Enterprise Community Partners, formerly The Enterprise Foundation, is a Columbia, Maryland-based nonprofit organization with offices nationwide. Founded in 1982 by developer/philanthropist James W. Rouse and his wife Patty, Enterprise has worked with community-based nonprofit organizations to develop over 240,000 affordable homes and invest over $9 billion throughout the United States.
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On October 8, 2009, Enterprise Community Partners announced a $4 billion commitment to the next generation of its Green Communities initiative. Enterprise said its efforts will result directly in the creation, preservation, or retrofit of 75,000 green homes and community and commercial buildings over the next five years. The group will provide loans to owners of existing multi-family buildings in key markets for capital purchases that will reduce energy and water consumption or will lead to more healthy living environments. Enterprise relies on support from a number of banks and foundations, and it is currently drawing on $2.5 million in grants for fundraising. Enterprise also issued a national call to action to make all affordable housing in the United States meet green criteria by 2020. To provide background, the organization released a study proving the overall return on investment of meeting its Green Communities Criteria. Based on years of research, the report, "Incremental Cost, Measurable Savings: Enterprise," finds that the estimated lifetime savings exceed the initial investment made to incorporate the Green Communities Criteria into affordable housing during construction. [1]