In 2013, Mayor Karl Dean and the Metro Council created Metro Nashville's first housing trust fund to leverage affordable housing developments throughout Davidson County. Named after Reverend Bill Barnes, a longstanding advocate for affordable housing and deconcentrating poverty, the Barnes Fund makes competitive grants to nonprofit housing developers to increase affordable housing options for Nashvillians. Grants include funding for preservation and creation of affordable rental and homeowner units and other supportive efforts to encourage long-term affordability.
Since its inception, the Barnes Fund has invested more than $108 million in affordable housing development and preservation and has leveraged over $1 billion dollars of federal and private funding to construct more than 4700 housing units.
2024 Barnes 10 Year Celebration Video
- 2023 Barnes Annual Report
- 2022 Barnes Annual Report
- 2021 Barnes Annual Report
- 2020 Barnes Annual Report
How to Apply
Round 13: General Barnes Funding Application
Guidelines for Round 12: Special American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding
Below is a list of organizations that have received funding from the Barnes Fund:
- Fall 2014 Round of Funding
- Fall 2015 Round of Funding
- Fall 2016 Round of Funding
- Spring 2017 Round of Funding
- Fall 2017 Round of Funding
- Spring 2019 Round of Funding
- Fall 2019 Round of Funding
- Spring 2021 Round of Funding
- Fall 2021 Round of Funding
- Spring 2022 Round of Funding
Community Land Trust
In addition to the funding provided from the Barnes Fund for homeowner, rental, and preservation proposals, the Barnes Fund participated in the creation of Nashville’s Community Land Trust (CLT) in 2017 alongside The Housing Fund. The Community Land Trust aims to protect local residents from displacement by ensuring working families can afford to live in their community and keep homes in their community affordable for generations to come. Along with seed funding to launch the Community Land Trust, Metro has donated 15 properties. The first properties are currently under development as the Community Land Trust moves forward with the start-up phase of this program.
Community Land Trust Summary Information
Barnes General Funding Guidelines
Eligible projects must create or preserve affordable housing opportunities in Nashville and Davidson County. Rental projects must be affordable to households with incomes at or below 60% of the median family income adjusted for family size. Home buyer/home owner rehabilitation projects must be affordable to households with incomes at or below 80% of the median family income adjusted for family size.
Barnes Grantee Materials
- 2023 Interim Grant Report
- 2023 Final Grant Report
- Final Report Unit Verification Template
- Deed of Restricted Covenant - Rental
- Deed of Restricted Covenant - Homeowner
- Barnes Contract Extension Request Form
Metro-Owned Properties for Donation
In addition to awarding funds to nonprofit developers, The Barnes Fund often donates Metro-owned property to nonprofit applicants. In order to apply for Metro-owned properties, developers must also apply for financial support and it must be during a competitive funding round.
For Round 12, Metro is making the properties listed below available for affordable housing development through the Barnes Fund application process. Additional information on each of these properties is available on the Barnes Housing Fund Applications page.
- 0 Hagan Street = only available to applicants applying for Grant #2: Cooperative Housing
- 136 Jacksonian Drive = only available to applicants applying for Grant #3: Shared-Equity Homeownership Development Subsidy
These properties are currently owned by Metro Water Services and will go through the legislative process to be made available for affordable housing. We expect the process to conclude by 12/31/2023.
These parcels will not be transferred through the typical quitclaim process. Rather, Metro intends for long-affordability to be maintained through either a ground lease or the use of a land trust. Metro will not require a lease payment. An applicant must propose which option it will utilize as part of its application. Metro will not consider property requests that do not include one of these options. The Housing Trust Fund Commission and Metro Council must approve the award before construction can begin.
Applicants should consider current land use policies and zoning designations when requesting these properties, keeping in mind that the project must be completed by December 31, 2026.
In the event two or more organizations request the same lot, the property will be awarded to the organization with the highest scoring application.
Metropolitan Housing Trust Fund Commission
The Metropolitan Housing Trust Fund Commission governs the Barnes Fund to award and assist in stewarding funds that provide quality affordable housing options throughout Davidson County. The Commission meets every 4th Tuesday of the month at the Sonny West Conference Center. During the COVID-19 pandemic, meetings will be held remotely and publicly available for viewing through Webex per Governor Lee’s Executive Order.
Donations to the Barnes Fund
If you are considering making a donation to the Barnes Fund, please read the 2023 Donation Policy prior to inquiring. Questions may be directed to [email protected].