Housinglink

What it reported doing in 2025

Housinglink has been providing affordable rental housing information in the twin cities for twenty-eight years and is recognized as the primary place to access housing options for low-to-moderate income renters. In addition to providing easy access to affordable housing waiting lists and vacancies, housinglink is an esteemed data provider to a large group of stakeholders throughout Minnesota. Centralized, easy access to information about the supply and location of affordable housing information is vital to ensure that community decisions are well-informed, and that low-income households are empowered to obtain housing in their locations of choice. Continued on schedule o.housinglink (www.housinglink.org) connects renters to the relevant, vital information they need to find the appropriate affordable home for their household and streamlines the process for advertising units to renters. Specifically, our housing search tool is online and allows users to find affordable vacancies and waiting lists. Over 1.7 million searches for affordable housing were performed using our website during 2025. Typically, renters are able to locate the information they need in less than four minutes.the following housinglink activity occurred in 2025: * 1,649,178 searches for affordable housing * 22,120 affordable vacancies & waiting list openings listed * 3,768,923 page views of housing resources * 108,895 visits for subsidized housing information * 173,924 views of housing authority waiting list status * 91% of listings that would consider a section 8 voucher in 2025 * 495 fair housing video views * 618,631 notifications of housing openings sent through in 2025housinglink provides information on the supply and location of publicly funded affordable housing through reports and a publicly available online database called streams. Streams (www.housinglink.org/streams) includes properties and affordable units with public financing. Streams is used by researchers and community planners and policymakers involved in project planning. Our data and research capacity led us to produce the housing measures report for the mcknight foundation. Streams data is updated annually to reflect the most current information. We publish twin cities rental revenue, a subscriber-based quarterly report that compares market rate shadow (rental houses, duplexes, condos, and townhomes) and apartment market rents for the seven county metro area. This report is turning into a successful earned income venture for housinglink. We average 30 subscribers annually; mainly recurring subscriptions which help support our general operations. Housinglink also publishes a rental housing brief for the cities of minneapolis and saint paul which tracks key metrics on affordable rental housing in the community to inform policymaking. Housinglink's strategic plan includes the following strategic priorities for 2022-2026. * purposefully articulate the value and benefit of housinglink. * using new and existing technology solutions, continue expanding affordable rental housing options. * make housinglink data and research more accessible to improve community knowledge about rental housing. * deepen connections to and develop resources for diy property owners. * continue strategic expansion. * build intentional connections and deepen work in greater Minnesota.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 83.6%; rating input score 84
• Program expense ratio: 81.2%; rating input score 81
• Fundraising efficiency: $12.79 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 43; 43rd percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: 2 of 6 controls in place; rating input score 33
  • Compensation committee: Missing
  • Independent consultant: Missing
  • Other Form 990s reviewed: Missing
  • Written employment contract: Missing
  • Compensation survey or study: Pass
  • Board or committee approval: Pass
• Foreign activity oversight: Limited
• Grant itemization coverage: Limited
• Major donor itemization: Yes; rating input score 100
• Related-party transparency: Limited

Accountability

• Independent voting board: 100%; rating input score 100; 64th percentile among comparable filings
• Governance controls: 8 of 8 controls in place; rating input score 100
  • Conflict-of-interest policy: Pass
  • Whistleblower policy: Pass
  • Document-retention policy: Pass
  • CEO compensation review process: Pass
  • Other executive compensation review process: NotApplicable
  • Form 990 shared with the board: Pass
  • Board meeting minutes documented: Pass
  • Audit committee oversight: Pass
  • Independent financial-statement audit: Pass

Sustainability

• Operating margin: -2.9%; rating input score 23; 23rd percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 0.59; rating input score 28; 28th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.26; rating input score 22; 22nd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 30%; rating input score 8; 8th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 6% per year; rating input score 100; 41st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 4.4% per year; rating input score 100; 34th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 3.9% per year; rating input score 100; 31st percentile among comparable filings