About CHF
The California Homebuilding Foundation (CHF), founded in 1978 as a nonprofit 501(c) (3) organization, serves the homebuilding industry by providing scholarships, research and educational professional development programs for California’s homebuilding and construction industries. It is the presenter of California homebuilding industry’s top award, Hall of Fame.
SCHOLARSHIPS
The Foundation has raised over $3 million in endowments for scholarships through the generosity of its benefactors, including many Hall of Fame Inductees. We work with a variety of secondary learning institutions, from community colleges to private universities, assisting individuals interested in the homebuilding industry with scholarships.
Annually, CHF distributes scholarships and grants to over 65 college and university students enrolled in industry-related programs such as construction management or architecture. Our goal is to assist students to complete their degrees and begin working within the building industry.
The Foundation also supports the I. Donald Terner Distinguished Professorship on Affordable Housing and Urban Policy at UC Berkeley. Berkeley’s Haas School of Business and the College of Environmental Design have collaborated to create this professorship that is strengthening the teaching and research devoted to affordable housing. Funds have also been used to establish a new program that will foster research on housing markets, housing policy, international housing and the economy.
RESEARCH
Research remains a top priority. The Foundation has raised over $2.6 million in research endowments, providing funding for independent and university-based research grants on issues critical to the development of new housing and communities in California.
Over the past few years, the Foundation has granted and released many major research projects:
- 2013 Residential Standards Support
- The Use of Residential Nexus Analysis in Support of California’s Inclusionary Housing Ordinances: A Critical Evaluation
- The Economic Benefits of Housing
- Water Use in the California Residential Homes
- New Housing Construction Economic Impact Graphs
- Youth Employment Manuel
- The Housing Bottom Line: The Fiscal Impact of New Home Construction on California State and Local Governments
- Meeting AB32 – Housing Retrofit Study
- Latino Homebuyer Study
- California Right to Repair: SB800, Is it still working?
Research funded through the Foundation assists State and local/regional building industry associations in educating the public and lawmakers about the economic benefits of the homebuilding industry, a crucial step in meeting the state’s need for housing.
EDUCATION
The Foundation has been offering courses, seminars and workshops since 1982. Our programs are designed with a professional development emphasis to enable individuals to acquire knowledge, training and skills which can be used in the work force and to assist individuals in exploring their full potential.
At the California Homebuilding Foundation, individual success and the improvement of the building industry workforce is our core principle. We are dedicated to our mission of encouraging lifelong learning by developing and providing opportunities for personal and professional growth.