Letter from the CEO and Board Chair

Dear Partners, Supporters, and Friends,

2025 marked a year of meaningful momentum for Merritt Community Capital Corporation as we continued advancing our mission: investing in affordable housing and people, building a stronger California. Our work continues to be guided by our vision—that everyone should have a home in a community where they can thrive.

Our impact continues to deepen, and the growth of our team reflects this trajectory. In 2025, we welcomed five new team members, bringing our staff to 17 full-time employees. As part of our strategic plan to expand into lending, we extended our leadership team to include a CDFI Director, Pavlin Buchukov, who will be instrumental in shaping our next chapter.

Investing in Affordable Housing

For more than 35 years, Merritt has invested over $1.7B in over 12,500 homes, housing over 35,000 Californians. Toward the end of last year, we faced one of the more challenging investing environments in recent memory. Despite these obstacles, we remained steadfast in our commitment to our partners, standing alongside them to navigate uncertainty and bring difficult transactions across the finish line. Partnership is always important, but its strength truly shows when conditions are at their toughest—together, we made the impossible possible.

In 2025, we closed $155 million—during a period of significant disruption in the banking industry and challenging conditions for projects. We also brought 480 affordable homes to communities across seven counties, serving individuals and families earning between 20–60% of the area median income (AMI).

Investing in People – Commitment to Community (C2C)

Our values—People-First, Solutions-Oriented, Trust, Openness, and Kindness—continue to shape our daily work, especially throughout our Commitment to Community (C2C) initiative.

In 2025, we re-invested $1.5 million into the industry, supporting 739 participants across Merritt Scholars, the School of Affordable Housing (SOAH), Asset Management Specialist+ (AMS+), and the Housing Development Training Institute (HDTI). Notably, over 68% of participants have lived experience in housing instability.

In a rapidly evolving industry, we are committed to staying ahead of change—ensuring our programs prepare the next generation of housing leaders for impactful careers. This resulted in our first Job Demand Study, which showed a high demand for property management professionals, igniting the launch of our School of Affordable Housing (SOAH). Secondly, the study illustrated the need for leadership development across the sector, inspiring us to elevate our training.

As part of our commitment, Merritt provides flexible, multi-year funding that allows partners to focus on scaling impact rather than fundraising—and to respond to real-time challenges. In 2025, we allocated an additional $135,000 in unbudgeted year-end funding in direct response to our partners’ operational and funding strains. This flexibility reflects our big-picture approach to partnership—meeting organizations where they are with impact-driven solutions.

While capital and people directly lay the foundation for housing, it’s strong, thoughtful policy that allows communities to take root and flourish. The proposed $10 billion Housing Bond is a historical opportunity for us to make a difference — Merritt has committed to matching donations up to $100,000 to help build early momentum, and we are actively engaging partners across the state to fuel its success.

As we look ahead, we are driven by the opportunity to elevate our impact. Together, we will continue investing in affordable housing and people—building a future where people can access a safe, affordable home.

Thank you for your continued partnership and belief in our mission.

With gratitude,

Ari Beliak

President & CEO

Cecile Chalifour

Chair, Board of Directors