Twenty-five years ago, the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development (i.e., the Coalition) was born from a simple realization that local advocacy organizations were weakening their impact by not working collaboratively.
Two groups of local advocacy organizations focused on affordable housing and economic development respectively were constantly competing with each other for the same limited funding opportunities. Once the two factions decided to join forces, the core question that their work together centered on was simple: “What could we do with a larger piece of the pie together?” That answer would define the Coalition’s work for years to come.
Between 2010 and 2016, the Coalition ran Housing for All, a campaign that demonstrated what organized, strategic advocacy across a variety of aligned stakeholders could accomplish. The campaign was built around three concrete goals: secure $100 million annually for DC’s Housing Production Trust Fund, build a diverse advocacy base and convince district leaders that affordable housing deserved prioritized funding.
“One thing that made the Housing for All campaign so successful was its diversity of voices,” said Halley Holmes, the Coalition’s senior director of communications. “The Coalition brought practitioners, landlords, tenant advocates, community leaders and residents together to fight for the same cause.”
The initial community gatherings in the early days of the Housing for All campaign grew from small church basement gatherings to events drawing over 1,000 people. The initiative brought DC residents directly into city council chambers, pairing community knowledge with policy expertise.
That intentional, community-centered approach paid off. In 2016, DC Mayor Muriel Bowser committed to the $100 million baseline, a pledge she has maintained for nearly a decade. Some years, the funding has exceeded $200 million.
The Coalition has expanded its work in recent years. Today, the mission of the Coalition has undertaken more partnership work via direct service delivery programs like the DC Community Anchor Partnership and the Landlord Partnerships Fund in addition to their traditional policy and advocacy work.
“For the Coalition’s first 16 years of operation, we were highly focused on public policy, advocacy, research and training/capacity building for our membership,” said Holmes. “Post-2017, this trend continued as we began to launch more high-impact initiatives that touched the end-beneficiary directly.”
The Coalition’s highly collaborative advocacy model shows what can be accomplished when everyone centers the socioeconomic health and vitality of communities first and foremost. Additionally, the Coalition’s success showcases the importance of organizations being willing to evolve to serve the ever-changing needs of community members while maintaining their core mission.
Aba Hammond is a Contributing Writer with NCRC’s Communications team.
Photo courtesy of the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development.
