The Lee County and Des Moines County Boards of Supervisors have each pledged $10,000 to the Great River Housing Trust Fund.
The organization helps low-to-moderate income families in four southeast Iowa counties with down payments or much-needed repairs.
Lee County Board Chairman Rick Larkin says the benefits are apparent.
"It helps improve the building stock that we have in our communities," says Larkin, "and that (money) has always been one of the problems owners had."
Dan Eberhardt with the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission says the trust fund is applying for about $360,000 from the Iowa Finance Authority.
He says these two pledges will go towards the $90,000 needed as a local match.
The Great River Housing Trust Fund plans to approach other local governments in the coming weeks to secure the local match.
Eberhardt says, in Lee County, 26 properties received funding through the fund in the last year.