Every two years Radian, in partnership with Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships, collects data from mission-driven organizations including nonprofits, social enterprises, and other socially-minded businesses, to better understand the impacts of rising commercial rents and gentrification. Denver’s decreasing affordability, both in residential and commercial spaces, continues to threaten the sustainability of many organizations, and in some cases, leads to involuntary displacement.
Building off of 2015 and 2018 data, the purpose of the 2020 study is to support new Community Spaces programming and help inform City of Denver policies aimed at protecting mission-based organizations from displacement. The 2020 Nonprofit Anti-Displacement Survey was co-created with input from the Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships, local nonprofit leaders, and the real estate community. We are grateful to the 73 organizations that responded to the survey to help the Denver Office of Strategic Partnerships and Radian better advocate for increased availability of affordable nonprofit spaces throughout Denver.
Denver nonprofits are highly vulnerable to involuntary displacement due to rising real estate costs and COVID-related pressures, leaving the communities they serve at risk of not having access to critical services. While it is too soon to grasp the full impact of COVID-19, nonprofits are being even more cost conscious and creative to best meet the needs of the communities they serve. While many nonprofit centers are re-evaluating and negotiating current and future leases, several nonprofits who own their spaces are looking to relieve economic pressure by renting out unused space.
Concerns about affordability is nothing new for nonprofits in Denver; however, the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these pressures at an unprecedented scale, leaving Denver’s nonprofit and real estate sectors uncertain about how to proceed with existing and future leases and grappling with the size and type of space that is needed in the near future to successfully execute their missions. Read the full report for a better understanding of the breadth and depth of nonprofit displacement in Denver, and recommendations for 2021.
