Our Progress
Letter from Elissa & Fred
When we moved our family to Wilmette and our architectural practice to Evanston 17 years ago, we dedicated ourselves to investing in and growing with our new communities. We discovered the incredible work of Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH) and got involved. For over a decade we provided pro bono architectural services and personal financial contributions, watching the organization grow in scope and size. Over the years we supported many other well-deserving not-for-profits and served on advisory boards, but felt we could do more. Creating homes for people is our passion and our livelihood so it was a natural decision to turn our full philanthropic attention to raising awareness of the lack of affordable housing, and funds to have a greater impact.
In 2020, we launched the Morgante Wilson Foundation under the umbrella of our professional practice. We hoped this would signify our commitment to the cause and garner more support. Much to our delight it has done exactly that. Over the past three years of the founding of MWF, we’ve continued to donate our architectural services to CPAH and we have doubled the number of donors and dollars we donated to CPAH; and more specifically, to affordable housing in Wilmette.
Our initial Wilmette campaign to help fund 14 homes in four years is almost complete and we are confident we will reach our fundraising goal this year. Using the community land trust model for affordable housing is a proven model that keeps affordable housing permanently available to qualified individuals and families. Thank you for putting your trust in us to steer your dollars toward what we believe to be the best organizations, providing the most sustainable work in affordable housing.
With much gratitude,
Elissa Morgante & Fred Wilson
Our Approach
We believe secure and safe housing fosters a sense of stability to enable people to grow and thrive within a community. This foundational asset is, unfortunately, not something that everyone experiences in their lifetime. Housing that is truly affordable broadens this opportunity to many more individuals and families. And we believe affordable housing should be sustainable, ensuring viable, affordable homes to people over generations.
This is why we champion the Community Land Trust (CLT) model to offer affordable homes in perpetuity. A CLT is a tool for developing permanently affordable homes for households with limited resources by reducing the cost of purchasing or renting a home. The land is owned by the Community Land Trust, enabling the home to be purchased at a greatly reduced price, not just for the first homebuyer but for all future homebuyers.
Fundraising Efforts
Our initial campaign goal was to raise $300,000 to help fund 14 permanently affordable units in Wilmette. Since we began the foundation in 2020, MWF raised a total of $257,000. 100% of the funds raised have gone to Community Partners for Affordable Housing (CPAH) to cap off the funding necessary to establish 11 of the homes so far. CPAH is a HUD-certified nonprofit organization that develops affordable housing and provides services that empower individuals and families to secure and retain quality housing. CPAH has helped develop or preserve over 1,750 units of affordable housing and provided housing-related services for over 25,000 residents.
