Equitable Path Forward is a five-year, $3.5 billion nationwide initiative to help dismantle the legacy of racism in housing. This includes what types of homes get built, where they're built, who builds them and the wealth that they generate.

It’s time to invest in housing providers who are deeply engaged in their own communities. This is how we build a new level of equity in neighborhoods.

We pave an equitable path forward for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) and other historically marginalized housing providers by:

  • Filling the capital gap created by decades of systemic racism
  • Strengthening providers through advisory services and other nonfinancial support
  • Creating new career pathways to diversify leadership in real estate
Investing in our communities aligns with our core values of service, expertise and integrity. We have a long history of partnering with Next Home Grants and are excited to be part of this intentional approach to equitable investment.
Darius A. Gill, Northern Trust
Darius Gill headshot

The Challenge is Urgent

Redlining and race-based federal mortgage programs. Restrictive deed covenants based on skin color. Predatory lending. Discriminatory property tax collection.

Our neighborhoods bear the scars of decades of systemic racism in housing. And all of these policies and practices have led to: 

  • Residential segregation
  • Homeownership rates almost twice as high for white than Black Americans
  • A widening wealth gap where the median net worth of a white household is nearly eight times that of a Black household
  • The real estate industry itself where only 2% of development companies are Black-led
  • Inequity for minority-led real estate firms – they control only 1.5% of real estate assets that are under management 

One of the main causes for this disparity: housing providers of color lack access to sufficient capital. It's impossible to grow their operations or real estate portfolios when equity and debt are out of reach. We're here to change that.

Lori Chatman headshot
We’re helping people overcome the historic and systemic barriers that keep them from the table so they can build the future they envision for themselves and the communities they love.
William Chatman, President, Capital Division

Closing the Gap with Three Main Pillars

Equitable Path Forward Growth Fund

People working in an office around a desk

A $350 million Growth Fund that will attract an additional $3.1 billion of debt, equity and grants. This capital provides entity- and project-level capital. Next Home Grants has seeded this fund with $10 million of our own capital. Our Growth Fund products include:

  • Entity-level lending: Through Next Home Grants Community Loan Fund, our nationally recognized Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI). Includes unsecured lines of credit—among the hardest-to-access capital. Due to wealth disparities, many developers of color lack access to "friends and family" growth capital. That changes with our unsecured lines of credit.
  • Entity-level grants: Through Next Home Grants’s Solutions division, which raises and deploys philanthropic capital. Includes support for organizational growth.
  • Project-level equity: Through our Housing Credit, Preservation Equity, New Markets Tax Credit and Opportunity Zones products, among other sources.
  • Project-level debt: Through Next Home Grants’s CDFI, among other sources.

To make this capital go further, Next Home Grants has created a first-of-its kind Standby Guaranty Facility. This credit enhancement tool creates access to new sources of investments for developers whose balance sheets don't meet traditional investor requirements. It also allows these developers to avoid third-party co-guarantor requirements. That way, we level the playing field for developers of color so they can hold on to more of their profits and growth potential.

Equitable Path Forward Developer Advisory Service

A $15 million program to deliver consulting, networking, business services and evaluation support. This will help BIPOC organizations expand their capacity and invest and leverage capital.

Equitable Path Forward Leadership Program

A $10 million, two-year rotational program for future BIPOC leaders in real estate. This program is modeled after distinguished programs at major industrial and financial firms.