CalCORE award announcement

Community Vision is excited to announce that we’ve received a $500,000 award from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation to support the California Community-Owned Real Estate (CalCORE) Program.

Founded in partnership with Genesis LA, CalCORE is a five-year state-wide initiative that brings together a cohort of small and emergent developers, with a focus on Black, Indigenous, people of color-led real estate organizations – particularly Community Development Corporations and Community Land Trusts. These deeply-rooted organizations often serve as a buffer between the commercial real estate market and their communities while navigating capacity and capital barriers for wider community impact.

“CalCORE was specifically designed to address the challenges that community-based developers face in accessing capital for real estate acquisition and development. We’re excited to receive this award to support this program, which can serve as a regional model for increasing local ownership of community assets.” Catherine Howard, President of Community Vision

CalCORE was informed by more than 20 interviews with small and emergent nonprofit real estate entities. Based on the challenges experienced by the organizations, the program combined five elements into a comprehensive strategy: network building; cohort training and one-on-one technical assistance; developing a real estate service provider network; access to pre-development and project capital.

The first of three cohorts began in April 2021 and serves 14 community-based developers. In January 2022, the CalCORE program will open applications for its second cohort. Sign-up for our newsletter at the bottom of the webpage to stay informed.