MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- The Milwaukee-based financial service organization Northwestern Mutual announced Wednesday, June 21, it would be dedicating $3 million towards affordable housing in the city to help Milwaukee's underserved communities, according to the company.

According to the Federal Reserve Board, Black Americans’ net worth is 70% below that of non-Black households. In Milwaukee, homeownership is less attainable for Black residents, which is due in part to this gap. According to Northwestern Mutual, they are working towards closing the gap, by dedicating these funds to help build healthier and stronger neighborhoods.

“As a financial services company, we recognize our responsibility to support and add economic value to our communities,” said Grady Crosby, vice president, chief sustainability and impact officer at Northwestern Mutual. “By leveraging our expertise and working directly with local residents and partners, we’re helping to create a pipeline to homeownership that makes housing more affordable and gives residents a stake in their properties for generations to come.”

Northwestern Mutual is investing $2.5 million of the $3 million in the Milwaukee Community Land Trust to help drive affordable housing and ensure homeownership affordability over time. The investment comes from the company’s $100 million impact investment fund, which is working to deliver on the company's commitment to addressing inequality and the racial wealth gap in the U.S. Funds from this initiative are dedicated to Black, African American and other underserved communities on local and national scales, specifically focusing on building physical and social infrastructure, increasing access to capital and creating healthy, sustainable neighborhoods and communities.

The company is donating the other $500,000 to Acts Housing’s Homeownership Acquisition Fund. This fund was formed with the support of the Community Development Alliance and is a key strategy of Milwaukee’s collective affordable housing plan. The funds will address the shortage of quality affordable homes available for purchase by low-income Black and Latino residents by purchasing houses to rehab and sell to new homeowners. The combined funds will support up to 20 homes.

“Homeownership is strongly tied to economic empowerment, financial security and community development,” said Steve Radke, president of the Northwestern Mutual Foundation. “Research has found that stable housing can improve education dropout rates, economic vitality and health, as well as reduce crime. As a company, we firmly believe that helping residents access fair and sustained homeownership opportunities is an important means to helping close the racial wealth gap, and we are grateful to our partners for helping us tackle this generational issue.”

The company has previously partnered with Milwaukee’s Amani, Metcalfe Park and Muskego Way neighborhoods to create long-term sustainable impact, with more than $15 million already invested toward revitalization efforts and economic empowerment in those neighborhoods.

“Milwaukee is unique compared to other cities with a stark racial inequity in homeownership,” said Lamont Davis, executive director for the Milwaukee Community Land Trust. “At MCLT, we are focused on a long-term strategy investment. Together with our partners, like Northwestern Mutual, we’ve already been able to invest in 10 affordable homes throughout the city and are working to add more than 30 more by 2025.”