About Us


We’ve been creating housing where

families succeed since 1990.

Foundation Communities is a local, homegrown nonprofit. We provide affordable, attractive homes and free on-site support services for thousands of families with kids, as well as veterans, seniors, and individuals with disabilities. We offer an innovative, proven model that empowers our residents and neighbors to achieve educational success, financial stability, and healthier lifestyles. We operate 30 apartment communities. – 27 in Austin and three more in North Texas.

 

STORIES OF HOPE

 



What Makes Us Unique

unique-sustainableSustainable Nonprofit Model

About 80% of our budget comes from the affordable rents our residents pay, which cover operating expenses for our communities.

unique-greenEnvironmental Commitment

We invest in green building initiatives to save on operating costs, reduce residents’ utility bills and make our community a better place to live.

unique-volunteerVolunteer-Powered

Our programs are made possible in large part by more than 2,500 volunteers each year.



Our History

2024

We partnered with Mary Lee Foundation to renovate and rebuild the affordable housing on its campus on Lamar Square. We own and manage most of the housing on Lamar Square.

2023

We opened Zilker Studios on South Lamar, 110 apartments for single adults, many of whom come directly out of homelessness, and The Loretta, 137 affordable apartments for families in NW Austin

2021

We opened Laurel Creek Apartments for 88 low-income families. The community’s Learning Center, our 15th, opened the following spring.

2020

We opened Waterloo Terrace, our 7th community for single adults in Austin.

2019

We opened The Jordan at Mueller, a family community and home to our 14th learning center.

2018

We opened Cardinal Point, a family community in the job dense Four Points area of Northwest Austin.

2017

We open three new affordable housing communities: Bluebonnet Studios on South Lamar, Live Oak Trails in Oak Hill and Lakeline Station in Northwest Austin.

2016

We mark a pivotal moment in our history, with four new affordable housing communities under construction.

2015

We open our doors at Homestead, built on 29 acres of land with 500 oak trees, in southwest Austin.

2014

We open our doors at Capital Studios, the first affordable housing in downtown Austin in over 45 years.

2013

We support the successful Keep Austin Affordable campaign to secure $65 million in voter-approved affordable housing bonds.

2013

We launch our Insure Central Texas program to help people enroll in affordable health insurance plans.

2012

We deepen our commitment to the St. Elmo neighborhood of South Austin with key community partnerships.

2012

We open our 10th Learning Center in the heart of our Sierra Vista community, home to a wide range of on-site education, financial stability, and healthy living programs.

2011

M Station, a LEED Platinum family community in the heart of East Austin, featuring our first on-site child care center opens.

2009

With a $2 million federal grant from SAMHSA, we are able to add social work staff at our communities for single adults and partner with key community healthcare providers.

2006

We help lead the city’s Hurricane Katrina relief effort by offering housing and intensive case management services to evacuees from New Orleans.

2005

We launch our Community Tax Centers, now serving 20,000 working families and generating $36 million in refunds a year, and we expand our financial stability programs.

2004

We create our Children’s HOME Initiative to provide transformative opportunities for formerly homeless families with kids.

2003

Garden Terrace, Austin’s first supportive housing community for formerly homeless single adults, opens.

1998

The state of Texas awards us Low Income Housing Tax Credits to build Trails at the Park, our first community to be constructed from the ground up.

1998

We launch the first Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) in Texas, empowering low-income families to build their financial assets over time.

1994

The residents at Sierra Ridge in South Austin develop our first on-site after-school and summer youth program.

Early 1990s

We open our doors to 500 families in four completely renovated apartment complexes in Austin.

Early 1980s

University of Texas students create a local housing program for low-income families that later becomes Foundation Communities.

Non-Discrimination Statement

In accordance with federal laws and U.S. Department of the Treasury policy, this organization is prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, or disability. To file a complaint of discrimination, write to: U.S. Department of the Treasury, Director, Office of Civil Rights and Equal Employment Opportunity 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC 20220; call (202) 622-1160; or send an e-mail to: crcomplaints@treasury.gov.