In line with our mission to end the #racialwealthgap, we created our First-Time Homebuyers Program (FHP) to support CEF Members in Orange and Durham counties as they build wealth and stability through home-ownership.
We believe our Members making under 50% AMI should have a fair shot at building generational wealth. We also want to set our Members up for success. Because of external income and stability requirements by mortgage lenders and affordable homeownership organizations, within a process that has been shaped and gatekept by racialized capitalism, not every CEF Member who applies to our program will be accepted.
This has been a hard decision for CEF to make. We urgently implore local, state, and federal bodies to make radical strides toward removing any and all barriers to deeply affordable home-ownership for very low and fixed-income community members.
Until then, CEF aims to empower eligible Members with knowledge and tools they need to buy their first home.
Financial assistance with downpayment and closing costs
Thanks to @chapelhillgov and Metlife Insurance, Upon completion of our FHP, CEF Members are eligible for 2:1 savings match in Chapel Hill, and a 3:1 savings match in Durham County, up to $2,000. So, Members buying a home in the Town of Chapel Hill can have up to $6,000 to put toward down-payment and closing costs, and Members buying in Durham can have up to $8,000.
We are grateful to our funders for working to alleviate one of the biggest barriers to homeownership: the upfront costs associated with buying a home.
Want more information? Check out our screening and interest form, linked at: tinyurl.com/FHP2024
Join us in bringing hope and dignity to those in need
Join our donation drive to provide crucial essentials to individuals facing housing insecurity in our community. Your contribution can make a lasting impact by offering comfort and support to those who need it most. Together, we can make a difference. Donate today and help change lives for the better.
What You Can Donate:
Socks
Deodorant
Toothpaste
Toothbrushes
Travel Shampoo/ Conditioner
Sanitary Supplies
Menstrual Products (pads & tampons)
Adult Diapers (men & women)
Baby Wipes
First Aid Kits
Bottled Water
Suncreen
Drop Off Point: CEF CH Office 208 N Columbia St Suite 100, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
2022 was a tremendous year for CEF! Our work was recognized both locally and nationally as we received the highest score on the City of Durham’s American Rescue Plan request for proposals and were honored with GSK’s IMPACT Award and Bank of America’s Neighborhood Builders Award. We were also selected as one of ten organizations to participate in Common Future’s 2023 Accelerator program, which will support our work to expand the first-time homebuyer program (see pg. 4). These recognitions demonstrate the importance of CEF’s work, especially as Members continue to recover from financial hardships related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In addition to recognition for our work, we also invested time and resources into creating a guide for the next five years. CEF’s new Strategic Plan was created with input from more than 65 community partners, Members, staff, board, and volunteer Advocates. We are so excited to share the plan with you.
As we reflect on 2022, we will share stories using our new strategic framework (see pg. 5) as a guide. You will hear from Members about the importance of CEF being a strong & adaptable organization and how impactful organizing and advocacy affects their lives. You will also learn about some emerging programs that respond to Member needs and requests, and how CEF is investing in building a joyful community.
CEF continues to focus on relationship-based care, with Member/Advocate meetings as the primary way for CEF Members to receive support. The Strategic Plan did not change CEF’s commitment to cultivating opportunities, assets, and communities that support the alleviation of homelessness and poverty–but, rather, it helped us hone in on what is important for CEF to be doing vs. what community partners and other service organizations can do to best support CEF Members. Thank you for being part of this journey with us and trusting us to do the work necessary to best support Members in our quest to end the racial wealth gap and empower the community.
In partnership with consultants Jaclyn Gilstrap and Hope Tyson from A Visual Approach, CEF’s strategic plan is presented using an adaptation of an “Objectives and Key Results (OKR) Framework.”
At the highest level of the strategic plan, the Big Goal and Key Contribution articulates CEF’s vision of community and its mission. These components are the guiding light of the strategic plan and connect the various areas of CEF’s work to the organization’s mission and its greater purpose in the community. In addition to the Big Goal (CEF’s Vision Statement), the survey data showed that Staff, Members, Volunteers, Board, and Community Leaders across the board saw an essential part of CEF’s efforts to be centered around Building Joyful Community. It was mentioned so often that it has risen to the level of the Big Goal. It is a complement to and expansion of the Big Goal, a doubling down and a re-commitment to this essential component of the organization’s character and culture.
Big Goal:Ending the Racial Wealth Gap, Empowering Community
Key Contribution (CEF’s Mission):Cultivate opportunities, assets, and communities that support the alleviation of homelessness and poverty
In order to achieve the Key Contribution, CEF believes that it must work towards all of the Objectives outlined in the strategic plan. The Objectives are significant and concrete, and there is a word attached to each that explains not only what the goal is but how it should be achieved (responsive, strong, adaptable, impactful, growth). As a whole, the Objectives make up the key areas of CEF’s work. The relationship between them is illustrated by the visual framework (FIG 1).
