February 6, 2025-Oakland, CA
Overview
Merritt launched Commitment to California in 2022 to support the people and policies that create and preserve affordable housing in California. Commitment to California is an industry support and workforce development initiative created in line with Merritt’s mission to attract, train, and retain affordable housing professionals. Merritt invests in affordable housing and people to build a stronger California.
Commitment to California is a core pillar of Merritt’s work and has expanded in the three years since its launch both in number of participants served and impact. This initiative covers a wide and diverse range of industry areas (development, policy, and finance) and has been focused on bringing more resources and attention to asset management and property management. We have increased connectivity and partner engagement across Merritt’s programs and have emphasized the connection to Merritt’s syndication business. Training programs, like Housing Development Training Institute (HDTI), Asset Management Specialist+ program (AMS+), and the School of Affordable Housing (SOAH), allow us to support our partners across a multitude of disciplines.
2024
2024 was an incredibly impactful and busy year for Commitment to California. Merritt supported and funded Prop 5 and Measure A, to empower local communities and regions and support affordable housing and infrastructure. The Merritt team has been more involved in 2024 than ever before by providing their expertise, guidance, insight into the industry, and leading sessions!
Merritt’s presence has grown at industry conferences, participating in panels on workforce development and industry support, including panels specifically on developing the next generation of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) as affordable housers and leaders.
In 2024, Merritt re-invested $1.45MM into the industry through Commitment to California. This re-investment is only made possible by our partnerships and investments into Merritt’s work from developers and funders. Across all Commitment to California programs, we welcomed 871 participants. The most participants we’ve had in one year!
72% of participants in Merritt Scholars, SOAH, AMS+, HDTI, the California Housing Partnership fellowship, Bay Area Housing Internship Program (BAHIP), and California Coalition for Rural Housing’s Internship Program, identified as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (BIPOC).
Merritt Scholars
90% of current cohort identify as BIPOC
65% with lived experience in homelessness, housing insecurity, or poverty
60% are undergraduates
Increased connectivity with CCRH and BAHIP–shared resources and had a summer social with all three programs
AMS+ Cohort
80% identify as BIPOC
54% with lived experience in homelessness, housing insecurity, or poverty
93% are in their early to mid-careers
Increased opportunities for in-person networking and greater cohort connectivity.
Merritt staff served as trainers and facilitators, showcasing their subject matter expertise.
Housing Development Training Institute (HDTI)
65% identify as BIPOC
58% with lived experience in homelessness, housing insecurity, or poverty
22% participated in C2C programs before HDTI
Renewing for another 3-year commitment in 2025
Career Programs and Internships
100% identify as BIPOC for CCRH, BAHIP, and CHPC Programs
605 participants across NPH ELPN, SCANPH ELA, and Project Destined networks
Looking Ahead
Merritt’s goal is to intentionally grow Commitment to California through collaboration with partners, especially as we focus on building an alumni network, emphasizing job placement, and tracking career development.
Merritt’s School of Affordable Housing will be launching later in 2025 in the Bay Area and Los Angeles, we can’t wait to share more later this year!
Merritt will also be expanding the Asset Management Specialist+ program by offering and helping with the CHAM certificate in 2025.
We are grateful to our industry partners who support and champion this work and look forward to working with everyone in 2025 to grow and deepen impact!
Thank you to our partners and participants!
Merritt Scholars and Merritt Scholar Mentors
Merritt & CHAM: Asset Management+ Cohort
California Coalition for Rural Housing (CCRH): Internship Program & Emerging Leaders Fellowship
California Housing Partnership: Equity Policy Research Fellowship
Housing CA
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Housing Development Training Institute (HDTI)
Non-Profit Housing Association (NPH): Bay Area Housing Internship Program (BAHIP) and Emerging Leaders Peer Network (ELPN)
Southern California Association of Non-Profits (SCANPH): Emerging Leaders Program (ELP)
San Diego Housing Federation (SDHF): School of Affordable Housing
Follow us on LinkedIn to stay up to date on Commitment to California and other announcements!
Learn more about Commitment to California.
Read about Commitment to California’s inaugural year here.
About Merritt Community Capital Corporation
Merritt Community Capital Corporation is a nonprofit dedicated to our mission to provide equity capital for affordable housing exclusively to California. We do this by partnering with mission-aligned affordable housing developers throughout the state to ensure the most critical communities are developed and maintained for low-income residents. Since 1989, Merritt has created and/or preserved 12, 000 affordable homes, through investing over $1.6 billion, providing housing for over 30,000people.