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Community Giving Spotlight: HomeSight

Kerala Taylor

, Senior Marketing Manager

Last updated: December 19, 2023

PixelSpoke was excited to select HomeSight, a Seattle-based nonprofit that is developing an affordable cooperative housing complex, as one of our 2023 Community Giving partners!

At PixelSpoke, we’re serious about giving back. In fact, community giving is written into our cooperative bylaws. Each year, we donate 10 percent of our profits to organizations that are creating a more just, equitable, and sustainable world. Five percent of our profits support nonprofits that are dedicated to promoting credit unions as a force for good and/or supporting a cooperative economy. The remaining five percent support nonprofits selected by team members as part of our employee-led giving program.

What HomeSight does

HomeSight builds community and helps low- and middle-income families buy homes. It develops real estate with a goal of keeping housing affordable and preventing displacement.

How HomeSight inspires us

Access to affordable housing is a growing problem across the country, and it’s clear that we’re in dire need of new and more creative solutions. HomeSight has found such a solution with its Opportunity Center at Othello Square, which represents a community-driven response to the pressures of extraordinary growth in Seattle.

This 7-story building will include access to post-secondary education, small business incubation, financial services, community events, and a residential housing cooperative serving families who earn 80% of the area median income or less. The project is a shining example of cooperation among cooperatives in action, and it offers an innovative blueprint for partnerships between community development organizations, educational institutions, and credit unions that can potentially be replicated in other communities.

Beyond the dollars

We were excited to talk to Uche Okezie, HomeSight’s Real Estate Development Director, and Tina Narron, Chief Lending Officer at Verity Credit Union, on our Remarkable Credit Union podcast about how they are working together to help achieve financial wellness in the communities they serve.

“The conventional way of doing things doesn’t always work for certain communities and we must be open to trying different solutions. When it comes to housing, cost is out of control, inventory is so small, financing is so difficult. We push the American dream, but how do we help people actually achieve it?”

– Uche Okezie, Real Estate Development Director, HomeSight

We hope other credit unions will be inspired by this unique and impactful partnership and perhaps investigate cooperative housing solutions in their own communities!