Acts Housing Earns Important Federal Certification

Homes on N. 56th St. File photo by Jeramey Jannene.

Acts Housing’s mortgage lending division has received a federal designation that could open a new source of funding for the Milwaukee-based nonprofit’s homeownership programs.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury certified Acts Lending as a Community Development Financial Institution, or CDFI, Acts Housing announced Thursday.

CDFIs are mission-driven financial institutions that provide loans and other financial services in lower-income communities and to borrowers who have historically faced difficulty accessing traditional financing.

The certification makes Acts Lending eligible to apply for grants and other federal funding administered by the Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund. Acts anticipates applying during the next grant cycle, scheduled to open in spring 2027.

“This is a major milestone that allows us to continue expanding our Acts Lending division and provide more families with much needed homeownership financing,” said Acts Housing President and CEO Michael Gosman in a statement.

Acts Housing said it is now one of 21 certified CDFIs in Wisconsin and the only one with a location in Rock County. The nonprofit maintains offices in Milwaukee and Beloit.

Acts Lending was established in 2013 to provide mortgages to buyers who may not qualify for conventional bank financing because of income, credit, language or other barriers.

The program provides qualified buyers with loans of up to $200,000 to purchase and rehabilitate distressed or tax-foreclosed properties, as well as move-in-ready homes.

More than 300 families in Milwaukee and Rock counties have purchased homes with financing from Acts Lending since the division was launched.

But the amount of money required to finance each purchase has risen substantially alongside housing prices and rehabilitation costs. The average Acts Lending loan increased from $51,000 in 2020 to $125,000 during the first part of 2026.

“The ability to access CDFI funding comes at a critical time as housing prices and related costs continue to climb and our average loan amounts have more than doubled in recent years,” Gosman said.

Acts Lending issued $4.4 million in loans in 2025. The nonprofit said 80 families were preapproved for financing during the year, with 37 ultimately purchasing homes.

“There is a huge need for loan dollars to assist local families in securing mortgages for safe and affordable housing,” Gosman said. “CDFI funding will support our goal to help at least 1,000 more families become homeowners during the next 10 years.”

The federal designation follows the completion of Acts Housing’s first major capital campaign.

The nonprofit announced in March that it had raised $26.4 million to expand its lending programs, purchase and rehabilitate houses and increase the supply of affordable homes available to owner-occupants.

Approximately $14 million from the campaign was designated for Acts Lending. Another $10 million supports Acts Homes, an acquisition program launched in 2022 to purchase houses that might otherwise be acquired by investors.

Acts works with contractors to rehabilitate those properties before selling them to owner-occupants who have completed homebuyer counseling. The program has acquired and rehabilitated more than 100 Milwaukee houses.

In addition to lending, Acts provides financial and homebuyer education, real estate services and rehabilitation coaching.

More than 4,500 families have purchased homes through Acts Housing since the nonprofit was founded in 1995. Acts said 70% of those families continue to own the first home they purchased through the organization.