The Collaborative provides technical assistance to tenant associations seeking to exercise their first right of refusal to purchase and preserve their housing units. The majority of the residents earn below 80% of the Area Median Income or $60,000 for a family of 4. Since 2006, nonprofit partners assisted 25 tenant associations in exercising their right of first refusal, resulting in the preservation of over 850 units of affordable housing.

Home Ownership

In spite of increasing home sale prices, nonprofit partners have utilized an array of programs such as home ownership, training, credit counseling, down payment and subsidy assistance programs to allow 126 low- and moderate-income residents to purchase homes in the District of Columbia.

With the preservation and production of affordable housing as the primary focus of the current CDSC program, nonprofit partners are preserving over 1,600 units for low- and moderate-income residents of the District of Columbia. This includes for-sale housing, rental units and supportive housing for at-risk DC residents. With the support of the Collaborative, nonprofit partners continue to provide Washington, DC residents with the opportunity to live in safe, decent, and affordable housing.

In 2007, the Collaborative established "The Green Technical Assistance" fund to assist nonprofit developers in building and rehabilitating their properties in a sustainable and energy efficient manner. In August of 2007, the Collaborative awarded its first grant to Transitional Housing Corporation for a "green" renovation on what will be 32 units of permanent supportive housing. Green renovations will include a reflective roof and energy efficient appliances.

The CDSC provides grants and technical assistance to the Coalition for Nonprofit Housing and Economic Development to support their staff training institute and advocacy efforts. The training institute provides high-quality training to staff and board members of nonprofit housing developers. The advocacy work is designed to ensure an effective legislative environment to produce affordable housing.

Advocacy efforts in 2007 resulted in the dedication of $96 million in DC funds to acquire and build affordable housing in the District of Columbia. In addition, advocacy efforts have led to the creation of a locally funded rent supplement initiative for very low-income residents.

The Collaborative continues to support human capital initiatives designed to recruit college students into the field of community development. In 2007, the Collaborative provided stipends for seven Howard University undergraduates to participate in year-long internships with DC-based nonprofit housing developers.