On Tuesday, November 14, Jubilee Housing celebrated its 50th anniversary with longtime friends, former and current leadership, supporters, elected officials, residents, and new partners, with the soaring vaults of the Washington National Cathedral as an inspiring backdrop. More than 600 guests gathered to toast Jubilee’s auspicious anniversary, including Mayor Muriel Bowser, DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson, members of Presenting Sponsor Amazon’s Housing Equity Fund, and many, many more valued Jubilee partners that have been instrumental to Jubilee’s growth and success over the years.

The evening’s program included a special message of support from Academy Award-nominated actor Edward Norton, the grandson of legendary developer Jim Rouse, a critical partner in Jubilee’s founding. Rouse was inspired by his experience with Jubilee and went on to found Enterprise Community Partners and advance affordable housing nationwide. The evening also included award presentations to Jubilee co-founders Barbara Moore and Terry Flood for their extraordinary lifetime contributions to making DC a city that works for everyone.

Generous sponsors and attendees raised nearly $620,000 that will help Jubilee expand its mission over the next few years, doubling the impact of its Justice Housing® model in Ward 1 by developing new deeply affordable apartment homes, sustaining and bolstering resident services, and implementing exciting innovations. For instance, Jubilee will launch DC’s first affordable-housing based aquaponics farm with a workforce development program and community kitchen. The farm is expected to generate 13,000 fresh fruits and vegetables a month for Jubilee residents and the wider community, while the workforce development program will help returning citizens and community members develop essential job skills.

The event couldn’t have happened without the efforts of Gala Host Committee co-chairs Alex Orfinger, Catherine Buell, and Evelyn Lee; our legion of incredible sponsors and guests; our remarkable presenters and speakers; as well as Rachel Tillman of Cool River Marketing; Brisa Baron and Jean-Luc Quevauvilliers of Carel Creative; Benjamin Ross, Rachael Marcum, and the video crew of Metamer Studios; Aneisha Persaud of the Washington National Cathedral; Spilled Milk Catering; 4Wall; Nomad Event Systems; Terra Rossa; and our own internal team for such an elegant and inspiriting event!

Thank You to Event Donors! ($500+)

Thank You to Our Sponsors!

Presenting

Platinum

Gold

Silver

BERG • Bernstein Management Corporation • Joseph Black & Lisa Olson • Bread of Life Church • CBRE • Cushman & Wakefield • Datawatch Systems • Deloitte • Friends of Jubilee — Myra, Charles, George, Denise • GCS-SIGAL • Bart Harvey and Janet Marie Smith • Holland & Knight LLP • James G. Davis Construction Corporation • Kastle • Long & Foster • Pepco • R4 Capital • Skanska USA Commercial Development Inc.

Bronze

Aeroseal Windows & Storefront • AMT, LLC • Atelier Architects • BANDURAdesign • Boston Properties • CohnReznick • Convergent Technologies Design Group, Inc. • Cool River Marketing • Daniel Cunningham & Mary Hennessey • Duane Morris LLP • Dynamic Contracting | Hammer Masonry • ECS Mid-Atlantic, LLC • Equity Plus • Gensler • Goulston & Storrs • Jim Gray & Henry Louie • Greenstein DeLorme & Luchs, P.C. • Grosvenor • Horning • Illumine Interim Executives • Jim & Wendy Knight • Local Initiatives Support Corporation • The Menkiti Group | Keller Williams Capital Properties • MLG Construction Management • Alex Orfinger & Cal Bowie • Ropes & Gray • Rosewood Strategies | Montage Development Group • Saul Ewing • Shalom Baranes Associates • Sitar Arts Center • Stonebridge • Tishman Speyer • TMG • VERCO • The Whiting-Turner Contracting Company • Washington Gas

Jubilee Housing turns 50 this year, and we are hosting a special anniversary celebration at the Washington National Cathedral on Tuesday, November 14, 2023. That night we will not only celebrate Jubilee but also our city’s commitment to providing Justice Housing® for all.

With the Cathedral as an inspiring backdrop, we will toast five decades of building communities with deeply affordable housing and supportive services in resource-rich neighborhoods and advocate for developing more of these communities in our city and beyond. We expect more than 500 attendees, representing various industries and sectors and local and national government, to attend.

We carry three beliefs into the next half-century:

First, each person brings unique gifts and unlimited potential. We provide access to resource-rich, vibrant, and compassionate communities, so everyone has what they need to flourish — good schools, businesses, recreation, and services.

Second, people cut off from opportunity tend to struggle at the edges of society, often outside the boundaries of access. We strive to widen the circle so that everyone has a place inside.

Third, on the societal level there are unjust systems and practices that prevent people from achieving their goals. We endeavor to reset the system.

