Washington Housing Conservancy

My name is Kimberly Driggins and I am the first Executive Director of the Washington Housing Conservancy (WHC), a nonprofit organization launched in 2018. WHC preserves affordable housing, prevents displacement, and promotes economic mobility, especially for low- and moderate-income African Americans and other people of color.

The momentum gained since our inception has made it clear that we are uniquely positioned to change the system -- by fundamentally shifting the property manager-resident relationship from transactional to transformational we are activating the real estate sector as a catalytic agent of change in addressing racial inequity and increasing economic and social mobility for thousands of people.

And to change the system I will need to shift practices, policies and mindsets that for so long have benefited some, at the expense of others.  I am applying for the Elevate Prize to access the resources, networks, platforms and communications and marketing help needed to amplify our work and help us scale. I would devote 100% of the Prize funding to support the Washington Housing Conservancy.

As a Black woman raised in the predominantly white suburb of North Brunswick, New Jersey, my life was shaped by a series of experiences that pushed me outside of my comfort zone, and fostered in me the drive to connect with people who have different lived experiences. As a child, my parents took me to cities like Baltimore, New York and Washington D.C., where I saw homelessness and became acutely aware of the disparities between the wealthy and the poor. I started developing a deep-rooted curiosity about the power of place in creating or blocking access to opportunity, and thinking outside of the box about its role in building relationships among people from different walks of life. 

This sense of purpose is what attracted me to WHC in its nascent stage, building it from the ground up and taking it from a written concept to reality.  My goal is this: to activate the real estate and private sectors as drivers of equality and economic opportunity for moderate and low-income residents. WHC is blazing a new path for social impact -- one that can inform efforts in other cities facing housing and affordability pressures.

Housing plays a critical role in building a more equitable and inclusive region. Today, however, the housing system perpetuates inequality, racial and ethnic division, and economic stagnation. In Washington D.C. alone

• 40% of lower-income neighborhoods were gentrified between 2000 and 2013
• 20,000 African Americans were displaced during the same time frame
• 220,000 households with incomes below $75,000 are living in census tracts in the region that are vulnerable to displacement
• 48% of households are spending more than 30% of earnings on housing, leaving less disposable income for necessities such as childcare and food, and limiting the ability to build wealth

WHC is reimagining the system and igniting change. We mobilize resources in nontraditional ways and activate real estate ingenuity around a common vision for diverse, mixed-income communities where moderate- and low-income individuals and families can find opportunity and prosper. We are:

• Preserving 3,000 units of housing for residents making 80% or less of Area Median Income (AMI)
• Promoting economic and social mobility for residents
• Disrupting real estate market forces that are creating barriers to affordability, opportunity, and equity
• Creating a playbook to support other communities in remaking the system

WHC disrupts housing market forces to prevent displacement and promote opportunity for low- and middle-income Washington-area residents. We fuse a social impact mission with private-sector real estate capital and expertise to preserve housing that is affordable and generate the kind of stability that lets residents prosper. By acquiring and preserving mixed-income properties for essential low- and middle-income workers, we challenge the cycles of displacement that entrench barriers to diversity and inclusivity and help residents focus on their future, instead of the uncertainty of escalating rents.

We have several key differentiators that make our work unique. We:  

• Lead with a social impact lens
• Are focused on preservation instead of costly new development
• Are focused on preserving affordability in high-opportunity neighborhoods
• Call out and challenge racism
• Have a unique financing mechanism that attracts new capital that can be deployed with speed to preserve housing -- allowing us to compete with for-profit developers
• Have a seat at the table in regional policy deliberations
• Are resident-led and aspire to use technology  to cultivate relationships between residents and with management to nurture community across income levels and to advance resident leadership
• Provide long-term affordability without a “cliff” 

We aspire to have a positive impact on individuals and communities, in the Washington D.C. region and beyond.

First and foremost, we are preventing displacement and preserving affordability in high-opportunity neighborhoods (areas with high-performing schools, convenient transit, quality open space, and access to fresh and healthy foods and healthcare). We are doing this by utilizing private capital from the Impact Pool to acquire buildings in areas that might be affordable today but where cost of living is increasing and displacement pressures are high.

