NeighborWorks® America welcomed leaders from across its nearly 250-member network to Washington, D.C., last week, for its annual Executive Symposium. The gathering gave leaders – and, for the first time in person, board members – a chance to connect, to innovate, and to talk about solutions for the nation’s housing crisis.
This year, about 220 network leaders and 120 board members joined in the event. The theme was Collective Leadership: Building Strength for Today & Tomorrow!
“The state of change in almost every segment of our lives is staggering and at times feels very unsettling,” said NeighborWorks President & CEO Marietta Rodriguez. “And, frankly I don’t see the pace of change slowing down … We need to find ways to build resilience, calm and exercise leadership in new ways.”
The convening gave leaders a chance to forge and continue relationships, seek advice and share challenges. They also shared solutions. Numerous times over the week, peers could be heard telling one another, “We’re in the same boat.” Or, said another way, “I’m not alone.”
Michael Butchko, vice president for Business Intelligence at NeighborWorks, delivered a state-of-the-network address, highlighting some of the network’s numbers from fiscal year 2025.
“In 2025, your organizations – and this is a technical data term – crushed it,” he said. Among his numbers:
- 417,000 families were assisted with housing and counseling in FY25.
- Because of the network’s efforts, 217,000 families had safe, decent and affordable rental homes.
- During challenging homeownership affordability conditions, more than 17,000 families realized the goal of homeownership.
He also provided a number that he said the network should shout from the rooftops: Over the last five years, at least 90% of NeighborWorks homebuyers have been first-time homebuyers. Nationwide, the share of first-time homebuyers has dropped to only 21%. Meanwhile, the median age of first-time homebuyers nationwide has risen to 40, from 29 in 1981.
“The NeighborWorks network can point to strategies like pre-purchase counseling and education as effective tools to prepare consumers for the responsibilities of homeownership,” Butchko said.
Rodriguez, meanwhile, touted cumulative statistics from NeighborWorks and the network since 1991, the year the Congressionally chartered nonprofit started keeping track.
Since 1991 through the end of 2025, NeighborWorks and the network created over 500,000 homeowners and preserved over 338,000 homes, she said. Since 1999, over 2.9 million families and individuals have received housing counseling and education from the network. Investment has totaled more than $165.5 billion.
“The willingness to share openly, to challenge thinking and to support one another is what allows this network to continue to adapt and deliver,” Rodriguez said.
