DETROIT (Nov 18, 2025) — Today, Gilbert Family Foundation, Rocket Community Fund, Enterprise Community Partners, Green & Healthy Homes Initiative and the City of Detroit released new research charting the scale, reach and impact of Detroit’s home repair ecosystem.
The 2024 Home Repair Census, a collaborative project led by the Citywide Home Repair Task Force in partnership with Data Driven Detroit and made possible through support from the Rocket Community Fund, provides the first data-centered, citywide assessment of Detroit’s home repair landscape.
The report captures all home repair grant interventions completed in Detroit in 2024, offering a comprehensive snapshot of the city’s repair ecosystem. This baseline will help track changing repair outcomes over time and highlight where additional resources could make the biggest impact for low- and moderate-income homeowners.
Specifically, the report documents the number of home repair programs in Detroit; analyzes the volume, funding amounts, and types of repairs completed across neighborhoods; and identifies areas for improvement that, if addressed, would significantly expand access for low- and moderate-income homeowners.
“At both Rocket Community Fund and Gilbert Family Foundation, we are deeply focused on ensuring Detroit families have a safe and secure place to call home,” said Laura Grannemann, Executive Director of Rocket Community Fund and Gilbert Family Foundation. “While home repair remains a large-scale challenge across Detroit, this research shows we’re making real progress by collaborating across sectors, strengthening the capacity of nonprofit partners, and maximizing the impact of home repair resources through strategic, layered investments.”
“The Citywide Home Repair Task Force exists to connect every partner doing this work, from small neighborhood groups to large city programs, so that we can deliver better outcomes for Detroiters,” said Heather Zygmontowicz, Senior Housing Advisor with the City of Detroit’s Housing & Revitalization Department. “No single organization or program can meet Detroit’s home repair need alone. The 2024 Home Repair Census is an incredible first step. Its greatest value will come from sustaining this effort over time, using what we learn to both demonstrate and expand our collective impact, and could not have happened without our philanthropic partners who have supported this work from the beginning.”
Evaluating Success of the Detroit Home Repair Fund
One of the programs highlighted in the 2024 Home Repair Census is the Detroit Home Repair Fund (DHRF), a coordinated, multi-partner initiative that addresses critical health and safety home repair needs for low-income Detroit homeowners. DHRF was launched by Gilbert Family Foundation in 2022 with additional support from DTE Energy and Molina Healthcare. The program is managed by Enterprise Community Partners, supported with technical assistance from the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative, and implemented in collaboration with 13 nonprofit partners.
To date, DHRF has delivered more than 6,000 critical repairs to over 600 homes, improving health, safety, energy efficiency, and long-term housing stability for more than 1,300 Detroiters. DHRF has also provided over $3.5 million in direct staffing support, as well as technical assistance, to improve the capacity of non-profit partners to address home repair needs. A new impact report commissioned by Enterprise Community Partners highlights the first three years of the program (May 2022-May 2025).
“Detroit’s housing challenges demand solutions that are both systemic and deeply rooted in community,” said Melinda Clemons, Vice President & Central Midwest Market Leader at Enterprise Community Partners. “This research confirms what we’ve seen firsthand: when we invest in trusted local organizations, streamline access to funding, and align citywide home repair efforts, we can deliver real, lasting improvements for homeowners.”
“The Detroit Home Repair Fund fills a critical gap for homeowners who were previously shut out of traditional repair programs,” said Ruth Ann Norton, President and CEO of the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative. “The report reinforces the value of the DHRF holistic approach to home repair that prioritizes addressing life-safety and habitability hazards before they become medical emergencies. Each completed project represents measurable health improvements and a step toward community-wide stability.”
Collectively, these reports show how Detroit is building a unified, data-informed system to deliver critical repairs, strengthen housing stability, support health and safety, and maximize return on investment for low-income homeowners. Additional key findings are below. The full report can be accessed at this link.
Key Findings from the 2024 Home Repair Census
- Over 3,058 home repair interventions were conducted in 2024, representing more than $50 million in confirmed funding. A home repair intervention represents participation in a repair program and could include multiple individual repairs.
- The most common repair type was roof repair (28.9%), followed by plumbing (14.1%) and HVAC (11.5%).
- The report verified at least 30 separate organizations implementing a range of home repair work throughout all seven districts and in neighborhoods representing 92% of Detroit’s population.
- The report identified 31 unique repair programs with funding from 34 separate sources across federal, state, local, philanthropic, and private funds.
Key Findings from the Detroit Home Repair Fund Analysis
- On average, DHRF homes are almost 100 years old, and 97% of homes entering the program failed to meet basic survivability standards due to hazards like roof leaks, failed plumbing, lack of heat, and unsafe wiring.
- 46% of households participating in DHRF had at least one member aged 62 or older, and half had at least one resident with a disability. DHRF repairs led to an 80% drop in falls among older residents.
- The average cost of repair work was approximately $28,600 per home.
- Together, DHRF and DTE Energy’s Energy Efficiency Assistance Program yielded an average annual household savings of $184 on gas and $90 on electricity.
- The program’s low-barrier, flexible grant funding model enabled DHRF to leverage additional funds through 15 other sources.
- Two-thirds of DHRF non-profit partners pursued or secured additional funding because of DHRF, showing the scalability of the program.
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About Gilbert Family Foundation
Gilbert Family Foundation is a private nonprofit foundation founded by Jennifer and Dan Gilbert to accelerate a cure for neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) and build economic opportunity and equity in the city of Detroit. Gilbert Family Foundation supports groundbreaking, cutting-edge research in hopes of eradicating NF1, a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves anywhere in the body. Additionally, the Foundation supports the economic stability and mobility of residents in Detroit by investing in wealth-building opportunities and breaking down systemic barriers.
For more information on Gilbert Family Foundation, please visit gilbertfamilyfoundation.org.
About Rocket Community Fund
The Rocket Community Fund aims to simplify complex and inequitable systems to ensure that every American has access to stable, healthy housing. It also invests in people and practices that provide meaningful opportunities for education and employment.
Through its For-More-Than-Profit model, the Rocket Community Fund recognizes that business and community are inextricably linked, and it purposefully harnesses team member talent, technology, policy advocacy and philanthropic resources to invest in comprehensive community development in Detroit and across the country.
Alongside financial investments, the Rocket Community Fund has organized Rocket Companies, Bedrock and other affiliated team members to provide more than one million volunteer hours nationwide, including more than 720,000 in Detroit.
For more information, visit RocketCommunityFund.org.
About Enterprise Community Partners
Enterprise is a national nonprofit that exists to make a good home possible for the millions of families without one. We support community development organizations on the ground, aggregate and invest capital for impact, advance housing policy at every level of government, and build and manage communities ourselves. Since 1982, we have invested $80.9 billion and created 1 million homes across all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands – all to make home and community places of pride, power and belonging. Join us at enterprisecommunity.org.
About Green & Healthy Homes Initiative
The Green & Healthy Homes Initiative is dedicated to addressing the social determinants of health, opportunity and equity through the creation of healthy, safe and energy efficient homes. By delivering a standard of excellence in its work, GHHI aims to eradicate the negative health impacts of unhealthy housing and unjust policies for children, seniors and families to ensure better health, economic and social outcomes in historically disinvested communities – with an emphasis on communities of color.