LEVERAGING PHILANTHROPY TO ADVANCE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION EFFORTS IN RENTAL HOUSING

It has been 55 years since the passage of the Fair Housing Act, yet housing discrimination continues to impact people of color disproportionately. The Wells Fargo Foundation tasked the Capstone team with designing a grantmaking strategy to advance anti-discrimination efforts in the rental market. To do this, the team interviewed professionals working on fair housing issues—including fair housing testers, sociologists, economists, housing litigators, and advocates—to understand the current state of the field. Concurrently the team undertook a literature review to understand the specific mechanisms through which housing discrimination can occur. The results of these efforts led to an evaluation of the different ways discrimination takes place throughout six phases of the housing procurement process. Ultimately, the team crafted an informed and targeted grantmaking strategy with recommendations that focus on increasing equity and access to information about available housing units, proactively addressing tenant screening systems that perpetuate disparate impact, and enhancing housing discrimination enforcement.