City Council candidate Gilels makes first private donation to Missoula’s housing fund
While many public officials talk about the need for affordable housing, few direct their own money toward the cause, but Dori Gilels became the first.
Gilels, who sought to represent Ward 3 on the Missoula City Council, donated her remaining campaign funds to the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund last week.
The $1,000 contribution represents the first private donation made to the fund.
“I donated the remainder of my campaign funds to the Affordable Housing Trust Fund because housing is a universal concern for Missoula residents, and it should be,” said Gilels. “The societal costs of failing to retain and provide housing for our parents, children, employees, colleagues and friends will impact all of us.”
The city adopted its official housing policy three years ago, and the Affordable Housing Trust Fund plays a central role in addressing Missoula's housing challenges. The Missoula City Council established the fund last year by placing funding into the trust during the budgeting process.
With proceeds from the sale of city-owned land and other revenues, the fund has grown to around $3.7 million. The newly established Resident Oversight Committee this fall recommended its first allocation from the fund and has whittled down its second and third allocations expected early next year.
Every donation to the fund helps, said trust fund administrator Emily Harris-Shears.
“Private donations are an important revenue strategy for the Affordable Housing Trust Fund,” she said. “When residents direct donations to community investments in housing, it signals the shared responsibility and commitment we have to ensuring all Missoulians live in housing they can afford. We are so grateful to Ms. Gilels for sharing her values and commitment.”
The fund aims to provide a local and flexible funding source that can help meet the goals of the city's housing policy. The policy calls for the creation of housing across all price points, though entry-level housing opportunities get much of the attention.
Private donations to the trust are tax deductible.
“I believe we all have a role to play in providing attainable housing,” Gilels said. “Missoula is in the midst of a cultural shift, and we need to show up and be the difference we want to see in this community. We simply can’t look to individual leaders or agencies to fix this for us. It’s up to us, and it’s going to take a village.”
Gilels, a businesswoman who had a strong list of endorsements, ran to represent Ward 3 on the Missoula City Council but lost to Daniel Carlino by 153 votes in November.