How To Advocate For A Just Budget

You may have heard the concept that budgets are moral documents. Budgets reflect priorities, values, and commitments. What we choose to fund, whether it’s in our personal lives, our businesses, or our governments, says something about who we are and what we value.

Who is Washington, D.C. as a community?

The Mayor and Council of the District of Columbia are currently in the process of answering that question, as they craft the budget for the 2021-2022 Fiscal Year. As D.C. residents, we have an opportunity and an obligation to speak into the budget process, challenging elected officials to use the budget to reflect the values of equity and justice.

What does the budget process look like?

On May 27th, Mayor Bowser will release her proposed budget. Next, the D.C. Council will hold hearings to discuss the different parts of the budget and ultimately vote on their own version of the budget. The Council’s budget is the one that goes into effect.

For an excellent overview of the whole budget process, see this resource from the DC Fiscal Policy Institute.

How do I get involved?

1. Email the Mayor to tell her what you want to see her prioritize in the budget. Contact her at budget@dc.gov, submit a budget survey response, or use this form from The Way Home Campaign.

2. Sign up to testify or submit testimony at the Council hearings. These hearings are designed to solicit input from District residents or those who work in the District. For a great overview of all hearing dates and what testifying looks like, see this resource from the Washington Legal Clinic for the Homeless.

3. Contact your Council Member and the At-Large Council Members to share your input as a constituent. They work for you! Find your Council Member here.

What should I advocate for?

What matters to you? What matters to your neighbors? What will it take to make DC a just and equitable place? Your answers to those questions should guide your advocacy.

If you want to see an end to chronic homelessness, advocate for funding for Permanent Supportive Housing and other Housing First interventions. See The Way Home Campaign's budget recommendations for a good summary.

If you want to see more affordable housing, advocate for expansion of Housing Choice Vouchers and funding for the Housing Production Trust Fund.

For a comprehensive list of proposed priorities and funding levels associated with different issues you may care about, see the FY22 Budget Recommendations of the Fair Budget Coalition, a collection of organizations dedicated to pursuing equity and justice.

To learn more about advocacy, you can watch the recording from our Advocacy 101 Workshop here.

You have an important voice. Don’t miss your chance to use it!

Putting Our Money Where Our Hearts Are

The District Church and City First Bank enter $1.9 million financial partnership inspired by Just Homes.

Left to Right: Tom Nida (EVP/Market Executive, City First Bank), Kevin Nderitu (Executive Pastor, The District Church), Shiri Yadlin (Director, Just Homes), Aaron Graham (Lead Pastor, The District Church)

The District Church recently announced a $1.9 million partnership with City First Bank, a locally-owned Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) with demonstrated commitment to local community development in Washington, DC.

The partnership relates to financing for The District Church’s new ministry center located in Northeast DC. The District Church was inspired to turn to City First for this partnership by Just Homes.

“It is important for us to make decisions about where we bank that reflects one of our core values of justice and our vision of seeking to be a church for the city,” says Lead Pastor Aaron Graham. 

Just Homes guides congregations in discerning how to best steward their financial resources by banking and investing with justice in mind. With this partnership, The District Church is putting its money where its heart is, and living out a key principle of the Just Homes vision: investing in financial institutions that promote affordable housing development.

Just Homes and The District Church were drawn to City First Bank because of the bank’s community-focused mission and proven track record of investing in the preservation and development of affordable housing in Washington, DC. Each year, 80% of the loans originated by City First are put to work in low-income DC communities. In August, City First announced a merger with Broadway Bank, based in California, to create the largest Black-led Minority Depository Institution (MDI) in the nation.

“We are encouraged to see The District Church living out its calling to biblical justice by investing in affordable housing through this financial partnership, and we look forward to seeing other churches do the same,” says Shiri Yadlin, Director of Just Homes. “As more churches put their money where their hearts are, they can collectively steward their financial power to pursue the vision of a just city where everyone has a home.”

You can learn more about the Invest pillar of the Just Homes vision here.

