About the foundation
We exist so that work still leads to a good home in a good place.
The American Dream Foundation is a charity that closes the monthly affordability gap for working first-time buyers, so they can buy in established communities and keep their homes. It is funded by sponsors, run in public, and built on evidence.
What we do
Three things, done in the open.
01
Tell the truth about the gap
Town by town and job by job, with every number traceable to its source. The payment on the same home went from 27.7% to 49.1% of median full-time pay since January 2020.
The evidence02
Fund durable assistance
For first-time buyers in the towns we cover, ranked by what still holds ten years later, with capital that comes back to help the next household.
How it works03
Show every dollar
What came in, what went out, what came back and what it bought, in public, from the same ledger sponsors see.
For sponsorsWhat we believe
Principles we hold ourselves to.
Standards, not compromises
The answer to high prices is not to move somewhere with worse schools and no train. The last generation reached a good standard of living on a working income; the next one should be able to as well.
The truth first
Every figure is sourced, dated and checked, and the method is published. Where the evidence is thin, we say so.
Help that lasts
Assistance is judged by what still holds ten years later: an affordable payment that does not fall off a cliff, and owners who stay owners.
Money that comes back
Recoverable assistance returns when a home is sold or refinanced, so each dollar can help more than one household.
A glass box
What comes in, what goes out and what it buys are public, always. Recipients' personal information never is.
How the money moves
From a sponsor's gift to a household's front door, and back.
Every dollar lands in one fund and one ledger. Most becomes assistance capital. Some is held in reserve so commitments to households can always be met, and some pays for operating the program. Recoverable assistance returns to the fund and helps the next buyer.
- SponsorsGifts in USDC, cbBTC or ETH on Base; card and bank soon
- The fundOne public ledger; every gift recorded within minutes
- Assistance capitalCloses each household's monthly gapReservesHeld so every commitment can be metOperating costsCounseling, review and running the program, published
- HouseholdsBuy a home they can keep, in the town they chose
- RepaymentsWhen a home is sold or refinanced, recoverable assistance returns to the fund
How it is run
Rules that do not depend on trust.
- Applications are assessed against published criteria. Age, race, religion and other protected characteristics are never criteria.
- Every payment of assistance needs two separate staff approvals before money moves.
- Every staff action is written to an audit log that cannot be edited or deleted.
- The fund's totals are published and updated as money moves; each month is closed and frozen.
- Recipients' personal information is never published, by anyone, for any reason.
Work with us
Employers, towns, lenders and brokerages.
Employers can co-fund homes for their staff near where they work. Towns can bring teachers, nurses and first responders home. Lenders, counseling agencies and brokerages can refer buyers and supply homes. We work through existing programs rather than rebuilding them.