A D.C. affordable-housing development organization has kicked off its “5 in 5” campaign to raise $5 million over the next five years to help address the lack of affordable housing in the city.
MANNA, a Northeast-based nonprofit developer now entering its fourth decade, launched the campaign this month during its 20th annual “Friends of MANNA” event.
“MANNA changes lives, neighborhoods and history; we want and need to do more to address the workforce housing crisis in Washington D.C.,” said board chairman Michael Bennett. “The goal of the campaign is to deliver 250-plus homes in the Washington, D.C. area, expand MANNA’s nationally recognized homebuyer training program, and create a renter to homeowner path for first time low-income homebuyers.”
During the event, both SunTrust Community Capital and E✲Trade Financial presented MANNA founder and CEO Jim Dickerson with $100,000 checks. D.C. Council members Anita Bonds and Brianne Nadeau, United Bank Senior Vice President Joe LeMense and E✲Trade manager Olive Idehen were also recognized for their role in supporting and championing the affordable housing in D.C.
The event unveiled results of studies showing the positive impact of homeownership in low-income communities, including reduced crime and public assistance dependency as well as increased college enrollment and civic participation.
In addition to building and selling houses, MANNA focuses on revitalizing neighborhoods through homeownership. Since 1982, the organization has been involved in a wide range of housing projects, producing nearly 1,200 units — mostly for-sale homes — and currently developing more condominium projects than any other nonprofit developer in the city.
For more information, visit www.mannadc.org.