We're Honored to be Recognized by Environmental Finance for our Social Bonds
We're excited to announce that Freddie Mac Multifamily has been recognized for an innovative and impactful Social Bonds transaction by Environmental Finance, an online news and analysis service that reports on sustainable investment, green finance and companies active in the environmental market. We received the Social Bond of the Year — Agency award for a 2021 project that benefited Housing for the Intellectually and Developmentally Disabled community.
This deal “highlights the 'excellence' of this social bond, which has a narrow and well-defined target with a meaningful social impact," commented one awards judge on this issue. This project raised $230.8 million to support 1,267 safe and affordable rental homes for 4,462 individuals across 39 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Approximately 90% of the properties will be affordable to people with very low incomes – earning up to 50% of the area median income (AMI). In addition, they will provide access to crucial support structures including wheelchair access and 24-hour staff, allowing individuals with disabilities to live and work in their communities.
Social Bonds are an increasingly important part of our Impact Bonds initiatives. Since the program’s inception in 2020, we’ve issued over $2.6 billion through these deals. The proceeds are dedicated to either providing liquidity to financial institutions with the mission of addressing affordable housing challenges or to provide financing to certain underserved groups considered to be among the most vulnerable.
In 2021, over 86% of the units we financed were affordable to moderate- and low-income families, earning at or below 100% AMI. Our Social Bonds are specifically targeted to increase our community impact and support housing affordability for our workforce throughout the country.
To learn more about our Social Bonds or this transaction, click on the links below.
Read Environmental Finance’s write-up about the award here.
Optigo Extras podcast discussing this project