New York, NY, October 5, 2026 – The non-profit New York City Housing Partnership has been awarded a $500,000 grant from the Citi Foundation to support and expand its innovative Pathways to Homeownership for Gig Workers program.
Self-employed workers, independent contractors and other freelancers often encounter barriers to home purchase because the mortgage market is built around predictable W-2 employment. The Housing Partnership’s Pathways to Homeownership for Gig Workers program provides New Yorkers with one-on-one counseling to help them document gig/self-employment income required for mortgage approval, as well as access to city, state and private down payment assistance.
“Traditional mortgage lending guidelines can exclude the freelancers, artists, and small business owners who are vital to the New York City economy,” said Molly Wasow Park, President & CEO of the NYC Housing Partnership.
“Citi Foundation’s generous support allows us to expand and strengthen our gig worker program to enable them to document their income to qualify for a mortgage to buy their first home,” she said.
“Citi’s commitment helps us build on the early success of our Pathways to Homeownership for Gig Workers program. Since its inception earlier this year we have helped 45 self-employed households buy their first homes in New York City. More than 32 others have received mortgage commitments but haven't purchased a home yet. The most recent class launched last week with 94 participants. Since the program began earlier this year nearly 300 New York households have received homebuying education, counseling and hands on support. The Citi $500,000 grant allows the Housing Partnership to add staff and resources to achieve our goal of reaching over 1,000 New York gig workers through next year,” said Ms. Park.
The grant is part of the Citi Foundation’s Community Finance Initiative that helps community organizations improve financial resilience and economic mobility in low-income communities.
"We're especially proud of this prestigious recognition by Citi, which has made these grants to only 70 non-profit community organizations across the United States," said Ms. Park.
For more than 40 years the nonprofit NYC Housing Partnership has helped expand access to affordable housing across New York City and beyond through innovative public-private partnerships resulting in the creation and preservation of 100,000 low and moderate-income housing units leveraging over $11.1 billion in private financing and utilizing more than $550 million in subsidies for affordable housing. Working with community partners, lenders, developers and public agencies, the Housing Partnership strives to ensure that safe and comfortable housing remains within reach for New Yorkers.