Citi Foundation Announces Recipients of 2024 Global Innovation Challenge, Granting a Collective $25 Million to 50 Community Organizations Advancing Solutions to Homelessness

The Citi Foundation (the “Foundation”) today announced the 50 community organizations around the world that are set to each receive $500,000 in catalytic funding as part of the 2024 Global Innovation Challenge, which aims to support solutions that address homelessness.

Housing insecurity impacts communities globally, with the United Nations estimating that 1.8 billion people around the world lack adequate housing. This latest philanthropic investment builds on Citi and the Citi Foundation’s efforts to catalyze economic opportunity globally. Citi has been the largest affordable housing lender in the U.S. for 14 consecutive years and has supported the development of housing across developed and emerging markets as part of its $1 Trillion Sustainable Finance Goal. Additionally, the Citi Impact Fund invests in U.S. start-ups bringing affordable housing solutions to market and Citi volunteers dedicate thousands of hours to housing-related causes.   

"Homelessness is one of the most vexing challenges that communities face," said Edward Skyler, Citi Head of Enterprise Services and Public Affairs and Chair of the Citi Foundation. "Interventions that have a meaningful impact are hard to come by. The Citi Foundation is investing in these organizations as part of the 2024 Global Innovation Challenge because we believe they have the potential to launch and scale solutions that can move the needle on this issue."

Homelessness is a complex issue, and the Citi Foundation has been inspired by the level of innovation and impact it saw from applicants and their efforts to target the diverse needs of communities around the world. Several examples of the range of solutions that will be fueled by the 2024 Global Innovation Challenge include:

• Fundación Raiz is building bamboo homes for families living in extreme poverty in a coastal community in Ecuador, emphasizing women’s ownership, community involvement and access to clean water and sanitation.
  
  
• Human Initiative is supporting refugees in Indonesia by providing cash voucher assistance for housing needs and by providing skills training to enhance their employment opportunities.
  
  
• Jood NGO is expanding and improving sustainable emergency shelters and sanitation units in the Al Haouz region of Morocco following the 2023 earthquake, as well as strengthening local infrastructure and developing job opportunities for youth. 
  
  
• Mission Action is enhancing the country’s first shelter partnership with a public school district, offering families with children enrolled in San Francisco public schools access to emergency housing at a school site, in addition to key supportive services.
  
  
• PathFinders is providing migrant mothers and children in crisis in Hong Kong with access to shelter and other vital services.
  
  
• Progetto Arca is offering stable housing and access to supportive services, including financial education and job placement for low-income individuals and households in Milan, Italy.
  
  

• Railway Children Africa is helping youth experiencing homelessness in Tanzania access safe housing and sustainable income through a peer support model that includes vocational and entrepreneurship skills training for self-sufficiency.

Programs funded by these grants will be implemented over the next two years and grantees will have access to a learning community facilitated by IDEO.org, a nonprofit focused on designing products and services in the social impact sector. Through the learning community, grantees will have the opportunity to build deeper connections, share lessons learned and exchange best practices.

“Since launching the inaugural Global Innovation Challenge in early 2023, we’ve continued to see how community-based solutions are poised to accelerate impact on the ground,” said Brandee McHale, President of the Citi Foundation and Head of Citi Community Investing & Development. “We call this grant support ‘catalytic’ given the multiplier effect it can have on low-income communities. Each organization will not only directly impact the lives of people in crisis today, but also create models that can be replicated in other communities around the world tomorrow.”

In January 2024, the Citi Foundation issued this Global Innovation Challenge Request for Proposals (RFP). For more information, including the complete list of grant recipients, please visit citifoundation.com/challenge and follow the impact these organizations are making at #InnovationChallenge on social media.

Citi Foundation

The Citi Foundation works to promote economic progress and improve the lives of people in low-income communities around the world. We invest in efforts that increase financial inclusion, catalyze job opportunities for youth, and reimagine approaches to building economically vibrant communities. The Citi Foundation's "More than Philanthropy" approach leverages the enormous expertise of Citi and its people to fulfill our mission and drive thought leadership and innovation. For more information, visit www.citifoundation.com.