221 – Faith-Based Pathways to Developing Affordable Housing 

October 31, 2025
1:45 PM - 2:45 PM

Across Canada, more and more Faith-Based Organizations (FBO’s) are revitalizing their lands and properties to include affordable housing alongside renewed worship and community spaces. This opens new opportunities for partnerships with non-profit housing providers, developers, and municipal leaders.  

CMHC’s Expert Community on Housing (ECoH) Salon Series presents this session, featuring two projects developed in collaboration with its Faith-Based Housing Development Community of Practice. 

Join us to: 

  • Learn how to use the Pre-feasibility Framework from SFU Renewable Cities to assess readiness, guide early decisions, and support faith-based housing projects. 
  • Learn about a pioneering initiative by Relèven and Affordable360 in Winnipeg that identified 1,000+ potential units on faith properties and is now scaling nationally convening roundtables in six municipalities, to identify development-ready sites using geospatial mapping and AI-driven tools. 
  • Learn about resources like the Vancity Community Foundation grants faith-based housing development advisory services, and practical tools to unlock faith lands for affordable housing. 

Through these real-world examples, gain insight into successful partnership models, the importance of early-stage pre-feasibility analysis and recognize the untapped potential of faith-based properties as assets for affordable housing development.  

Presented By

Myra Pennington

COO, Affordable360

Leanne Sawatzky

Director, SFU Renewable Cities

Mike Wood Daly

Director of Research, Relèven

Sponsored By