Supported by the Amazon Housing Equity Fund, The Housing Equity Accelerator Fellowship provides training, capacity building, one-on-one mentorship, and access to grant capital to real estate developers of color developing housing across the Metropolitan region.
Donor Name: Capital Impact Partners
States: District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Fellowship
Deadline (mm/dd/yyyy): 01/17/2022
Details:
In an effort to support developers to overcome these barriers to success, they are partnering with Amazon to launch a fellowship in the Washington Metropolitan area to support the organizations’ shared goals of facilitating new opportunities for real estate developers of color while also increasing affordable and workforce housing across the region.
Currently, people of color are estimated to make up less than 5% of the developers in the country. This is a result of multiple challenges and obstacles according to developers and stakeholders interviewed during the development of this initiative. Factors contributing to this disparity are grouped into four broad categories:
- Lack of connections
- Lack of capital
- Lack of capacity
- Market and ecosystem factors
With a focus on individuals who are dedicated to real estate development as a career path, as well as an interest in affordable housing, the fellowship includes:
- Advanced real estate training with a focus on affordable housing
- Connections to local mentors
- The opportunity to apply for grant capital to support early-stage project development
The Housing Equity Accelerator Fellowship builds on Capital Impact’s successful Equitable Development Initiative training program for emerging real estate developers of color in Detroit and the Washington Metro area.
Fellowship Eligibility
The Housing Equity Accelerator Fellowship is not an introductory program. Candidates are expected to have real estate development experience and are selected based on the following eligibility criteria guidelines:
- Identify as Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC)
- Full-time developer [i.e., principal or co-principal of a real estate development firm]
- At least 1 affordable housing development projects completed or underway
- Affordable residential development activities focused on the metropolitan District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia region
- In need of additional balance sheet capacity, access to networks and specialized training topics to grow and scale their businesses
- DMV EDI graduates are encouraged to apply
For more information, visit Housing Equity Accelerator.
