Called to Build in Chattanooga, TN

For years, Pastor Gary Hathaway and the Greater Tucker Baptist Missionary Church wanted to use the vacant land on the church’s property to provide affordable housing for its senior community. After unsuccessful attempts to secure federal tax credits to make the units truly affordable, Pastor Hathaway turned to new solutions.

"We're aware Chattanooga has a major shortage of affordable housing," he said. "We have a mandate to help."

That mandate required persistence. When the financing path Greater Tucker had expected didn't come through, the church found another way. Working with Invest Chattanooga and Chattanooga Neighborhood Enterprise, the project is now moving forward as a mixed-income, cottage-court-style development with fully affordable units for residents 55 and older, alongside additional units that are a mix of market-rate and affordable, open to all ages.

25 Acres, 400 Potential Homes

Greater Tucker's story is a common one. Across Chattanooga, houses of worship sit on more than 25 acres of underused land, enough that could collectively create up to 400 affordable homes. The land exists, and so does the will to use it for affordable housing. But congregations need new community partners to unlock the funding, development expertise, and resources needed to move these projects forward from intention to construction.  

The Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga recognized that gap. In 2025, the foundation partnered with the City of Chattanooga, the Maclellan Foundation, and the Generosity Trust to bring Enterprise Community Partners' Faith-Based Development Initiative to Chattanooga, which gives congregations the tools to do what Greater Tucker spent years figuring out on its own. Eight congregations were selected for the first cohort.

A National Model Comes to Tennessee

Enterprise Community Partners has been running its Faith-Based Development Initiative for nearly two decades. To date, it has helped houses of worship create more than 1,900 affordable homes nationwide, with another 8,000 in the development pipeline. The Chattanooga cohort is the first in Tennessee.

Each of the eight selected congregations will receive three years of training, technical assistance, peer learning, and grant funding. The calling to build is there. The program gives congregations the tools to answer it.

"Faith communities are uniquely positioned to lead in this moment," said Maeghan Jones, president and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga. "Not only through their spiritual leadership, but also through the stewardship of land and resources that can be used to create affordable housing."

Generosity Builds is a storytelling initiative from the Council on Foundations highlighting the ways charitable foundations show up as a nonpartisan force for good in our communities — from scientific breakthroughs to community childcare, veterans support, and disaster relief.