As we prepare for our anniversary year, we are overlaying our justice housing® work with these three principles to deliver the greatest possible impact.

To do that, we need help from donors and partners. We are grateful for Presenting Sponsor Amazon; Platinum Sponsors Dulin Church, Enterprise Community Partners, Truist Bank, and United Bank; and all of our amazing sponsors for their support.

Our mission is to help individuals and families thrive; a word we often use to capture the full range of what success might mean. Our job is not to define success but to remove barriers that might prevent someone from defining it for themself and entering the circle of belonging.

We look forward to seeing guests on November 14!

On June 7, our community gathered for Jubilee Housing’s Annual Justice Housing Breakfast. This event is a chance for Jubilee to welcome both longtime friends and newcomers to share Jubilee’s mission, impact, and future direction. It is also a chance for attendees to decide if they want to partner with the organization by contributing, pledging, or getting involved in other ways.

Thanks to the generosity of attendees, Jubilee raised nearly $200,000, including donations for 2023 and pledges for the next 2 years! These funds will go toward general operating support — everything from unit maintenance to essential resident services for kids through seniors — and they are more critical than ever as we expand to welcome new families.

Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau opened the event with an invocation and blessing for the morning ahead. Jubilee Advisory Council Member Tiffani Moore gave the convocation, providing an overview of Justice Housing and why she personally supports Jubilee.

“Housing is a fundamental human right and foundational need that is associated with everything in a person’s life. Education, employment, mental and physical well-being — all is buttressed by having affordable, sustainable, and resilient housing. We live in unprecedented times and housing affordability and supply challenges are part of the national discourse.

Jubilee Housing is at the forefront of this conversation in our community and is wholly committed to using its voice to fiercely pursue housing justice and end homelessness and housing insecurity in Washington, DC, especially for historically marginalized people and communities of color.”

Tiffani Moore, Jubilee Housing Advisory Council

Jubilee Housing President and CEO Jim Knight followed with a speech on the Jubilee Year, a term that refers to a 50-year cycle of renewal defined by qualities such as filling gaps, breaking down boundaries, and resetting the system.

“Our founders chose the name Jubilee to anchor this work in the transformational vision of the Jubilee Year. They did so in an earlier era when the economy was not working for everyone. They knew this vision has the power to disrupt the status quo and bring generative change. These transformative elements of the original Jubilee Year are as potent now as they ever were. As we prepare for our Jubilee Year, we are reimagining how we can live these principles with greatest impact.”

Jim Knight, Jubilee Housing President & CEO

In a series of video interviews, residents, staff, and board members who make up the Jubilee community shared, in their own words, what Jubilee Housing means to them. Speakers included Knight as well as Resident Charletta Cowling, Resident and Board Member Karen Salmerón, Resident and Board Member Samuel Buggs, Director of Reentry Gina Daye-Williams, Director of Resident & Family Services Miya Gaskins, Director of Youth Services Audrey Walker, and Board Chair Clint Mann.

Jubilee Resident and Board Member Karen Salmerón returned in person to the stage to share her perspective and, as Jubilee approaches its 50th anniversary this fall, what this moment means.

“The first thing this moment means to us is a chance to celebrate all that this community has accomplished. At the same time, we recognize there are members of our community who have not yet found their path forward. We see this as a moment to renew our profound commitment to promoting justice and equity through housing and services. We are working to imagine new ways of supporting our existing neighbors as we prepare to welcome new ones. We need your partnership as we chart a future where more DC residents have opportunities to thrive.”

Karen Salmerón, Jubilee Housing Resident & Board Member

Jubilee Board Chair Clint Mann closed the time with the audience, sharing his draw to the organization and making a call for support.

“The last time Jubilee hosted their Justice Housing breakfast was in 2019. Like you, I sat in a room, just like this, and heard about the incredible work Jubilee is doing and heard firsthand, from a resident just like Karen, about the impact that Jubilee had on their lives, and the lives of so many others. I sat in the audience of that breakfast thinking what more could I do to help? What more could I do to give back? What more could I do to make a difference?”

Clint Mann, Jubilee Housing Board Chair

Thank you to supporters and attendees, as well as Breakfast Co-Chairs Karen Salmerón and Jim Gray and our fabulous Table Captains!

If you want to get involved, there is still time!

Many partners have leveraged their networks, company giving programs, gifts of stock, and more.

“Justice Housing is one solution to mend the divide in our communities, to heal the divisions between residents of different wealth and race, to close the gaps between those with the most resources and those with the fewest. To us, justice housing is where it begins. And we cannot forget or leave behind those who are most affected by our trends of gentrification and displacement.”

Tiffani Moore, Jubilee Housing Advisory Council