name: Community Habitat Finance International
text: CHF International was originally established as the <I>Foundation for Cooperative Housing</I> (FCH) in 1952, a non-profit corporation seeking to help low- and moderate- income families in rural America and low-income urban neighbourhoods achieve improved economic standing and quality of life through the construction of affordable housing.  Following their inception, we sponsored over 60,000 units of cooperative housing in 35 states across the US.
  
  Their strong record of accomplishment within the US caught the attention of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), a government funding agency that invited them to apply our experience on an international level. Their first overseas programs were focused on housing microfinance in Central America.  Their name at this time was the Cooperative Housing Foundation (CHF).
  
  Since the 1960â€™s, CHF has focused increasingly on international issues. With experience, it quickly became clear that addressing one linear area of development alone was not producing outcomes that were sustainable for the long-term.  A program that demands community investment in housing but turns a blind eye to the need for income generation to maintain those structures is doomed to fail.  As a result, their programming expanded: in addition to housing microfinance they now address concerns in the areas of disaster relief, environmental management, infrastructure rehabilitation, economic development, civil society development, and post-conflict response. In 1998, they began to market ourselves as CHF International (our legal name remains Cooperative Housing Foundation) to reflect their overseas focus.
  
  Today, CHF stands for Community, Habitat and Finance.  They work in an average of 30 countries each year, promoting democratic principles to effectively build, strengthen and promote change within local institutions and communities and shape policy decisions that recognize and support vulnerable populations.
  
  http://www.chfinternational.org/