We are also implementing a set of robust social impact strategies, designed to create connected, mixed-income communities in which individuals have stable housing AND the opportunity to create a better life for themselves and their families. These include: human capacity and wealth building, community building, placemaking, and inclusive property management. 

We see our work in the D.C.-region as a critical proof point. Cities like Boston and Philadelphia have expressed early interest in WHC’s model. In the long-term, I want to create a dynamic learning lab and space where communities can learn what works from each other, serve as thought partners and share a playbook for success derived from the WHC model. 

We currently serve 1,277 residents directly and as of July this year we will serve an additional 445. Within the year, it's reasonable to assume that we will expand our reach to at least an additional 500 residents.  

WHC’s work is guided by two inextricably linked aspirations: housing stability and economic mobility. Together, these form our north star. 

1. Housing Stability: We preserve affordable housing to retain or attract moderate and low-income BIPOC to high-opportunity neighborhoods -- neighborhoods they have historically been pushed out of as gentrification swept through the region. By keeping rents low we aspire to relieve financial stress, enable residents to grow disposable income/savings, and free their energy to focus on self-advancement.

2. Economic Mobility: We promote upward economic mobility for our residents, through investments in a resident’s education and personal growth, providing access to services and supports (i.e. daycare, financial literacy classes, etc.), and by building social capital and connections.

To achieve these we have four core strategies including inclusive property management, placemaking, community building, and human capacity and wealth building; and we track our progress across a range of metrics measuring individual, property-level and community-level change.

The D.C. region is a proof point. WHC expects to create a dynamic learning lab where cities facing inequality and displacement pressures can learn what works from each other, serve as thought partners and share a playbook for success derived from WHC’s experience.

WHC faces two major barriers. The first is the housing market itself.  Like in other parts of the country the D.C. region’s housing market is hot and driving up prices of buildings. For-profit developers can afford to overpay for these properties because they will increase rents; whereas WHC acquires properties at market value and preserves and provides affordability where it doesn’t exist. Though our innovative financing mechanism makes us competitive, sometimes it is not sufficient. To address this barrier we are partnering with other organizations to acquire buildings; and have increased our fundraising goal to give us the resources we need to seize opportunities as they arise. The second barrier is the lack of policy to support the acquisition of naturally occurring affordable housing.  We have a politically connected Board and are establishing a Stakeholder Council that will pursue a policy agenda to make the preservation of affordable housing easier.

WHC's mission is not easy: we are disrupting the market forces that make preserving affordability hard. And by fundamentally shifting the property manager-resident relationship from transactional to transformational we are activating the real estate sector as a catalytic agent of change in addressing racial inequity and increasing economic and social mobility for thousands of people. We want to serve as a spark and engine for cities across the nation that are grappling with inequality and affordability. To do this, we need help! I envision leveraging the Elevate Prize platform in the below ways:

•  Creating "Buzz": Using social media to build a "buzz" and generate interest in the model among the real estate community and private sector; while also marketing our communities to residents and building connections among residents. I believe that buzz would also help attract national funding.
• Resident stories: Storytelling is an important part of our mission. We want to capture resident stories to document the impact of our work, build community and build a shared understanding among our residents.
• Network: Until last year, I was the only full-time staff person on the team. I would welcome the opportunity to connect with other social entrepreneurs on a similar journey.

I am deeply committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion. My personal philosophy is always to be expanding and thinking about ways in which we can improve and advance these values in all I do as a leader and we do as an organization. Below are some of our activities/priorities to this end:

• Staffing: I am connected to and draw on networks that are BIPOC centered as sources for recruiting staff and consultants. These include the African American Real Estate Professionals, and HBCUs like Howard University and my own alma mater Hampton University. 

• Board Leadership: Only 30% of WHC’s founding Board of Directors are African Americans. This year, we are actively recruiting people of color to join our leadership team increasing representation to at least 50%.

