History
In November 2001, more than 200 business, municipal, and civic leaders attended a Workforce Housing Summit which explored the scarcity of available housing for families earning less than $75,000 per year. An Upper Valley Housing Needs Analysis indicated that if nothing changed, the 3,000-unit housing shortage for this group would triple by the end of the decade. With this problem in mind, a variety of local employers, faith community members, and nonprofit organizations formed the Upper Valley Housing Coalition (UVHC) to advocate for systemic change and create an environment favorable to the development of “workforce housing” near jobs.
UVHC attracted more than 200 volunteers from every sector of the region and formally incorporated as a New Hampshire nonprofit organization in 2003. From 2003 through 2009 UVHC was housed at Vital Communities, which also served as a fiscal sponsor. Anne Duncan Cooley joined the organization as its second Executive Director in May 2004. In August 2010 UVHC received its exemption from income tax under section 501c3. In 2015, UVHC received a Leadership Award from the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce.
For nearly 17 years, UVHC pursued its vision: that Upper Valley residents will be able to live in the communities in which they work. However, in early 2018, the UVHC Board of Directors voted to dissolve the organization’s operations. Vital Communities is now spearheading some aspects of the work formerly coordinated by UVHC.
