Community Housing Partners (CHP) has successfully concluded its Built to Last fundraising campaign, raising over $157,000 to support housing stability across the communities it serves. The campaign, launched in honor of CHP’s 50th anniversary, represents the organization’s first comprehensive philanthropic effort at this scale.
CHP employees celebrate the organization’s 50th anniversary at the Built to Last reception.
On Thursday, Nov. 20, CHP hosted a Built to Last reception in conjunction with the Virginia Governor’s Housing Conference in Roanoke to thank the donors, sponsors, and supporters who made this milestone possible. Jeff Reed, President and CEO at CHP, and Lance Sutherland, Chief Financial Officer, spoke at the event, expressing gratitude to partners whose investments ensure that CHP is truly built to last for another 50 years. (Learn more about CHP’s 50th anniversary.)
Reed emphasized that every attendee played a part in this success and that their support reflects a shared belief that safe, stable housing should be within reach for everyone. The reception also featured remarks from David Glassman, Director of Rental Housing Programs for Virginia Housing, and Andy Davenport, Vice President of Real Estate Development at CHP.
The Built to Last campaign raised $157,400 for CHP’s Housing Stability Fund, which directly supports three critical areas:
- Emergency Home Repair – Emergency repairs keep people safely housed when a senior’s furnace breaks in January or a family’s roof starts leaking, preventing small problems from becoming crises.
- Resident Services – Through the Housing Stability Program, CHP’s Resident Services team provides wraparound support to help vulnerable residents, including seniors and families with children, maintain stable housing. More than a third of the 5,800 households CHP serves have children.
- Homeownership Support – CHP helps families achieve the stability that comes with homeownership through initiatives like the New River Home Trust, launched in 2023 with Montgomery County and the Town of Blacksburg. Just last week, CHP held a groundbreaking ceremony for the Stroubles Ridge neighborhood, which will add more affordable homes to the trust.
Lance Sutherland, Chief Financial Officer, speaks at the Nov. 20 reception.
“Your support has strengthened our financial sustainability, ensuring we can continue expanding our impact for decades to come,” Sutherland said to supporters at the event. “As we navigate an increasingly complex funding environment, your partnership provides the flexibility we need to be responsive and innovative in meeting housing needs.”
Fifty years ago, two concerned citizens in the New River Valley, Rev. Woody Leach and Emily Stuart, saw neighbors struggling with unsafe housing and organized volunteers to make simple home repairs. That grassroots spirit of neighbors helping neighbors remains at the heart of CHP’s work today. From those humble beginnings as Project Home Repair, CHP has grown into one of the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic’s leading providers of affordable and sustainable housing, serving thousands of residents and clients across multiple states. The organization now owns and manages 95 apartment communities, operates the largest weatherization program in Virginia, and continues to expand homeownership initiatives.
The 50th anniversary theme, “A Half Century of Strengthening Communities,” reflects both CHP’s history and its future focus. With rising costs, limited housing supply, and economic uncertainty pushing safe, stable housing out of reach for many families, the Built to Last campaign represents an important evolution in how CHP engages partners in its mission.
Founded in 1975, Community Housing Partners (CHP) provides quality-built, responsibly managed, service-enriched homes for low-income individuals and families across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic. Through its mission to create homes and communities that are healthy, sustainable, and affordable, CHP has been a leading advocate of affordable housing development for 50 years. CHP’s activities include real estate development, construction, energy services and training, asset management, property management, realty and homeownership, and comprehensive resident services.