HPD Housing Ambassador: The Actors Fund serves as a Housing Ambassador for the City of New York Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD). As an Ambassador, The Fund provides up-to-date information to the community on the process of applying to affordable housing lotteries.

“Applying to Affordable Housing” Seminars: The Actors Fund provides regular seminars in New York City to educate the performing arts and entertainment community about affordable housing opportunities. The episodic and fluctuating nature of work in the industry presents a challenge to individuals seeking subsidized housing and the seminars work to prepare individuals to enter the tenant selection processes. In 2014, the seminars served approximately 250 people. To further educate the performing arts community, The Fund has published the Guide to Affordable Housing in New York City, an e-learning module which includes information from the seminar that can be distributed to a wider audience. 

One-on-one Technical Assistance: The Fund’s staff and volunteers offer individualized assistance to navigate the affordable housing process. One-on-one sessions focus on a variety of topics including creating a Housing Connect profile and navigating the site, identifying and submitting Section 202 applications, and applying to The Actors Fund buildings.

Affordable Artist Housing Partnership in Los Angeles: The City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, through a prestigious $75,000 “Our Town” grant from the National Endowment for the Arts, retained the services of The Actors Fund to help artists access affordable units across Los Angeles. In 2014, the Partnership focused on three buildings: the Related Companies’ Parcel M Grand Avenue Apartments (55 affordable units), McGregor Brown’s One Santa Fe (88 affordable units), and Meta Housing Corp.’s Pacific Avenue Arts Colony (49 affordable units). The partnership managed an informational website and held workshops serving 925 people.