Receives $5.5 Million to Support Community-Owned Assets in New Jersey
Summary
"To serve their communities, nonprofits need to ensure they wont be displaced by rising rents and property ownership helps provide that security," said Jennifer Kawar, Vice President of NFF. "We are grateful to RWJF for this critical investment which will help New Jersey nonprofits to acquire facilities that will ensure they can reliably deliver services, provide residents with jobs, and build community power. "New Jersey has one of the starkest racial wealth gaps in the country, in large part due to its history of racist government redlining policies that excluded communities of color from home ownership. And in New Jerseys most populous city, Newark, institutional investors are purchasing residential properties wholesale and driving up property values and rent prices, pushing residents and community organizations out of the places they call home.Property ownership is a pillar of our strategy to support working families striving to build fulfilling lives in this community, said Keely Freeman, Executive Director of Sierra House, a New Jersey nonprofit that has purchased real estate with NFF financing and is continuing with its strategy to support the development of affordable housing. We believe that alongside others we must build a more equitable and just social sector and are committed to helping community-centered organizations led by and serving people of color access the money and resources they need to realize their communities aspirations.