Northern Kentucky regional leaders have established the Northern Kentucky Housing Fund, a revolving loan fund designed to boost housing development in Boone, Kenton, and Campbell counties.
The fund has a minimum capitalization target of $25 million and will serve as a permanent financial resource to expand the region’s overall housing supply. The fund will be housed within and managed by The Catalytic Fund, a nonprofit community development financial institution based in Northern Kentucky.
The Greater Cincinnati Foundation will provide $1 million in initial lending capital toward a $5 million launch goal, along with a $500,000 operating grant through the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr. Fund.
A 2023 Northern Kentucky Area Development District housing analysis found that the region will need at least 6,650 additional housing units over the next five years. Reports from NKADD, Brighton Center, and the Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce have also recommended establishing a regional housing fund.
Our region, according to a housing strategies report released in 2025, lacks sufficient housing for young adults forming their first household; for essential workers like nurses, teachers and first responders; and for older adults. A teacher with a median annual income of $43,740, for example, can afford only 26% of the rental and 16% of the for-sale housing in the region, according to the report. For a restaurant server, only 1% of the region’s rental housing is affordable.
An older person relying on Social Security can also afford only 1% of rental housing in the region, according to the report.
The report, called Home for All: Northern Kentucky Housing Strategies, came to be thanks to more than 90 leaders and experts from across NKY who spent hours studying the region and its urgent housing challenge. Their goal was to close the housing gap across income levels and provide a place for everyone.
Click here to learn more about the shortage and how NKY leaders and community members are stepping in to find solutions.
Understanding NKY’s housing shortage
The NKY Housing Fund will aim to offer below-market, flexible financing to support new housing development, including workforce housing and “missing middle” housing types. Loan repayments will be recycled into future projects.
“Housing is the backbone of our communities – without strong neighborhoods and enough housing our families can afford, our region cannot grow and prosper,” Catalytic Fund CEO Jeanne Schroer said in a news release. “Establishing the NKY Housing Fund is a natural extension of the work we are already doing across our region, and we are excited to invest in more housing in Northern Kentucky.”
In addition, the Horizon Community Foundation of Northern Kentucky will support the fund through its NKY Home for All Fund, which allows individual donors to contribute to housing initiatives, including the fund’s operations.
“Horizon Community Foundation has been working with our regional leaders for more than four years to document and understand our region’s housing needs,” Horizon Community Foundation CEO Nancy Grayson said in the release. “We are excited to launch the NKY Home For All Fund as a response to what we have learned – the success of our region lies in the people who live here and housing them is a regional priority.”