As we move forward in the direction of 2025, our organization is sure to experience many shifts and changes. This document is meant to help us navigate those changes, assisting us during times when decision-making feels hard and priorities are overwhelming. We thank each and every voice that contributed to this collective vision for CEF.
2021 was another difficult year. With the ups and downs of feeling like life was getting closer to pre-pandemic times and then going back into lockdowns and separation, CEF offered stability and companionship to Members. We stayed committed to remaining open, enforcing a vaccination or testing mandate for all staff and volunteers and continuing with COVID safety protocols to ensure that Members, staff, and Advocates could continue to meet safely.
In this report you will learn more about CEF’s activities throughout 2021 — including information about our support of the Emergency Rental Assistance Program, the creation of the House Us Now coalition, and the joy experienced through the Share the Love: Art Show. In addition, you will hear stories from Members and Advocates–uplifting the hope they experienced as they worked alongside CEF to ensure that everyone in our community has access to safe, affordable housing and the opportunity for financial freedom.
As you read through this report I hope you will feel that hope too, that you can see the potential hiding just below the surface. Thank you for being a part of this incredible community and for continuing to offer support as we learn to adapt to a new reality. We are so grateful for each and every contribution. Thank you for supporting this work!
Join us Saturday, August 28, to march for affordable housing for our community members who are at or below 30% AMI. There will be opportunities for folks with lived experience to speak out at the Peace & Justice Plaza. LOVE Chapel Hill will be providing transportation to the rally. Call the CEF Chapel Hill office at 919-200-0233 for more info on transportation. Live music at the Jackson Center will be provided by Chapel Hill’s Finest as well as food from Gametime Hot Dogs!
As CEF has grown and blossomed over the years, we have been reminded, time and again, of the importance of being nimble and adaptive as we grow. As you will see in this report, 2020 was no different. In the enclosed stories you will learn how CEF responded to COVID-19 through articles and reflections from CEF’s staff. The report also shares more information about our quantitative impact and our year-end financials. This report is dedicated to the CEF Members who moved on in 2020, we hope you will hold them in your hearts and minds as you read.
What is the racial wealth gap and how has it continued?
In 2015, a study found that white households in Boston had a median net worth of $247,500 while Black households had a median net worth of $8. Yes, you read that correctly, $8 (Adams & Brancaccio, 2020). This gap in wealth is not just in Boston. A survey of the U.S. found that white* households’ median net worth was 10 times greater than that of Black households (Cilluffo & Kochhar, 2017). Without action, the worth of Black households is expected to fall to zero by 2053 (Rhinehart, 2019). This vast difference in wealth along racial lines is the racial wealth gap.
Racist laws and discrimination have created the racial wealth gap. Housing, employment, and educational policies have disadvantaged Black people. Black people inherit less wealth and have lower incomes, lower levels of homeownership, and lower rates of health insurance than white people (Gold, 2020; “Reducing the racial homeownership gap”, n.d.). These factors have made it harder to build wealth and left Black people more vulnerable to financial struggles (Jan, 2018). This all leads to the big gap between white and Black wealth.
Wealthy, white households also add to this problem. Upper-middle-class and wealthy families stay wealthy by passing down their wealth from generation to generation, they also use their privilege and connections to help their kids personally and professionally. These families often fight against policies that lead to greater societal equity (Reeves, 2017). In families that have the top 20% of wealth in the U.S., 57% of kids remain in that range for the rest of their lives. Rich kids tend to become rich adults. On the other hand, fewer than 15% of people born into the bottom 20% of families with wealth ever make it to the top 40% (Pfeffer, 2015). 72% of households in the top 20% are white. Combined, Black and Latino households make up only 16% of this top bracket of wealth (Joo & Reeves, 2017). Therefore, more white families have the resources to ensure their kids are wealthy too. (Check out this game to see how wealthy families stay wealthy.)
What can be done?
Addressing this issue requires changes in state and national policies on a range of topics. Some examples are changing current laws, such as strengthening and enforcing the Fair Housing Act of 1968, expanding health care coverage, and implementing a corporate financial transaction tax to fund a risk insurance program to protect against housing market crashes which deeply affect Black communities. New policies like student loan forgiveness or creating a Minority Business Advocacy office could encourage financial equality (“Policy agenda to close the racial wealth gap”, 2016). Reparations are also a crucial step toward reducing the racial wealth gap. Black and Indigenous people have been prevented from building wealth for hundreds of years while white families were able to attain and grow their assets. To bridge this head start in white wealth, reparations are necessary. These are just a few of the policies that could ease the racial wealth gap. Check out this article for a review of solutions on this issue.
