The rural, 4-county region served by the Telluride Foundation is facing a housing crisis. There is not enough affordable housing to accommodate our workforce. The median home price in the town of Telluride is
37x the median household income and the median home price in San Miguel County is 16x the average San Miguel County household income.

Telluride Foundation addresses our regional housing challenges through 3 primary focus areas: the construction of new affordable housing through Rural Homes, offering financial assistance to our workforce through a variety of Down Payment Assistance Programs, and finally leading convenings to nurture and support collaborative solutions to our regional housing challenges.

Launched in 2019 by the Telluride Foundation, Rural Homes, builds affordable workforce housing by utilizing a model that integrates donated land, off-site home construction and low-cost construction financing. Rural Homes works closely with regional communities and has assembled a coalition of statewide public, private and philanthropic partners to support their efforts. All the homes built by Rural Homes are deed restricted which protects their affordability in perpetuity and specifically serves families whose income falls within 60-120% of the region’s Area Medi Income. By adding new building stock to a housing market that is saturated with older homes, and homes inflated by vacation markets, we are addressing – head on – key determinants of public health and long-term economic sustainability in the region. After constructing 59 new homes in 3 regional communities (Norwood, Ridgway & Ouray), Rural Homes has set their sites on some larger developments in Colorado outside of the Telluride Foundation’s Service area and in January of 2025, spun off of the Telluride Foundation forming an independent 501(c)3.

Please contact Elaine Demas at elaine@telluridefoundation.org for more information on any of the Foundation’s Housing programs.

Building Homes, Creating Opportunity

Rural Homes, while an initiative of the Telluride Foundation, addressed our regional housing crisis head-on. Since launching, Rural Homes has constructed a total of 59 affordable homes across the Telluride Foundation’s service area:

• 24 homes in Norwood

• 14 homes in Ridgway

• 21 homes in Ouray, including 2 homes thoughtfully finished as licensed in-home day care centers to support working families.

Direct Support Through the Housing Opportunity Fund

Since its founding in 2019, the Housing Opportunity Fund has provided $437,000 in direct housing support to over 100 families across the region—helping them secure both affordable homeownership and stable rental housing.

In April 2025, the Foundation launched an expanded Down Payment Assistance Program, offering up to $100,000 in financial aid to qualifying members of our regional workforce. So far, three families have secured homeownership through this program. We anticipate awarding a total of 12 loans in its first year, creating a pathway to stability for even more local families.

Leading Regional Housing Conversations

In addition to our direct housing efforts, we continue to host and participate in Housing Forums and community meetings—bringing together public and private partners to explore innovative, collaborative solutions to our region’s ongoing housing challenges.