Community Home Trust2026 Exceptional Innovation Award Celebrates Habitat for Humanity of Orange County
2026 Exceptional Innovation Award Celebrates Habitat for Humanity of Orange County
Community Home Trust has named Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, NC the recipient of its 2026 Exceptional Innovation Award, recognizing the organizations’ innovative partnership to create permanently affordable homeownership at Homestead Gardens.
The award celebrates what is possible when two organizations with a shared commitment to affordable homeownership bring their distinct strengths together. Through the development of Homestead Gardens, Habitat and CHT have worked side by side to rethink the homeownership experience and find new ways to better serve local families.
The partnership also identified a challenge with traditional lending: conventional market-rate loans do not always fit the needs of permanently affordable homeownership. That opened the door to explore new solutions, including a lending partner interested in piloting financing options designed for this unique model.
“This partnership challenged us to look beyond our individual organizations and focus on what would create the best experience for future homeowners,” said Jennifer Player, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Orange County. “By leveraging each organization’s strengths, we have been able to streamline the homeownership journey, simplify the application process, reduce confusion for buyers, and explore innovative financing approaches that can help make homeownership more accessible for local families.”
At its heart, Homestead Gardens is an opportunity for Habitat and Community Home Trust to learn together, test new ideas, and discover approaches that could create new opportunities for affordable homeownership in other communities.
Innovation is not always about creating something entirely new. Sometimes it is about trusted partners finding better ways to work together.
The Exceptional Innovation Award celebrates that spirit of partnership and the shared belief that, by working together, Habitat and CHT can help more local families find a path to affordable homeownership and the stability, opportunity, and possibilities that come with it.
Habitat and the other Community Impact Awards winners will receive their awards on October 8, 2026, at the Foundation of Home Awards dinner.
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