Guilford County
Homeownership Pipeline Project

The GCHPP is a housing development strategy that seeks to increase participants’ knowledge of the business of affordable and workforce for-sale housing development and opportunities in Guilford County. The project seeks to bring financial education, access to capital, and pathways to homeownership together with small and diverse business development. It will provide participants with the opportunity to network with businesses, local governments, and related organizations and connect them to financial and other resources.

The goals of the GCHPP include:

• To increase low- and middle-income (LMI) homeownership in Guilford County
• To increase the number and capacity of local nonprofits and diverse and women business enterprises (MWBEs) housing developers
• To close the Black-white homeownership gap in Guilford County
• To document and evaluate what works well in the project

The GCHPP’s covered topics include:

• Accessing capital
• Business financials
• Collaborating with nonprofit & for-profit partners
• Community engagement
• Connecting to buyers
• Fair housing
• Fundamentals of real estate
• Guilford County’s housing ecosystem
• Leveraging government programs
• Neighborhood redevelopment
• Reclaiming underutilized & vacant properties
• Pitching a project
• Types of homeownership

The tentative training schedule will consist of 9 sessions held on Monday evenings. The first and last sessions will be conducted in-person in Greensboro and/or High Point. The other 7 sessions will take place virtually. The dates and times are as follows:

• 2/17: 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., in-person
• 3/3: 7 pm to 9 pm, virtual
• 3/17: 7 pm to 9 pm, virtual
• 3/31: 7 pm to 9 pm, virtual
• 4/14: 7 pm to 9 pm, virtual
• 4/28: 7 pm to 9 pm, virtual
• 5/12: 7 pm to 9 pm, virtual
• 6/2: 7 pm to 9 pm, virtual

By participating in the GCHHP, participants will:

• Connect with financial institutions, local governments and their programs, and other key housing development stakeholders
• Network with other emerging and/or seasoned developers, contractors, and subcontractors
• Increase their knowledge throughout this crucial pilot program training
• Gain access to reference materials and information on covered topic

Participants are expected to participate in all 9 of the training sessions. To receive the $500 stipend, participants must participate in at least 7 of the training sessions. Participants must attend the initial session scheduled for February 17^th. Most of the sessions are virtual. However, active participation is still expected. Come ready to share your knowledge, receive insightful information, ask lots of questions, and network with other participants and stakeholders.

Interested participants are asked to register and attend the orientation/kickoff session on February 17^th in High Point. The session’s registration is now open and available online. Interested parties can register using the following Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/guilford-county-homeownership-pipeline-project-tickets-1203580073399?aff=erelexpmlt.

All interested participants must register to attend the orientation/kickoff session by February 10^th at 11:59 p.m.

The National Institute of Minority Economic Development (NIMED) helps emerging leaders, non-profit organizations, HBCUs, foundations, business owners, and strategic partners to contribute to growth, sustainability, and economic justice in low-to-moderate income communities. The Research, Policy and Impact Center (RPIC) is a division of NIMED. The Center’s areas of emphasis include advocacy, economic development, education, housing, public health, and small business development.

The University of North Carolina at Greensboro’s Center for Housing and Community Studies is a university-based, community-engaged applied social science research center offering consulting, technical assistance, program development, data and analysis, and research and evaluation services for local governments, nonprofit organizations, foundations, and institutions of higher education.

Project efforts have been made possible through American Rescue Plan Act funding via the North Carolina Collaboratory.

For questions related to the GCHPP, please contact Shoneca Kent, Director of Community Economic Development Initiatives, at the Institute, at skent@theinstitutenc.org.