Case Study: The Spire

Church: Episcopal Church of the Resurrection
Neighborhood: Alexandria, VA
Development: 113 of affordable housing, including many family-sized units

In 2012, the rector of Alexandria’s Episcopal Church of the Resurrection (ECR) retired. During the search for a new rector, the church began to wonder whether any rector would want to come to their parish, which was experiencing a declining attendance and diminishing finances. This triggered a re-visioning process, where the church came up with a wealth of ideas for filling their financial gaps and revitalizing their community. One idea: building housing as a possible income stream and a catalyst to revive the congregation.

After talking with other churches who had gone through similar struggles and interviewing a variety of developers, ECR came up with a plan to tear down their current church building, build a smaller sanctuary, and construct over 100 units of affordable housing around the new church. This plan had the dual benefit of both establishing a revenue stream for the church and providing a service to the community.

ECR decided to lease portion of their property to AHC Inc, one of the largest affordable housing developers in Northern Virginia, in order to develop the housing complex. With the revenue from this 99-year land lease, ECR is paying for its new church building. They worked with lawyers to include language in the agreement that gives ECR influence over the vision and mission of the housing development.

Though the project has faced challenges, the congregation’s faith has sustained them. “One thing after another has come our way, and I firmly believe it’s God taking care of us,” says project lead, Betsy Faga. “God just took care of us. It’s unbelievable.”

The project is expected to open in 2021.

Case Study: The Beacon Center

Church: Emory Fellowship
Neighborhood: Brightwood, D.C.
Development: 99 units of affordable housing along with a food pantry, cafe, job training programs, and a small business development space

Pastor Joe Daniels of Emory Fellowship first had the vision for housing development in 1995, when he looked across the street from his church and envisioned an entire block of new homes for his most vulnerable neighbors. The church began serving food to people experiencing homelessness, then began offering temporary emergency shelter. Slowly that shelter expanded to 30 day transitional housing, then 60, then 90. Soon, Pastor Daniels and his congregants realized permanent solutions were needed and they began to work to construct new, permanent, affordable housing. Because Emory’s congregants had relationships with these homeless families, they were able to recognize the serious need for housing in the community, and they were on board with embarking on a larger development project.

Emory Fellowship partnered with a mission-driven developer The Community Builders to design and develop a 99-unit apartment building using land surrounding the historic church. They were also able to renovate their church in the process.

As a co-developer, Emory was able to retain both influence over the project and ownership of the land and building. They were able to influence the vision of the project, which includes a locally owned cafe that provides job training for returning citizens, a food pantry, an immigration clinic, and space for future enterprises to grow and develop, in addition to the almost 100 units of affordable housing.

There were challenges: the denominational approval process, historic preservation, and community opposition. But each step of the way, the church bathed the process in prayer and partners came along to help clear hurdles.

This new community epitomizes the concept of justice housing. It officially opened in March of 2019.

Case Study: House of Lebanon

Church: Mount Lebanon Baptist
Neighborhood: Truxton Circle, D.C.
Development: 82 units for seniors age 55+ with large community space

Pastor Lionel Edmonds of Mt. Lebanon Baptist Church has always believed the church should provide for its immediate community and serve as an anchor institution in its neighborhood. However, when he looked around his church’s neighborhood of Truxton Circle, he realized the church was full of people who couldn’t afford to live in the neighborhood anymore. His solution: increase the stock of affordable housing to members of the community.

Mt. Lebanon had no space on their property to build anything. But, soon after Pastor Edmonds first had the idea to get involved in housing, an old school building near the church went up for sale. Pastor Edmonds realized bidding developers were much more likely to get approval to develop if they had community buy-in, so he started talking to those bidding to hear what their plans were for the space. He built a relationship with Mission First, a non-profit developer with experience in affordable housing development, and together they successfully bid on the property.

Mt. Lebanon entered into a joint venture partnership with Mission First. Together, they created House of Lebanon, which opened in 2015, providing 82 new homes for low-income seniors. As an active partner in the development process, Mt Lebanon CDC was able to “keep an eye” on the developer and make sure the vision didn’t get lost. Since this project, Mission First and Mt Lebanon have been exploring other development projects for partnership.