West Hennepin Affordable Housing Land Trust

What it reported doing in 2025

Housing is a multiplier, a foundational need that shapes education, health, and economic mobility. Homes within reach (hwr) continues to see how affordable homeownership stabilizes workforce families, strengthens community participation, and builds long-term assets. Through the community land trust (clt) model, hwr acquires and rehabilitates homes and sells the improvements to households earning below 80% of area median income (ami). This shared-equity structure preserves affordability in perpetuity, ensuring each home remains accessible to low- and moderate-income households at every resale.as of december 31, 2025, west hennepin affordable housing land trust (whahlt), doing business as homes within reach, has placed 243 properties into trust and assisted 293 families, with an average household income of 58.6% ami, in purchasing homes across 18 suburban hennepin county communities: bloomington, brooklyn park, crystal, deephaven, edina, eden prairie, golden valley, long lake, maple grove, maple plain, minnetonka, new hope, orono, plymouth, richfield, st. Bonifacius, st. Louis park, and wayzata. Growth continues to be driven by strong city partnerships and buyer demand from essential workers seeking to live closer to their jobs, schools, and support networks.the clt program provides a stable path to homeownership for teachers, municipal staff, retail and food service workers, office personnel, medical support staff, and many others who are increasingly priced out of the communities they serve. By stabilizing families, strengthening the local labor pool, preserving existing housing stock, and linking housing with jobs and transit, hwr delivers long-term community and economic benefits.2025 program growth and highlights23 new homes added across 12 communities, expanding the total number of communities served to 18.5 clt resales completed, ensuring long-term affordability for new generations of workforce buyers.continued expansion in maple plain and st. Bonifacius, solidifying their place within the clt portfolio.increased city investment enabled additional acquisitions and preservation efforts: plymouth: the hra sold two long-vacant former rental homes to hwr. After rehabilitation and resale through the clt, both homes were restored to their original purpose, affordable homeownership.edina: four homes addedtwo through hwr's acquisition/rehab/resale process and two through the ongoing partnership with twin cities habitat for humanity.st. Louis park: hwr restored a single-family home that had been illegally converted into three rental units, returning it to its intended use with a mother-in-law suite in the lower level.these accomplishments reflect hwr's continued commitment to preserving affordability, strengthening communities, and ensuring that essential workers can live in the places they support every day.

Financial Efficiency

• Mission deployment rate: 3.9%; rating input score 4
• Program expense ratio: 52.8%; rating input score 53
• Fundraising efficiency: $134.73 raised per $1 spent on fundraising; rating input score 90; 90th percentile among comparable filings

Transparency & Controls

• Consistency checks: 100%; rating input score 100; 63rd percentile among comparable filings
• Pay-setting controls: Limited
• 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; 63rd 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: 90.6%; rating input score 98; 98th percentile among comparable filings
• Total-asset coverage ratio: 83.03; rating input score 99; 99th percentile among comparable filings
• Liabilities to assets ratio: 0.22; rating input score 33; 33rd percentile among comparable filings
• Officer compensation ratio: 26.1%; rating input score 10; 10th percentile among comparable filings

Growth

• Program expense growth: 7.7% per year; rating input score 100; 51st percentile among comparable filings
• Revenue growth: 8.5% per year; rating input score 100; 60th percentile among comparable filings
• Asset growth: 10.5% per year; rating input score 100; 59th percentile among comparable filings