What We Do

John Cooper, our founder, learned about transitional housing grants while sitting on the Board of Haven in Lee County, an organization that provides shelter and services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault. We have adapted this concept and created Housing Stability Grants to address the critical issue of housing affordability in our communities.

Our grants will provide financial assistance to those who are working but cannot keep up with their monthly expenses due to life circumstances. Issues as illness, mental health, divorce or domestic violence can all impact people’s lives in different ways.

Our goal is to help those who are unsheltered find housing and help them get back on their feet, or assist those who are at risk of becoming homeless. Prevention is key.

We also work with partner organizations dedicated to our mission. They include: Wake Technical Community College’s Fostering Bright Futures program, which supports students who have left the foster care system; Oak City Cares, a multi-service center serving Wake County’s unsheltered residents; and Healing Transitions, which offers recovery services to those suffering from addiction.

These organizations will vet potential grantees and then apply to us for assistance.

Housing grants are near and dear to John’s heart. While the Cooper Charitable Foundation is his way of paying homage to his grandmother, this particular program is his love letter to his mom.

When John was young, he and his mom lived in a trailer. Often in trailer parks, the person who owns the park doesn’t own the trailer so you will have two rent payments — one to the folks who own the trailer park and another to the person who owns the trailer. If you live in a trailer that was manufactured prior to the 1980s, they are often heated with a furnace, so you also have an oil bill.  So John’s mom had two rent payments, an oil bill, an electrical bill, a water bill and, of course, a grocery bill. Often his mom just didn’t make enough to pay them all so she would just pick one and not pay another. For example, in the winter she would pay the oil bill so there would be heat, but she couldn’t pay the electric bill so they lived without lights. Heat was more important.

John will be the first to tell you that his mom was an extremely hard worker. She worked several jobs. She was a waitress. She worked in the deli at the grocery store. She worked at Lowes. The fact is, she just didn’t make enough to make ends meet.  A little bit of help would have made all the difference in the world to them.

Our housing grant program is John’s way of letting people like his mother know that he sees them, that he cares about them and there are people who want to help them. That’s why the Foundation was started. To make a difference in people’s lives.

• People who are low income, unsheltered or at risk of becoming homeless
• People who are working but need help covering their total monthly expenses
• Victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse
• Children who have aged out of the foster care system
• People in rehabilitation from alcoholism or drug addiction
• People being treated for mental health issues
• Individuals leaving care systems (such as prisons)
• Single moms and widows adjusting to life on their own

Amount: Varies depending on each individual or family’s need
Duration: Grants are awarded for a minimum of one month to a maximum of six months