Mission, Vision, and Values
Our Mission
Kulshan Community Land Trust expands access to permanently affordable homeownership in Whatcom County, creating opportunities for stability, equity, and belonging for generations
Our Vision
Our vision is a diverse and resilient Whatcom County where everyone has the opportunity to live in a home they can afford—strengthening families, neighbor hoods, and communities.
The Values That Guide Our Work
Affordability: We believe everyone deserves the opportunity to live in a home they can afford. KulshanCLT exists to create and preserve permanently affordable homeownership opportunities. We make decisions with current and future homeowners in mind, ensuring affordability remains at the heart of our work and stays within reach for generations to come.
Equity: We believe homeownership should be accessible to people of all backgrounds, especially those who face barriers to opportunity and ownership. KulshanCLT works to identify and remove barriers to homeownership so that more members of our community have a fair opportunity to benefit from the stability, security, and wealth-building potential of owning a home.
Stewardship: We care for homes, land, resources, and relationships with a long-term perspective. KulshanCLT accepts responsibility for preserving affordability and protecting community assets over time. We make thoughtful decisions that balance today’s needs with the well-being of future homeowners and communities.
Community: We believe strong communities are built through connection, belonging, and shared responsibility. KulshanCLT works in partnership with homeowners, neighbors, organizations, and public agencies to create places where people can put down roots, participate, and thrive.
Integrity: We act with honesty, transparency, and accountability. KulshanCLT builds trust by honoring our commitments, communicating openly, treating people with respect, and taking responsibility for our actions and decisions.
Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Kulshan Community Land Trust is committed to growing a community everyone can afford.
We acknowledge that the land we now steward is the traditional and unceded territory of the Lummi, Nooksack, Samish, and Semiahmoo People, who have cared for and tended this land since time immemorial. Our role as stewards is informed by the history of this land.
We recognize the barriers to homeownership faced by historically marginalized communities and the ways discrimination has contributed to generational poverty and injustice in the housing market.
We honor the roots of the community land trust model in the Civil Rights Movement. With this in mind, we remain committed to social justice.
We aim to expand our definition of community until it includes all people.
We prioritize equity and justice in our staff, our board membership, and our policies and procedures.
We position ourselves as learners, aware of our shortcomings and seeking improvement.
Our Purpose
The purpose of KulshanCLT is to expand access to healthy, permanently affordable homeownership opportunities for low- and moderate-income households in Whatcom County and surrounding areas and advance housing equity and community stability by:
Preserving affordability and stewarding homes for future generations, ensuring long-term community benefit and resident security;
Supporting resident ownership and community control over land and housing to prevent displacement and build social and capital equity;
Promoting stability, racial equity, and mixed-income, inclusive neighborhoods that foster regional economic strength;
Facilitating education, advocacy, and support for homebuyers and homeowners, particularly those excluded by traditional markets; New KulshanCLT homeowners at the ribbon-cutting for LaFreniere Court.
Using land and housing development as tools to strengthen community resilience and improve public health through the creation and perpetuation of more equitable, place based and community-led climate adaptation strategies;
Supporting both urban infill and appropriate rural development as strategies to meet regional housing needs;
Engaging in other charitable, educational, or scientific activities consistent with these goals and compliant with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.
“A huge weight was lifted. I thought, no one can make us move again. We don’t have to worry about losing our dogs. Our kids can grow up in this house and stay at the school they love, stay friends with our neighbors.”
— KulshanCLT Homeowner