Applications Now Open – Apply by March 24th!
2024 Amazon Housing Equity Accelerator Fellowship Cohort
If you are a community-rooted real estate developer in the greater Washington metropolitan area creating affordable housing, apply to join the 2024 Housing Equity Accelerator Fellowship!
Benefit from advanced real estate training with a focus on affordable housing, connections to local mentors, and the opportunity to apply for grant capital to support project development.
*Eligibility criteria can be found in the application form.
Learn More About the HEAF Application
If you missed our informational webinar or want to learn more about the program offerings, we invite you to watch the webinar.
Supporting Community-rooted Developers to Increase Affordable Housing
The ability for community-rooted developers to help shape and increase access to affordable housing in rapidly developing cities remains hampered by the fact these individuals remain underrepresented in the real estate development industry.
Currently, developers working in disinvested communities 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
Housing Equity Accelerator Fellowship Overview
In an effort to support developers to overcome these barriers to success, we are partnering with Amazon to launch a fellowship in the Washington Metropolitan area to support our organizations’ shared goals of facilitating new opportunities for real estate developers while also increasing affordable and workforce housing across the region.
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 project development
The Housing Equity Accelerator Fellowship builds on Capital Impact’s successful Equitable Development Initiative training program for emerging real estate developers across the country.
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:- Demonstrated barriers to accessing capital, including limitations to balance sheet capacity, and the resources required to advance affordable housing projects that benefit their communities
- Full-time developer as Principal or Co-principal of a real estate development firm
- At least 1 affordable housing development project completed or underway
- Affordable residential development activities focused on the metropolitan District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia region
- Able to illustrate how barriers to accessing critical industry networks have restricted or limited accelerated personal and professional growth
- Demonstrated need for specialized real estate, financial, technical, and enterprise management training to scale their businesses
Questions?
If you have any questions about the program or application process please contact heaf@capitalimpact.org.
Housing Equity Accelerator Fellowship
Impact to Date
Through the monthly learning series, network connections, and technical assistance, the fellowship has facilitated the growth of several real estate development enterprises. Moreover, the ability to access project grants has led to an increase in the production and availability of affordable homes for families and working professionals across the greater Washington, D.C. Metropolitan region.
The impact of HEAF as of January 1, 2024 includes:
- $4 million in grants provided directly to developers to offset the cost of predevelopment projects in the DMV
- $7 million in loans closed with Capital Impact Partners between 2022 – 2023
Our Partner
Launched in 2021, this fellowship is part of the $2 billion Amazon Housing Equity Fund, a commitment to create and preserve 20,000 affordable homes
Advantages of Working with Capital Impact Partners
- With our headquarters in Arlington, VA, we have invested more than $3 billion nationally to increase access to quality multifamily affordable and workforce housing, health care facilities, healthy food businesses, and education programs
- We are familiar with local market conditions across the Washington Metropolitan region and have worked with developers in D.C., MD, & VA
- Through our Equitable Development Initiative, we have deepened our commitment to fostering an environment where developers can advance
- Our on-the-ground team and local partnerships allow us to leverage our networks and resources for broader impact.
As a mission-driven organization, we are committed to supporting projects that create social and economic justice.
Interested in Participating in HEAF?
Fill out our inquiry form to receive updates on our upcoming HEAF cohorts.
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Meet Our Housing Equity Accelerator Fellows
Housing Equity Accelerator Fellows represent a group of individuals with a range of backgrounds and experience. We invite you to learn more about them by downloading the fact sheets below.
Stories of Impact
CEO Ellis Carr On Breaking Barriers to Success
In this video, Ellis Carr talks about Capital Impact’s efforts to utilize mission-driven financing, social innovation programs, capacity building, and impact investing, to advance issues of social and economic justice.
Supporting Community-Rooted Developers & Affordable Housing in D.C.
HEAF accelerates opportunities for community-rooted real estate developers to gain knowledge, scale their businesses, and build their networks while also increasing affordable and workforce housing across the region.
A New Vision for D.C. Neighborhoods
When two Equitable Development Initiative graduates had a vision for revitalizing a Washington, D.C. neighborhood and create affordable housing, they turned to Capital Impact to help jumpstart their project.
