Citi Foundation Announces 2024 Global Innovation Challenge to Strengthen Nonprofits Pioneering Solutions to Homelessness

NEW YORK – The Citi Foundation (the “Foundation”) today issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for its latest Global Innovation Challenge, a funding model to help scale the impact of nonprofits around the world that are tackling some of society’s most pressing issues. The 2024 Global Innovation Challenge will provide a collective $25 million in catalytic funding to 50 community organizations working in novel ways to address homelessness. 

Housing insecurity is a global concern, with the United Nations estimating that roughly 150 million people worldwide are homeless. Citi and the Citi Foundation recognize that safe, affordable and stable housing is a key contributor to the economic and social well-being of individuals, families and communities.  

“Today, homelessness is on the rise in many communities around the world and it manifests itself in different ways – all of which require unique solutions,” said Brandee McHale, President of the Citi Foundation and Head of Citi Community Investing & Development. “With this year’s Global Innovation Challenge, we are deploying philanthropic capital that will help unlock and operationalize innovative approaches to homelessness and catalyze lasting change in the lives of people globally.”   

This latest Global Innovation Challenge builds upon Citi and the Citi Foundation’s long-standing track record of work in support of housing security, as evidenced by:  

• For 13 straight years, Citi has been recognized as the top affordable housing lender in the United States, enabling affordable housing developers to acquire, construct, rehabilitate, and refinance multifamily affordable housing across the country
• Between 2020 and 2022, Citi financed and facilitated a total of $30.2 billion toward affordable housing around the world, including affordable housing projects with green building certifications, contributing to its $1 Trillion Sustainable Finance Goal
• The Citi Impact Fund has made equity investments in innovative startups bringing housing solutions to market, such as Pallet, PadSplit, Jetty and ICON
• In 2021, Citi announced a $1 billion social finance bond that is supporting social-focused developments, including affordable housing, in emerging markets globally
• Through its Community Progress Makers initiative in the U.S, the Citi Foundation has supported nonprofits working to increase accessibility to affordable housing, safe spaces for at-risk youth and more 

“As an organization committed to addressing homelessness and poverty in the UK, we know firsthand the importance of designing innovative solutions on a local level,” said Lara McCullagh, Executive Director at Big Issue Group. “We also recognize how important catalytic funding – such as that being offered through the Global Innovation Challenge – can be to organizations in this space working on new and expanded ways to support individuals and families experiencing homelessness. We are eager to see the full range of impactful solutions around the world that result from this open call.” 

“In recent years, the Citi Foundation’s support to our organization has helped us build sustainable housing programs resulting in greater access to fair housing for thousands of low-income people in Argentina” said Nicolás Maggio, President & CEO at Fundación FOVISEE. “We are pleased that the 2024 Global Innovation Challenge is focused on homelessness, and that the Citi Foundation is committing critical funding to some of the most innovative solutions nonprofits in this sector have to offer.” 

“The impact of the Citi Foundation’s support goes beyond the grants – they create community among their grantees so that we can learn from each other and augment our impact through collaboration,” said Karen Haycox, CEO, Habitat for Humanity NYC & Westchester, a 2022-2023 Community Progress Makers grantee. “Our relationship with the Citi Foundation has helped us to work in partnership to address the growing number of individuals and families whose opportunities to access and build equity are destabilized by housing insecurity.  We look forward to seeing the impact this program has on bringing awareness to an issue that touches communities large and small around the world."  

The deadline for eligible organizations to register is Tuesday, February 13, 2024 at 12pm New York Time (Eastern Time) and recipients will be announced later this year. For more information on this opportunity including eligibility requirements and target geographies, please visit www.citifoundation.com/rfp.

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.