IMMOKALEE — Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance has received a $10,000 grant from the Collier Community Foundation. These funds will support the nonprofit’s mission to help build a safe, affordable apartment rental community in Immokalee for farmworker and other low-income families.

The Collier Community Foundation awards annual grants through a competitive application and review process. Selected organizations receive grant dollars from the Community Impact Fund. This Fund is made up of donors who believe in the Community Foundation’s ability to identify and grant the community’s most current needs.

“We are extremely grateful to the Collier Community Foundation for this generous grant that will be used by the Immokalee Fair Housing Alliance to support our operations and mission,” said Buntzman. “As we near the start of construction, our need for support from a strong network of partners including individuals, churches, foundations, government agencies, private businesses and nonprofits will be ongoing so we can fully fund and complete all eight building as soon as possible. Through these collaborations, we are paving the way to a vibrant, new community that will replace substandard and overcrowded housing, giving hope and stability to so many Immokalee families.”

Many farmworkers and other low-income families in Immokalee are currently living in overcrowded and dilapidated shacks and trailers, with holes in the floor and walls, persistent mold, non-working toilets or appliances, and a lack of air conditioning. Some families are paying 70% or more of their income on rent, leaving little for food, medical services, child care and other services most would consider necessities.

The Alliance has purchased 10 acres of property on Lake Trafford Road in Immokalee, designed a housing complex of 128 rental units and a community center, obtained approvals and permits for the first two buildings, and broken ground. As a federally designated 501(c)(3), IFHA has no profit motive and will pay limited real estate taxes. The community will be self-supporting with rents no more than 30% of a family’s income.

The first of eight rental buildings planned for the project is scheduled to be completed in mid-2023.