While these suggestions are big changes, there are smaller actions that can be taken to diminish the gap. If you are someone with inherited wealth, you can redistribute it to people in your community that do not have access to inheritance or give it to an organization that can do that for you. Supporting politicians and policies that address the systemic nature of the racial wealth gap is another great choice. Investing in Black-owned businesses, cooperatives, and organizations working towards financial equity is another option. These steps are important in order to address how the racial wealth gap shows up in your community and are needed alongside wide-sweeping policies aimed to reduce the gap on a national level.
What is CEF doing about the racial wealth gap?
CEF works to address the racial wealth gap in three specific ways:
Offering non-predatory financial services and products. This includes 65 financial coaching modules that Members can access to support financial goals from budgeting to purchasing a home and CEF’s Safe Savings Accounts which are aimed to make banking more accessible and rewarding. Members receive a match of 15% when they meet their savings goal and are never charged a fee for participating, saving Members $40,000 over their lifetime (Fellowes & Mabanta, 2008).
CEF actively works to ensure Members are safely housed. The Housing First model is guided by the belief that basic needs, like food and a place to live, need to be met before someone can successfully address less critical needs, such as employment, budgeting, or addressing substance abuse. Due to COVID-19 and increased financial instability, CEF started a Housing Assistance Fund for Durham-based Members. This fund supports Members who were unable to access assistance through other avenues, to ensure that they can be stably housed. Funding was provided by community members who choose to redirect stimulus checks to ensure that people in financial need had access to that support. Providing an avenue for people who benefit from the racial wealth gap to directly support people who are negatively impacted by the racial wealth gap is an essential part of CEF’s work.
CEF Members are actively engaged in advocacy work. Community and Office Organizers Rosa Green and Yvette Matthews guide this work, creating spaces for Members to talk about and to advocate on behalf of their own interests. Having platforms for community members to share their voices and offer solutions is essential if we are going to create systems that are truly equitable.
*In general, CEF uses APA grammar rules in our writing. The APA says that the names of race and ethnic identities should be capitalized, as they are proper nouns. CEF is intentionally leaving “white” (when referring to a racial identity) lower-cased. We recognize that by capitalizing words we are giving them power and we do not want to encourage white power in any way. Unlike the AP’s explanation for why they are choosing to lower-case “white” we want to be clear that we believe white people do have a shared experience–that is one of privilege. We also believe that undoing racism is the responsibility of white people and worry that implying that white people do not have a shared experience (as the AP does) is a dangerous tactic that is aimed at discounting the responsibility that white people have in undoing racism and white supremacist culture. Ultimately, we know that race is a construct but that racial differences are not. They are real and need to be addressed directly. For any questions or clarifications around CEF’s choice of words please contact ari rosenberg (arir[at]communityef.org).
Reeves, R. (2017, June 13). Dream hoarders: How the American upper middle class is leaving everyone else in the dust, why that is a problem, and what to do about it. Brookings Institution Press. https://www.brookings.edu/book/dream-hoarders/
CEF is excited to share the first episode of the Time + Talents podcast. In this episode, CEF Advocates Lily Levin and Lizzy Kramer interview a number of people involved in housing in Durham County to help listeners learn more about how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting people’s housing situations and what services are available for people who may need support.
This podcast was arranged by Durham Office & Community Organizer Rosa Green.
We hope you enjoy the podcast. Please share with your networks.
Time + Talents is CEF’s member-driven advocacy platform in Durham. Members chose the theme of this podcast and will continue to be involved in choosing future themes to ensure that the podcast is relevant to their needs and interests.
The Knowledge Series is a project dedicated to sharing information with our communities on how housing discrimination manifests today. Throughout this week, we will share a series of posts that delve into the history of housing discrimination and what it looks like in our everyday.
Systemic housing discrimination is still present in modern-day. While it is illegal to discriminate against someone based on race, Black families are still negatively impacted by discriminatory practices, both past and present. When discriminatory practices are used, ending those practices is not enough for people to experience equity–reparations must be made to repair the harms that have been caused. Since the United States has not participated in reparations for Black families, they are still experiencing extreme disparities, especially in housing and financial security.
We’ve discussed in previous posts that Black people make up 51% of the homeless population in Orange County, while only making up 12% of the general population. American slavery and systemic racism, backed by Jim Crow laws, set Black communities back hundreds of years in their attempts to accumulate wealth and assets. Laws throughout the South mandated racial segregation in almost all public facets and denied Black people basic civil, economic, and social rights, including the right to vote. This continued through the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s (and some would say still continues today), making the idea of property ownership and asset accrual for Black families nearly unattainable (“Jim Crow Era,” 2020).
