09/23/2025
11 am PT / 12 pm MT / 1 pm CT / 2 pm ET
*approximate length: 45 minutes to 1 hour
Sponsored by: HAI Group
Presenters: Donald Bernards, CPA - Principal at Baker Tilly
Kaylin Nuss, Manager at Baker Tilly
As communities face growing pressure to address housing affordability, innovative financing tools are essential to unlocking new development and preserving existing housing stock.
Join us for Leveraging Bond Financing to Expand Affordable Housing: Strategies and Insights, a dynamic webinar exploring how bond financing can support impactful housing initiatives.
This session offers a deep dive into key financing instruments, including:
- Essential function bonds (EFBs): Issued by housing authorities or joint powers authorities, these bonds allow 100% debt financing for projects that serve a public purpose, often without requiring equity contributions.
- 501(c)(3) bonds: Tax-exempt bonds issued on behalf of nonprofit organizations with a housing-related mission. These bonds can finance the acquisition, construction, or rehabilitation of facilities wholly owned by the nonprofit, provided the project supports the organization’s charitable purpose.
- Private activity bonds (PABs): Tax-exempt bonds issued by state or local governments to support qualified private activities, including affordable rental housing. When at least 25% of a project’s costs are financed with PABs, developers may qualify for 4% Low-Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTCs), providing critical equity for construction and rehabilitation.
Attendees will explore real-world case studies showing how bond financing structures have been used to develop both affordable and workforce housing. Industry experts will share insights into compliance requirements, volume cap constraints, and strategies for structuring deals that maximize the use of both debt and equity. The session will also clarify how 501(c)(3) bonds differ from other private activity bonds in terms of eligibility, ownership, and long-term flexibility.
By the end of this webinar, participants will be able to:
- Identify and compare key bond financing tools used to support affordable housing, including essential function, private activity, and 501(c)(3) bonds.
- Understand the legal, financial, and operational requirements for structuring housing projects using tax-exempt bonds and accessing LIHTCs.
- Apply successful funding models and strategies to affordable housing initiatives in their own communities or organizations.
Donald Bernards, CPA is a Principal at Baker Tilly with over two decades of experience in affordable housing. He leads Baker Tilly’s affordable housing transaction practice, where we work with public housing authorities, non-profit and for-profit developers on executing their affordable housing development strategy. Don works coast to coast and currently working on projects from California to Virginia. He has worked on over $4 billion of housing transactions during his career.
Don co-host’s a monthly housing podcast entitled “Buzzhouse”, serves on various housing advisory boards, and is a frequent speaker at national and local housing events.
Kaylin Nuss is a Manager at Baker Tilly, where she brings specialized expertise in affordable housing development, public housing repositioning, organizational optimization, and asset management. She advises housing authorities, nonprofit organizations, and for-profit developers across a range of roles, with a focus on affordable housing finance. With over a decade of experience as Chief Operations Officer at a large housing authority, Kaylin is known for her ability to guide housing providers through the full development lifecycle—crafting innovative solutions from financing and construction through to sustainable long-term operations.
In addition to her advisory role, Kaylin is an active voice within the affordable housing community, frequently presenting at national forums and developing educational content aimed at advancing preservation and expansion strategies for housing providers nationwide.