About Us
We provide capital solutions, resources and training to historically underserved people and communities undertaking transformative real estate and urban development projects.
Why We Exist
Diversified Community Impact Incorporated (DCI) is a mission-driven community development corporation committed to advancing economic opportunity and community empowerment. DCI delivers comprehensive capital readiness education, transactional support for real estate developers, and strategic impact investment advisory services.
Our mission is to empower historically underserved communities, small businesses, and emerging real estate developers by equipping them with the financial literacy, resources, and expert guidance needed to access capital, execute sustainable development projects, and foster long-term economic resilience within their neighborhoods.
Who We Serve
Capital Providers: DCI assists financial institutions and mission-driven organizations in designing and delivering funding solutions for emerging operators.
Impact-oriented capital providers, including Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), have emerged as critical sources of financing for emerging operators. Despite their importance, these organizations and similar impact investors maintain a primary focus on debt offerings and often lack the internal expertise required to design and implement flexible capital solutions that address broader funding needs, particularly equity investments.
To effectively meet and expand their impact goals, these organizations require access to specialized third-party advisory services that can bridge these gaps — providing both transactional expertise and strategic support to ensure the long-term success and sustainability of the communities they serve.
Diversified Community Impact is a leading provider of capacity building and advisory services to Institutional Impact Capital Providers.
i) Capital Seekers: Capital DCI supports small, diverse, and emerging operators who have operational experience but struggle to secure institutional equity.
Due to their historic exclusion from traditional funding sources, emerging operators often display exceptional qualities such as grit, resourcefulness, and creativity — traits forged by necessity. However, the chronic undercapitalization of their organizations typically results in limited staffing and infrastructure, leading to operational inefficiencies that slow organizational growth and project execution.
Additionally, the absence of deep funding networks and inexperience in structured fundraising perpetuate a cycle wherein operators are forced to continuously recycle limited pools of capital. This dynamic restricts their ability to scale operations, pursue larger or more complex transactions, and build adequate financial reserves to weather unforeseen shocks, ultimately inhibiting their long-term sustainability and impact potential.
What We Offer
Our organization providers capacity building and advisory services through several different product solutions:
INSTITUTIONAL ADVISORY SERVICES
Advising financial institutions on how to more effectively deploy capital to real estate entrepreneurs.
CAPACITY BUILDING & TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE
Equipping entrepreneurs with essential tools to scale their company's and attract funding.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT
DCI facilitates the renovation and construction of affordable units that may otherwise never materialize, thus expanding the availability of quality housing for many low-moderate income families.
GROUP WORKSHOPS & TRAINING COHORTS
Attend our workshops and learn how to successfully assess a real estate project or run a small business.
SMALL BUSINESS LOANS & PROJECT FINANCING
Attend our workshops and learn how to successfully assess a real estate project or run a small business.
Community Impact
A study by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (“ICIC”) concluded that Black and Hispanic developers represent less than 1% of private development firms and 5% of owners overall. While many factors contribute to this dynamic, access to capital (or lack thereof) remains the most pressing and sustained barrier to entry, a fact supported by the fact minority and women-owned firms currently represent only 2% of institutional funds raised in the commercial real estate sector.
We're Leveling The Playing Field
What Makes Us Different
Prior to creating Diversified Community Impact, the founders, Eric Andrew and Vernon Beckford, spent nearly 20 years financing, investing in, acquiring, and operating real estate investment properties, both on Wall Street and as real estate entrepreneurs. During that period, they not only witnessed and experienced first hand the challenges BIPOC operators routinely face in accessing capital, but the detrimental impact this has played in limiting prosperity for both entrepreneurs and communities of color. As such, they have been uniquely positioned to design and implement financial solutions and programming that speaks directly to the needs of their core constituents, while also applying sound, sustainable real estate investment principles.
- Senior leadership with extensive Wall Street and Main Street transactional experience.
- Founded by community developers and mission-aligned capital investors.
- Management has lived the experience of the constituents they serve.
Our Core Values
- Integrity: We conduct business transparently and honestly. `
- Servant Leadership: We serve our employees AND our clients.
- Efficiency: We utilize technology to streamline the loan process and facilitate an exceptional and consistent client experience.
- Diversity: We value and prioritize diversity, not only within our ranks, but in the sponsors we cultivate lasting relationships with.