How Federal Funding Cuts Are Strangling Affordable Housing — and Hurting Aurora's Most Vulnerable
The Trump Administration’s sweeping cuts to federal affordable housing funding have set off alarm bells for communities already in crisis — and Aurora, Colorado, is right at the epicenter.
Aurora’s Affordable Housing Shortfall Is Already Dire
Aurora faces an estimated shortage of 8,500 affordable housing units to meet current community needs¹. Lower-income residents — often working in the service, healthcare, and education sectors — are being crushed under rent burdens that eat up more than 30% of their incomes¹. Despite the city’s bold goal of adding 550 new affordable units per year through 2026², the reality is stark: without consistent federal support, Aurora’s pipeline of affordable homes could grind to a halt.
Federal Funding Cuts Are Choking Local Efforts
HUD, once a lifeline for local affordable housing programs, has seen brutal cuts under the current administration. As of March 2025, HUD planned to slash nearly 50% of its Community Planning and Development staff³, the very people responsible for getting grants out to local nonprofits quickly and efficiently.
In addition, signature programs like the $1 billion Green and Resilient Retrofit Program — aimed at modernizing aging, affordable housing stock — were cancelled entirely⁴. That move alone derailed upgrades for approximately 25,000 affordable units nationwide, a figure that includes vital projects in the Mountain West region⁵.
But it gets worse: HUD quietly cancelled about $60 million worth of seed grants for small nonprofit developers⁵. These are the early-stage funds that small organizations use to plan, design, and launch affordable housing projects — without them, small nonprofits like ACDC are left scrambling for scraps, even as demand for their services soars.
Small Nonprofits Like ACDC Are Being Hit Hardest
Community-based developers don’t have the luxury of billion-dollar reserves. One lost HUD grant or delayed contract can stall an entire project. Nationally, every $1 of federal seed funding historically leveraged about $95 in additional public or private investment⁵. Without that kickstart, nonprofits can’t even begin the complex, expensive process of creating new homes.
In Colorado’s Front Range, the stakes are even higher: while much of the housing crisis discussion centers around Denver and Boulder, suburbs like Aurora continue to grow, quietly absorbing a massive share of the region’s working families who have been increasingly priced out of the “main” cities in which they work¹⁰ ¹¹. When small, scrappy nonprofits — on the front lines of the growing, suburban housing crisis — lose their lifeline, it’s these hardworking neighbors who pay the price¹² ¹³.
Help Us Fight for Our Neighbors
ACDC is still fighting for real affordable housing — homes that are safe, healthy, and truly affordable for our most vulnerable neighbors.
But we cannot do it alone.
👉 Donate today. Your gift fills the gap that federal cuts have left wide open.
Your gift helps fellow Aurorans to stay, feel safe, and find home — right here in Aurora.
Together, we can prove that community still means something. Together, we can fight back.
Sources Cited
¹ City of Aurora. (2023). Affordable Housing Overview. Retrieved from https://www.auroragov.org/news/whats_new/affordable_housing
² CBS Colorado. (2023). Aurora will build 600 affordable housing units. Retrieved from https://www.cbsnews.com/colorado/news/aurora-build-600-affordable-housing-units/
³ NPR. (2025, February 22). HUD cuts could delay housing support for thousands. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2025/02/22/hud-cuts-delay
⁴ PBS NewsHour / Associated Press. (2025, March 12). Trump administration cancels affordable housing retrofit program. Retrieved from https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/affordable-housing-program-cuts-2025
⁵ Associated Press. (2025, March 7). Hundreds of affordable housing projects thrown into limbo after HUD contract cuts. Retrieved from https://apnews.com/article/hud-affordable-housing-cuts-2025
⁶ Denver7. (2023). Aurora families struggle with rising rents and unsafe housing. Retrieved from https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/aurora-affordable-housing-crisis-unsafe-conditions
¹⁰ Sentinel Colorado. (2024). Losing Aurora: Surging housing costs pushing out critical residents. Retrieved from https://sentinelcolorado.com/metro/losing-aurora-advocates-surging-housing-costs-pushing-out-critical-residents/
¹¹ Denver Gazette. (2023). As expensive housing moves in, Aurora residents fear displacement. Retrieved from https://denvergazette.com/aurora/as-expensive-housing-moves-in-aurora-residents-fear-displacement/article_0f0df50c-87bb-11ed-9e52-33205e491b16.html
¹² Rocky Mountain PBS. (2023). Losing Aurora: Community advocates raise concerns over gentrification and displacement. Retrieved from https://www.rmpbs.org/blogs/rocky-mountain-pbs/losing-aurora
¹³ Denver7. (2024). What’s being done about the lack of affordable housing in Aurora. Retrieved from https://www.denver7.com/news/our-colorado/whats-being-done-about-the-lack-of-affordable-housing-in-aurora
