and that you are willing to stand with us at the foundation before it is built. When Elijah’s House is realized in 2030, the early founders who believed before the walls went up will know their names are woven into every door that opens.