The Niagara Community Foundation and the Community Land Trust of Niagara (CLTN) share a similar vision: build something lasting that will serve Niagara for generations.
For NCF, that means growing charitable funds to support local needs over time. For CLTN, it’s about securing land to be held in perpetuity and ensure affordable housing.
That shared philosophy sparked a partnership that’s laying the groundwork for dozens of new homes in the region.
In August of 2025, the NCF Board of Directors approved a $50,000 Special Projects Grant that will be used to hire a CLTN staff member who can focus on the land trust’s operations.
Beyond this initial grant, NCF will be looking to assist CLTN move forward with its first project, an affordable housing development in Welland with a Social Impact Investment loan. The funding will cover early costs, like planning work, application fees for government programs like Build Canada Homes, architectural drawings, permits, etc. and will be repaid once the project begins generating income.
For CLTN Chair Caleb Ratzlaff, NCF’s investment has turned planning into progress.
“It was really a turning point for me because this is something that I’ve been working on for a number of years and to hear the community foundation say they were willing to put up that kind of support, I thought, ‘Thank you. I think we can make something happen here,’” Ratzlaff says.
The Welland project will see the construction of about 84 units of affordable housing through a partnership with Second Story Community Homes & Services (formerly. Bethlehem Housing) and the City of Welland, which provided land.
It will feature a mix of supportive and affordable units, enabling residents to move along the housing continuum as their needs change. It’s a model that offers both stability and opportunity, Ratzlaff says.
For NCF Board Chair Mike Lethby, the collaboration reflects how both organizations have the same goal of strengthening Niagara through lasting community assets.
“The land trust, in a way, is almost a comparable organization to what the community foundation is,” he says. “We’re creating legacy through charitable funds, and the land trust is doing something similar, but with land.”
The project is already gaining momentum. Potential partners across the region have expressed interest in working with CLTN on other developments.
In the meantime, “When those units go up [in Welland], the community foundation can take as much ownership as anyone for making that happen,” Ratzlaff says.