• Contracting and Procurement: We are always reaching out to minority-led firms and including them in distribution lists.

• Anti-Racist Framework: We select property management and nonprofit  partners who have a demonstrated commitment to advancing an inclusive operating culture with an anti-racist approach; providing anti-racist training to our leadership and staff; and achieving specific metrics on reducing implicit and racial bias. 

WHC leverages the expertise of real estate, housing and community development professionals to deliver on our mission. I bring to WHC more than 20 years of experience in creative placemaking, and urban planning and development. WHC’s Board of Directors is comprised of the region’s top real estate and community development experts; and our partner, the National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities is a national leader in reducing urban poverty. Our project team brings to the work a well-rounded understanding and first-hand experience working with residents, policymakers, and the private and nonprofit sectors to preserve affordability and increase social and economic mobility for moderate and low-income families. 

The residents we serve are central to our operations and success. WHC is fully committed to centering residents in our work and developing and empowering them as advocates in two primary ways: 

• At each building, WHC partners with residents to map neighborhood assets, identify resident needs, and partner with best-in-class nonprofits and service providers to meet those needs. 

• We also provide opportunities for residents to be involved in WHC governance and decision-making through participation at our properties through our Action Learning Team(s), on our Stakeholder Council, and eventually the WHC Board of Directors.

I joined WHC in October 2019, with a herculean task of turning the organization from an ambitious idea to a reality. Five months later, the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the nation creating unprecedented conditions and challenging all of us as leaders. On the funding side, resources were quickly diverted to serve those that were most impacted by the pandemic and its aftermath, affecting our ability to raise the funds we needed to operationalize our vision. The real estate market also became volatile and impacted our ability to buy mixed-income properties. Though our mission became more urgent than ever before, it was clear to me that 2020 could have potentially derailed us. I knew we had to pivot -- quickly. I pulled together our Board and refocused us on developing a social impact strategic plan, theory of change, anti-racist framework, and a robust set of metrics to measure our success. COVID also exacerbated the need for rental assistance so we created a rent relief fund to support residents who are in need, raising funds in advance of acquiring buildings to keep people housed and support them through tough financial times. This enabled us to start 2021 in a position fo strength.

I have not been featured in documentaries or television shows. However, I frequently serve as a guest lecturer, panelist or moderator. In 2021 alone, I’ve had nearly 25 speaking engagements hosted by Harvard University, Georgetown University, the University of Michigan, the Institute of AfroUrbanism, the Urban Land Institute, and the cities of Atlanta and Charlotte to name a few. 

This year we are on track to expand our footprint across Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia, implement our social impact strategies, and refine the tools and technologies that will further our mission. All while laying the foundation for creating a "Learning Lab" for cities interested in adopting the WHC model. It is a herculean effort -- one that promises a tremendous return for moderate and low-income residents living in the region and beyond. 

We are on the cusp of doing something extraordinary -- transforming the system so that positive neighborhood development can benefit all residents, not just the ones that can afford to stay. But to do this we need to raise an additional $13M in funding. I am deeply committed to making this happen, and for that reason will dedicate 100% of the funds to WHC. Elevate Prize funding would not only help get us closer to this goal, I believe it would serve as a catalyst for other charitable contributions as well. 

Partnerships and collaboration are core to our mission. Below is a list of current partners:

• JBG SMITH: The region’s premier real estate investment trust manages an Impact Pool investment vehicle that provides mezzanine financing to WHC to acquire buildings. They also help identify and source properties often before they hit the market. JBG SMITH also serves as the property manager for our current properties, though we do not have an exclusive relationship with them.

• Case Western Reserve University’s National Initiative on Mixed-Income Communities and Trusted Space Partners: These nationally renowned thought leaders and practitioners in reducing urban poverty, promoting successful mixed-income communities, and managing community-led change are key partners in the development and implementation of our social impact strategy.

As we engage residents and better understand their needs and aspirations we will partner with best-in-class nonprofits to provide the services and support our residents need to thrive -- from financial literacy, to childcare, to continuing education, health and more.