Supporting Empowered Emerging Developers (SEED) Academy
Developers of Color Program
Presented In partnership with NDC, Chase Bank, and San Diego Housing Federation
Program information
San Diego Housing Federation, in partnership with JP Morgan Chase and the National Development Council (NDC), launches the Supporting Empowered Emerging Developers (SEED) Academy in San Diego. A first-of-its-kind program in San Diego, the SEED Academy builds capacity for emerging Developers of Color.
Applications are closed.
The National Development Council’s (NDC) innovative Supporting Empowered Emerging Developers (SEED) Academy is a high-impact, intensive training, and technical assistance program for start-up BIPOC and woman real estate developers. Sponsored by JPMorgan Chase, San Diego is one of three sites selected to launch a SEED Academy in 2023, including Atlanta, GA, and Houston, TX.
According to Enterprise Community Partners, just 2% of development companies are Black-led, and only 1.5% of real estate assets under management are controlled by firms owned by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (“BIPOC”) providers (Equitable Path Forward, 2023). There is a growing need to develop more incentives for developers of color, designed to attract adequate development of affordable housing, both rental and homeownership units. These incentives should seek to build capacity, experience, and necessary wealth for emerging BIPOC developers who are committed to furthering community goals for affordable housing development.
The SEED Academy will provide training to emerging BIPOC developers to build their skills and capacity in all stages of the development process: from creating a concept to land acquisition to financing, construction, and completion. This program will create a network of academy graduates that can share best practices in expanding equitable development and gain support to tackle larger and more complex projects that meet the needs of underserved and mixed-income communities.
NDC’s SEED Academy, launched in 2012, has grown over the past decade into a program that partners with communities to provide emerging developers with training and technical assistance on the full range of subjects that a developer must know and understand to successfully enter the field. In-person, live-remote and self-guided training addresses the stages and steps of the development process and development finance. SEED Academy panel discussions bring local architects, lenders, tax credit investors, zoning officials, and successful developers together to share their experiences and advice with the SEED Academy participants.
Each SEED Academy ends with a capstone presentation by the Developers on their project to lenders, community leaders, and other real estate decision-makers to gain feedback and support. SEED Academy participants reconvene periodically to enhance their technical skills and knowledge, to share success stories, and to collectively identify barriers to BIPOC and woman-led developers in their communities.
Participants in SEED academies delivered by NDC, and its partners have already met with success in Detroit, Omaha, Tulsa, and Seattle. The addition of Jackie Gorman and Courtney Pogue will support NDC’s expansion of the program to more communities across the U.S. that seek to expand wealth-building opportunities to more diverse developers and to meet affordable housing, and other neighborhood and community development goals in communities of color and low-and moderate-income neighborhoods.
This developer-focused is built upon NDC’s more than 50 years of experience as the leading (and first) provider of training specifically designed for professionals in economic and housing development. Since its inception in 1970, more than 80,000 professionals in both public and nonprofit economic, housing, and community development have been trained through NDC courses to advance their communities, their organizations, and their careers.
“There are other programs out there that provide training to people who want to be real estate developers. What makes NDC's SEED Academy unique is that we teach our emerging developers the financial nuts and bolts of the development process,” says Jackie Gorman, Senior Director, of NDC SEED Academy. “At the end of our program, they will be able to put pencil to paper and get a good sense of the financial feasibility of a project. They will have a basic understanding of the resources that are available to finance their projects and how to access those resources. By creating a national network of BIPOC developers, we hope to facilitate knowledge sharing and perhaps incubate some partnerships.”
Through the SEED Academy, graduates will understand how to access the capital necessary to develop their first project; build and use their new network to identify additional projects and partnerships, and gain the skills to grow the revenues of their business.
NDC in San Diego
The San Diego Housing Federation (SDHF) was selected to assist with the program launch in San Diego and will serve as the liaison for the steering committee and cohort outreach. JP Morgan Chase will support the program education through their partnership grant with NDC, meaning that the education will be at no cost to the students.
Steering Committee will assist in developing the program for San Diego specifications including outreach and applications for the cohort, outreach for capital to assist with a Capstone project for the cohort, guest panelists, and mentorship.
For questions, requests for involvement, or application requests, please contact Sarah Buchanan, Executive Vice President, San Diego Housing Federation.
*Travel, hotel lodging, and other transportation needs for the accepted cohort are NOT covered by the program and the cohort will be responsible for paying for on their own.
Congratulations to the 2023 Cohort!
Mentors wanted
We are looking for professionals like you in the affordable housing or development sector who are eager to share their knowledge and help students of affordable housing management grow.