From impactful policy wins to enriched programs that meet residents’ financial and housing needs, here are some of the things we’re most proud of for 2024 across our priority areas.
Advocacy
- Local: We deepened our municipal policy engagement by:
- Organizing opposition to anti-development ordinances in Lakewood.
- Raising awareness of the cost of camping bans in Aurora.
- Worked extensively to establish a $100M affordable housing fund in Denver via Ballot Item 2R – helping to get it to within 1 percentage point of passing.
- Continuing our work with Denver City Council and Littleton City Council on upcoming land use reform ordinances.
- State: NDC authored and secured bi-partisan sponsorship for a key reform bill for the State Division of Housing to elevate socio-econ outcomes, improve efficiency, and increase transparency in housing programs and supported eight other bills promoting housing access and equity. NDC also served on the State Property Tax Commission to promote equitable tax reforms.
- Federal: NDC led Colorado’s largest-ever delegation to the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) Hill Day advocating for affordable housing at the federal level and advancing community benefits agreements (CBAs) with banks to fund housing initiatives statewide. This yielded immediate results, with NCRC announcing a landmark CBA between them and KeyBank that would bring millions of dollars in funding to local communities.
Research
- Property Tax Reform: NDC led efforts on policy reform to address property tax issues affecting housing affordability.
- Housing Access Mapping Project: We are launching a data-driven project to identify gaps and opportunities in housing access across the state.
- Tenant Equity Vehicle White Paper: At the behest of the State of Colorado, NDC published a white paper informing the implementation of programs that maximize wealth-creation for tenants residing in affordable housing built through Proposition 123.
Programs & Services
Financial Empowerment in East Colfax: NDC led the development of person-centered and culturally responsive financial health programming for households living along the East Colfax corridor in partnership with local housing organizations including Rocky Mountain Communities, Mercy Housing, East Colfax Community Collective, The Fax Partnership, Hope Communities, and the Financial Health Institute. To date, the program has supported over 200 residents through 71 classes, 340 hours of one-on-one coaching, 9 staff seminars, and 4 webinars; increased financial literacy and resilience; and strengthened the capacity of the organizations to deliver culturally responsive financial health services to residents with diverse backgrounds.
Capacity Building & Technical Assistance for Community-Led Housing Organizations: Through our partnership with the Center for Community Wealth Building, we cultivated the Community Owned and Benefitting Real Estate (COBRE) Community of Practice with monthly gatherings for policy, funding, and shared learning. This provided technical assistance and capacity building for the following affordable housing projects:
- Tierra Colectiva Community Land trust (TCCLT) in Globeville Elyria-Swansea, a neighbor-led CLT focused on affordable housing development, land acquisition and stewardship, and community leadership and organizing.
- The East Colfax Community Collective (EC3) working to preserve naturally-occurring affordable rental housing through the Mixed Income Neighborhood Trust (MINT) in East Colfax.
- A mixed-use redevelopment partnership between Elevation Community Land Trust (ECLT) and BuCu West to preserve commercial space and create new affordable units – both for ownership opportunity – along Morrison Road.
- Communidad MonteVista, a mobile home park in Westwood that is on track to be the first resident-owned park in Denver, thanks to the leadership of Justice for the People Legal Center.
- The congregational housing initiative – Abundant Ground, through Mile High Ministries, focused on developing affordable housing on under-utilized congregation land.
- The FreshLo Hub, a mixed-use development with 97 units of affordable housing with a grocery store and community space in Montbello.
We culminated the year with a bus tour of these projects across Denver in early December, hosting peer practitioners from Los Angeles, Denver Anchor Institutions, local funders and impact investors, and other housing leaders in our city to explore the power of community-led development to create lasting equity, stability and opportunity.
Community Real Estate (CORE) Academy: We also assisted in training 6 small organizations and groups on cooperative affordable housing and real estate models to empower community ownership. We culminated the 9-month training program with a graduation and showcase event, where participants presented their visions for the real estate projects, including: 
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- Rainbow Dome’s collaborative co-ownership model for commercial real estate that includes a roller-skating rink-anchored community space
- School of Breaking’s search for commercial property along East Colfax where they can bring their hip hop and breaking programming to life, while sharing space with other tors, healers, and service providers.
- The Couch House – a multi-unit home rooted in liberation and committed to supporting its residents through affordable housing and opportunities to earn equity.
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Democratizing Data: 
NDC continues to shepherd & leverage the Community Alert Database (CAD), a first-of-its-kind tool in metro Denver designed to empower residents and local organizations with actionable property data to combat displacement and advance housing stability. By providing insights into property ownership and community indicators, CAD equips communities to organize and identify opportunities for land acquisition and preservation.
These milestones highlight the collective impact of our work through connecting and amplifying community voices, driving coordinated efforts, and influencing policy to create stable, secure, and affordable housing opportunities for all Coloradans, regardless of race, class or zip code.