DevNW
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Mission Statement
DevNW is committed to creating thriving, inclusive and healthy communities through quality affordable housing, financial/economic opportunity, small business development and policy change.
About This Cause
DevNW (Dev Northwest) is a nonprofit that was created in 2019 when Neighborhood Economic Development Corporation (NEDCO) and Willamette Neighborhood Housing Services (WNHS) united to expand their impact, bring people together, and better help our communities thrive in the long term. Together, our two organizations have 60 years of experience. On a micro-level, we work with our neighbors – individuals, families, and small businesses – one-on-one. We provide education, counseling, financial tools, and housing. On a macro-level, we advocate for, organize, and develop thriving communities through policy, legislation, and residential and commercial real estate development. We are committed to creating thriving, inclusive and healthy communities through quality affordable housing, financial and economic opportunity, small business development and policy change. Together, as DevNW, we have achieved the scale needed to develop and deliver high impact approaches in the communities we serve. Currently, we serve Lane, Linn, Benton, Lincoln, Marion, Polk and Clackamas counties. Helping families to build assets, improve neighborhoods, and create healthy communities is complex. We are working to address intractable social issues like wealth inequality, social justice, deteriorating neighborhood conditions, and health disparities. As a unified organization, we are the most experienced agency in our region, offering the full spectrum of housing, financial capability education and counseling, and homeownership services to empower households with low incomes with the knowledge, support, and tools to build assets and reach long-term financial stability. Each year, we serve more than 5,000 individuals and families across our program areas. DevNW provides over 411 units of affordable rental housing; innovative financial education classes and workshops; robust homeownership education and counseling; Individual Development Account (IDA) matched savings accounts; community economic development programs; access to safe and affordable capital through our affiliate Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) lender, Community LendingWorks; home repair and down payment assistance loans; health navigation and resident service programs; and we administer the Linn Benton Health Equity Alliance, one of four regional Health Equity Coalitions in Oregon. We house roughly 855 people nightly, each of which are eligible for targeted services. Currently, three Community Health Workers provide services to 590 residents. In the next three years, we plan to develop over 200 new affordable homes for rental and homeownership. DevNW is a member of the NeighborWorks Network, a network of “more than 240 of the nation’s best community development organizations” that is supported by a national intermediary, NeighborWorks America. Our work is focused in the following four main areas: Financial Wellbeing: DevNW’s financial wellbeing programming is designed to help people build assets and reduce economic vulnerability. Over 30 years, we have built a reputation as a trusted resource for low-income families and individuals seeking financial stability and access to safe credit. We provide a mix of group education and one-on-one counseling services such as, homeownership; personal finance; foreclosure avoidance; reverse mortgage; and student debt. Classes and counseling are available in English and Spanish, and both on/off site and online. In 2019, nearly 1200 individuals participated in 134 financial wellbeing classes. Historically, we have empowered thousands of first-time homebuyers to achieve homeownership through powerful education and personalized counseling. Access to Funds: To further empower our clients’ financial wellbeing and advance their asset building journey, we layer additional services that allow individuals and families to build credit and access financial tools and funds which have traditionally not been available to them. For example, we offer Home Repair Loans in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties and down payment assistance loans to first time homebuyers, as well as Individual Development (3:1 matched savings) Accounts, a tool which supports our clients in achieving a qualifying savings goals such as a car, college tuition and homeownership. We also offer a variety of loans through our affiliated lender, Community LendingWorks (CLW), including credit builder, personal, auto and small business. In 2019, partnering with CLW and several nonprofits we provided 124 credit-builder loans – a savings account loan product that helps individuals build strong credit while they save. Affordable Homes: DevNW has developed many affordable housing projects, both rental complexes and homes for ownership. Access to affordable rental housing and real, viable pathways to homeownership are central to the health of our communities. We build homes and manage rentals that are affordable for low income families throughout Lane, Benton, and Linn counties. We currently own and maintain 411 affordable rentals, housing 855 low income individuals. Due to the merger, we’ve increased our capacity in housing development and plan to develop 200 affordable rentals or homes for ownership over the next three years, including 64 Community Land Trust homes in Florence, Cottage Grove, Eugene and Corvallis by 2022 and over 50 affordable rentals in Corvallis. Thriving Communities: DevNW enables communities to flourish by helping to revitalize and create healthy, inclusive and prosperous neighborhoods. We facilitate neighborhood revitalization and development by focusing an array of community-building activities in specific lower-income neighborhoods. Our community health workers promote individual and community health at our affordable rental housing by helping residents to establish health goals, access services, maintain stable housing, and participate in community activities.