Oxford has much to offer, from its A-rated school district and the lively University of Mississippi with its Rebels sports teams to a vibrant arts scene and exciting nightlife. These attractions make people want to live here, but they also contribute to the challenge of affording life in Oxford.

The issue of Oxford becoming too expensive for its workforce isn’t new. In recent years, the rise of Airbnb rentals and investors buying up condos and houses for vacation purposes have exacerbated the city’s housing problems. These challenges come down to the age-old issue of supply and demand.

In 2021, the city of Oxford established the Oxford Affordable Housing Commission to create city ordinances aimed at addressing the rising costs. Most of these efforts have focused on offering incentives to developers who build lower-cost homes.

While there is some debate about the effectiveness of these incentives, one significant project emerging from the commission aims to help people in need of affordable housing.

Around 2019, Duncan Gray, while running for a seat on the Board of Supervisors, began advocating for the creation of a housing trust fund. Although he did not win the election, he continued discussions with community members. When the Housing Commission was formed, Gray was invited to join as an ex-officio member to research what a housing trust fund could look like in Oxford.

Gray, the director of Community and Workforce Development for the Oxford School District, collaborated with the CREATE Foundation in Tupelo to establish the Oxford-Lafayette Housing Trust Fund, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit endowment.

“This is an endowment where we will use the interest from the fund to ensure its long-term sustainability,” Gray explained.

The fund will focus on three main areas: owner-occupied home repairs, housing emergency relief, and down payment assistance.

However, neither the Commission nor the Board of Directors will directly manage these programs. According to Gray, the trust fund’s money will go to existing programs that are already serving people, with the aim of expanding their capacity.

“We want to support the programs that are already doing the work,” Gray said.

For example, organizations like Doors for Hope, Interfaith Compassion Ministries, the Fuller Center for Housing, and LOU-Homes could apply for grants from the trust fund once it has accumulated enough interest.

The city of Oxford has committed $15,000 to the fund, with $5,000 allocated for marketing when the trust fund is ready.

“We’ll need a logo, website, social media presence, and other materials to promote this to the public,” Gray said.

Gray said it will likely be a couple of years before the fund has enough interest to start providing grants to local organizations.

‘This won’t be immediate,” he said. “But eventually, we will see the fruits of our labor, so to speak, and then we can start providing help to these organizations. And maybe we will see some new nonprofits form by then as well that will fall under our three main focus areas.”

Donations are currently being accepted on the CREATE Foundation’s website. To donate, search for “Oxford-Lafayette County HTF.”

For more information, contact Gray at dgrayiv@gmail.com.