These historical elements, as well as more modern practices such as redlining, white* flight, and gentrification, have had a substantial impact in our own backyard. The wealth that Black communities were able to generate in places like Durham, was systematically taken from them throughout the 20th century through such practices. Additionally, the Northside District of Chapel Hill has been heavily gentrified by UNC students in search of off-campus housing.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill was built by enslaved Black people who were exploited for their labor. In the 19th and 20th centuries, Black employees of the university were funneled to the Northside District because it was one of the least proximate areas to campus at the time (DeWulf, 2017). Northside has been a predominantly Black neighborhood for 175 years, but it is now experiencing gentrification as UNC students seek affordable off-campus housing.
Off-campus living has become increasingly popular for college students in Chapel Hill (with 50% of UNC students currently living off-campus). Many students moved to the Northside District specifically for its relatively affordable rental prices. Furthermore, as the university has grown in geographic size, the Northside District is now comparatively closer to campus than many other off-campus housing options (Cheek, 2017). Nearby Carrboro, also being heavily gentrified, has many high-quality restaurants, thrift stores, and boutiques that add additional appeal for college students. The interest in off-campus housing has driven up rent prices throughout the Chapel Hill-Carrboro community, as landlords see no issue with charging college students above-market rents and has pushed Black residents out of the Northside, a reduction of 60% between 1980 and 2010 (DeWulf, 2017).
As Northside becomes more and more “desirable,” middle-class families have also moved into the area. This further isolates longterm residents of the Northside District from their own community. Since white families moving into neighborhoods like Northside make, on average, two times what Black families make, they are more likely to take advantage of low property costs in historically Black neighborhoods in order to buy homes (Badger et al., 2019). Many of these families renovate their new homes, increasing property values, which leads to increased taxes for entire neighborhoods (Badger et al., 2019). As other middle-class families (typically white) see families that look like them and nice-looking houses they are more likely to purchases homes in the same neighborhood, further gentrifying the area.
Durham, as we discussed yesterday, has also been deeply impacted by housing discrimination. Specifically, the impact of redlining on Black communities in Durham has led to long-lasting disparities for Black neighborhoods. In the 1950s-70s, a phenomenon known as white flight occurred throughout the U.S. This was a process of white people moving out of urban areas, particularly those with significant Black and Brown populations, and into suburban areas, in an attempt to distance themselves from communities of color. White flight causes areas to suffer economically from reduced tax income (due to population losses) and also contributes to harsh policies (Semuels, 2015).
In recent years, Durham’s downtown has also been impacted by gentrification as it has become host to many luxury stores, critically-acclaimed restaurants, and crafty boutiques. When businesses like these move into an area they make it difficult for residents who have lived there for decades to keep up with the rapidly increasing cost of living. The practice of gentrification throughout Chapel Hill, Durham, and the rest of the Triangle, has made housing inequality and segregation even worse (DeMarco and Hunt, 2018).
Black people in the United States face racism every day, but it is often overlooked that racism is deeply ingrained in the housing search process. Things like credit checks, background checks, reference letters, and requiring multiple months of rent upfront disproportionately and negatively affect Black people in their housing search. When you throw in systemic barriers and racist practices, like redlining and gentrification, it imposes a greater hardship on low-income and communities of color. Discriminatory housing practices like redlining and gentrification may not seem racist at face value, but hopefully, the posts in this Series have provided some context to the deeply systemic racial barriers that have plagued Black families in their goals of financial independence and housing security for hundreds of years.
Join us tomorrow for some insight into the work CEF is currently doing and to hear why our mission is so important. CEF is actively working to provide resources to Members experiencing homelessness and/or financial hardship and to dismantle oppressive policies and practices that create a cyclical experience of poverty and housing insecurity for Black people and other people of color. This advocacy work, along with continued education among Staff and Advocates, helps us provide the best support for people experiencing homelessness and financial insecurity in Orange and Durham counties.
*In general, CEF uses APA grammar rules in our writing. The APA says that the names of race and ethnic identities should be capitalized, as they are proper nouns. For this series, and moving forward, CEF is intentionally leaving “white” (when referring to a racial identity) lower-cased. We recognize that by capitalizing words we are giving them power and we do not want to encourage white power in any way. Unlike the AP’s explanation for why they are choosing to lower-case “white” we want to be clear that we believe white people do have a shared experience–that is one of privilege. We also believe that undoing racism is the responsibility of white people and worry that implying that white people do not have a shared experience (as the AP does) is a dangerous tactic that is aimed at discounting the responsibility that white people have in undoing racism and white supremacist culture. Ultimately, we know that race is a construct but that racial differences are not. They are real and need to be addressed directly. For any questions or clarifications around CEF’s choice of words please contact ari rosenberg (arir[at]communityef.org).
