How to Afford Community Land Trusts: A Discussion Amongst Comparative Case Studies

Abstract

Community Land Trusts (CLTs) are nonprofit organizations that obtain and separate land from property and lease ownership to a household through a ground lease structure that provides permanently affordable housing to low-income and moderate-income households. Despite their growing role in U.S affordable housing policy, little empirical research examines how CLTs sustain themselves financially, the environmental context, and the organizational mechanisms that enable them to meet their mission. This study addresses the gap by examining “How do successful CLTs manage financial health and what are the differences among them?” Using a mixed-methods approach, this study interviews executive and financial directors of CLT organizations and supports their findings with five years of audited financial statement analysis from 2020 to 2024. Organizations are selected based on Wang’s (2025) financial indicators of location, portfolio type, and age. The study uses Myser’s (2016) theoretical framework of financial health and the practical methods of Kioko and Marlow (2023) of financial analysis ratios and benchmarks. Qualitative data were analyzed using a thematic coding approach that intersects with Myser’s temporal framework. Findings show that all four organizations maintained positive budget surpluses and showed asset growth across the study period. However, liquidity metrics are more constrained among traditional CLTs than among their hybrid counterparts. Qualitative findings identified four themes: revenue constraints in the ground lease model; portfolio type and mission scope; external factors and relationships; and long-term risks of changing landscape. The study supports Wang’s (2025) finding that CLTs’ traditional model has become less self-sufficient and more reliant on external funding, but this may imply that financial health should somehow factor into the relationship with the local community. The study contributes to the literature by providing the qualitative context that quantitative studies of CLT financial health cannot understand the “why”. The findings align with Prentice's (2016) finding that external context plays a factor in accounting ratios as predictors of nonprofit financial health. Due to limitations, conclusions should be used with caution, and solutions may vary depending on the organization and its environmental context.