The Houff Foundation was formed in the Fall of 2013 to begin offering the Negative Hours Grant, which awards 25 hours of free artists' assistance labor to VCU art students. By offering this grant, we support ambitious ideas outside of a student's immediate means. The grant also explores alternative ways of thinking about what constitutes as an asset or currency within the framework of existing capitalist economy. As the Houff Foundation grows, we continue to explore different strategies for approaching the topics of labor and exchange, both artistic and otherwise.