NLIHC’s Our Homes, Our Votes Nonpartisan Campaign Launches Best Practices Report and Announces Mini-Grant Program
Oct 10, 2025
Compiled with strong contributions and meaningful assessments from the pilot communities of NLIHC’s Our Homes, Our Votes (OHOV) nonpartisan campaign and in celebration of National Voter Education Week, NLIHC has released the Turning Renters into Voters: Lessons in Engaging Low-Income Communities best practices report.
In 2024, OHOV launched the Pilot Communities initiative to increase engagement among low-income renters in the electoral process and assess the impact of nonpartisan voter outreach. In 2025, the initiative expanded to include six Pilot Communities with strong backgrounds in nonpartisan voter engagement: Michigan Coalition Against Homelessness, Housing Network of Rhode Island, Southern California Association of Nonprofit Housing, Georgia Advancing Communities Together, Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania, and Prosperity Indiana. This report highlights their voter engagement activities and best practices, demonstrating how housing-focused civic engagement can strengthen neighborhoods and our democracy.
Read about how six pilot communities uniquely embarked on engaging networks of renters and advocates in the electoral process and how they are helping to ensure housing is elevated as an election issue.
Our Homes, Our Votes Mini-Grant Program
Alongside launching the best practices report, OHOV has established its first-ever mini-grant program to increase our field’s capacity to engage voters. The mini-grant program will fund nonpartisan activities that empower low-income renters and/or people experiencing homelessness to participate in the democratic process. Funds can be used to support immediate, nonpartisan voter mobilization activities for state and local elections in 2026, as well as voter registration and education initiatives to encourage participation in the 2026 midterm elections.
Who Can Apply?
To be eligible for the mini-grant, an organization must be registered as an Our Homes, Our Votes affiliate.
When Is The Deadline To Apply?
The deadline to apply for this mini-grant is November 7, 2025, 11:59 pm ET with awards up to $1,500 for selected organizations.
When Will Grantees Be Notified?
Selected grantees will be notified by December 5, 2025.
To support interested applicants, Our Homes, Our Votes will host two informational orientation sessions to walk through the mini-grant program’s goals, eligibility requirements, and application process. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and learn best practices for designing strong, nonpartisan voter engagement initiatives.
Orientation Dates
- Thursday, October 16, 2025, at 3:00 pm ET – Register here.
- Monday, October 20, 2025, at 6:00 pm ET – Register here.
Read the Turning Renters into Voters report and access additional voter engagement resources here.
Apply to the Our Homes, Our Votes mini-grant program here.
For questions about Our Homes, Our Votes, contact Tia Turner, Our Homes, Our Votes project manager at [email protected].