Creating More Opportunities
We make more possible with partners who engage in our mission as advocates, experts, advisors, co-creators, storytellers, and supporters.
Your generosity helps us build homes, advance policies, and make inclusive communities a reality, nationwide.
“This organization [gives] permission to think outside the box, to dream big, to cross the different disciplines and sectors, to build something new that will benefit the disability community and benefit all of us.”
Great Progress, Made Together
We co-develop accessible, affordable, and inclusive homes in some of our nation’s most challenging housing markets, and advance a movement for a better housing future with over 10,000 community and civic leaders.
Public, private, and philanthropic partnerships are the critical foundation for establishing a scalable model for disability-forward housing across the US.
Less than 12% of people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) rent or own their own home.
FAQs
Find answers to questions you may have about donating, partnerships, or our housing development and advocacy work.
Collaboration and community partnerships are central to our mission. You can engage with The Kelsey as a partner, donor, co-developer, or community leader. Involvement opportunities include taking actions alongside our advocacy team, co-developing housing, implementing the Inclusive Design Standards, sharing resources from our Learn Center, or sharing your housing story. If you’re interested in exploring co-development, in need of technical assistance, or want to explore other partnership opportunities, contact us.
Our advocacy focuses on unlocking new funding and advancing policies that increase the production of accessible, affordable, inclusive housing, as well as policies around improving housing opportunities and outcomes for people with disabilities who use supportive services. We work with partners nationally to advance a disability-forward housing future, including providing technical assistance and equipping state and local advocates to champion disability-forward housing policies in their communities. Stay informed on actions you can take by signing up for Breaking Ground Advocacy Alerts.
If you have an advocacy initiative you’d like to share with us for support, contact us here.
Our work directly addresses housing gaps through a model co-developed by people with and without disabilities. The Kelsey began with human-centered focus groups with people with disabilities, their family members, and their support providers, to identify what was missing in their housing opportunities and which key features should be included in new solutions. Since those initial focus groups, disabled people have driven our work as team members, board members, community advisors, paid consultants, and partners.
Core to our approach is an understanding that people with disabilities have intersectional identities and may experience marginalization on multiple levels. We work to center people with disabilities who have historically been underrepresented in housing and disability rights. This includes BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ people, immigrants, those who have experienced housing insecurity and homelessness, and disabled people who hold other marginalized identities.
Our philanthropic partners provide both general operating support and project-specific capital. Gifts of all levels make an impact. Unrestricted funding supports all aspects of our programmatic initiatives serving individuals and communities nationwide, as well as early project exploration and acquisition that allows us to move faster to develop inclusive housing. Project-specific investment can include donated and concessionary lending capital to develop inclusive housing communities. Email ari@thekelsey.org to explore naming opportunities or other capital needs.
To stay up to date on all that’s going on at The Kelsey, sign up for Field Notes, our monthly newsletter with highlights from our housing communities, advocacy initiatives, and our field. For timely advocacy updates and opportunities, sign up for Breaking Ground Advocacy Alerts. For regular updates about our team, communities, partners, and some behind-the-scenes, follow us on social media @TheKelseyMore.