A leadership gift of $250,000 from local couple Tim and Diane Naughton is designed to help the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing’s (APAH’s) “Next Generation Fund,” designed to support enrichment activities for children and youth living in APAH communities.
The gift was matched by AvalonBay Communities Inc. for a combined investment of $500,000, one of the largest bequests in APAH history.
“This gift represents an important milestone in the close partnership between APAH, the Naughton family and AvalonBay that has developed over many years,” APAH CEO Carmen Romero said. “We are incredibly grateful for Tim and Diane’s leadership and commitment to APAH and the children and youth we serve. Make no mistake, this will be a life-changing gift for so many, and we could not be more grateful.”
The gift will kickstart the initiative, including a pilot period important in determining its potential reach and impact. In opting to support the effort, the Naughtons said that they hoped it would assist to “unlock the creative instincts of a young person by pursuing an activity or passion that may not have been previously available to them.”
In addition, “we hope that in learning about the Next Generation Fund, it might stimulate others to explore ways in which they want to help, and that some of them might be inspired to join this initiative and help make an even bigger impact on shaping the lives of many of the young people living in APAH’s communities,” Tim Naughton said.
While AvalonBay is best known for having built a large portfolio of market-rate apartments across the country, it often provides an affordable-housing component as part of its projects. The relationship with APAH and AvalonBay began as early as 2014, when the Arna Valley View apartment complex was sold to APAH due to the recognition of APAH’s expertise, reputation, commitment to affordable housing and capacity to provide impactful programming.
“[AvalonBay] recognized that, over time, we can provide even more benefit to the community by partnering with groups like APAH who can often provide the kind of targeted social support and programming needed by these residents,” Tim Naughton said.
Founded in 1989, APAH now helps more than 2,000 households live in stable, secure and affordable rental homes. The organization was named 2021 Developer of the Year by HAND, the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers.