In the 1960s, community activist Dorothy Mae Richardson led a resident campaign for better housing in her Pittsburgh, PA neighborhood. Dorothy saw “…the solution was not to tear down the whole neighborhood … the solution was to x the houses.” ese were the early days of what eventually became the first NeighborWorks organization, now a nationwide network of 235 independent, community-based nonprofits serving more than 4,500 communities throughout the country.

And here we are in 2020 when investing in our communities by providing access to quality, affordable housing services, revitalizing neighborhoods, and supporting opportunities for personal empowerment is more important than ever!

Decades of unfair housing policies driven by racism, including redlining, bias in lending, deed restrictions, and sales discrimination, have resulted in less wealth, fewer home ownership opportunities, limited availability of affordable housing, greater homelessness, higher unemployment, lower quality of life, and poorer health for people of color.

Yet we believe that everyone deserves access to safe, decent, affordable housing in quality neighborhoods and communities of opportunity. This is why we work to create access to housing choices that help level the playing field. We help thousands of people break the cycle of poverty and improve their financial stability through either home ownership or having access to quality and affordable rental housing. We lead the reinvestment and reinvigoration efforts in our most disenfranchised neighborhoods. We work with individuals and families so they may build financial assets, achieve greater economic security, overcome poverty, and become involved as leaders to preserve the quality of their neighborhood.

The communities we serve are disproportionately affected by some of the most pressing crises we are facing. As the demographics of these neighborhoods change, we recognize that we too must evolve in order to meet these growing needs and achieve our mission. Several months ago, we recommitted and reenergized our organization’s focus on race, equity, diversity, and inclusion as a community partner, as a Board, and as an employer. We look forward to engaging our stakeholders to set new goals and take on a more purposeful and targeted approach to bring a more balanced representation to our governance, strengthen our partnership with the communities we serve, and improve our understanding of how we can best support our clients’ needs.

We’re up to the challenge to make a significant impact.

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