Washington Housing Conservancy Receives $1.5 Million from New Profit To Grow and Scale Its Innovative Approach To Advance Housing As a Pathway to Opportunity and Prosperity
Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC) has been selected to receive a 2024 New Profit Build Investment, consisting of an unrestricted grant and strategic support to increase its impact and sustainability. WHC will receive $1.5 million as well as advisory support over four years to advance its innovative model that disrupts inequitable housing practices and empowers and connects residents in its mixed-income apartment communities with the resources they need to stay, work, and live in the Greater Washington, DC region. The New Profit support is designed to enhance WHC’s impact, broaden its scale, and drive systems-level change.
“We are excited to deepen our relationship with New Profit to enable us to scale our approach to use housing as a platform to spur economic mobility and create thriving communities where people connect across lines of difference,” said Kimberly Driggins, Executive Director of the Washington Housing Conservancy. “The New Profit investment comes at a significant time as we enter into a next phase of strategic planning for our growth which includes navigating a shifting real estate market, expanding our internal operations and capacity and sharing our learnings and best practices to influence the housing development field.”
WHC is dedicated to tackling the systemic inequities in the affordable housing crisis through reimagining the role and influence of housing developers to promote, advance, and sustain the economic mobility of moderate to low-income DC residents of color. WHC competes with for-profit developers to acquire residential properties in the greater Washington, DC area and leverages an equity-centered, social impact approach to inclusive property management to preserve housing affordability, promote economic mobility, and reduce poverty for long-term DMV residents of color.
WHC focuses on mixed-income housing, with an emphasis on the “missing middle”, individuals and families whose income makes them ineligible for public subsidy, but also makes it increasingly hard to cover the rent in an increasingly expensive marketplace. WHC leverages private sector capital and real estate expertise to acquire geographically strategic, naturally occurring affordable housing (NOAH) residential properties to preserve affordable housing opportunities for moderate- to low-income residents of color. WHC has more than 1,600 rental units in its portfolio serving 2,700 residents across the District of Columbia, Maryland and Virginia (DMV).
WHC communities are places where people with different profiles, storylines, incomes and experiences want to live—and can connect outside of their sphere. WHC’s diverse mixed-income communities include individuals and families in a targeted income range of between $40,000 and $120,000. Through its intentional placemaking and community building strategies, WHC fosters engagement that leads to more inclusive communities and opportunities that enrich the community’s quality of life.
“We are thrilled to invest in Washington Housing Conservancy as they continue to grow and advance economic mobility for more residents. The ways WHC centers and prioritizes the needs and lived experiences of their residents is redefining how property managers measure success, proving that it is possible to foster social cohesion and advance economic mobility for residents who are at the greatest risk of being left out of these opportunities,” said Trevor Brown, New Profit Senior Partner.
“WHC is positioned for continued growth over the next 3-5 years to advance our vision and increase our impact on the communities we serve. The New Profit financial and advisory investment will help us as we develop our strategies to increase the supply of affordable rental units to residents earning 80% or less of Area Median Income with a goal of almost doubling to 3,000 units, deepening our wealth-building efforts to promote residents’ economic mobility, educational advancement, self-sufficiency, and self-determination, and reach greater financial sustainability to ensure our future,” Driggins said.
Preserving housing affordability and promoting economic mobility in the DC-region
The Washington Housing Conservancy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your investment helps us expand our work. Your gift is 100% tax-deductible. EIN 83-1866109
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