The Racial Wealth Gap Partnership at the Boston Foundation

Established in late 2022 as part of the Boston Foundation's commitment to racial equity, the Racial Wealth Gap Partnership is a uniquely powerful effort to close racial wealth gaps in the city and region by increasing homeownership in communities of color.

Our Current Work

In November 2024, Lee Pelton and the Racial Wealth Gap Partnership were joined by Gov. Maura Healey, Lt. Gov. Kim Driscoll, Housing Secretary Ed Augustus and representatives from the Massachusetts Housing Partnership and Eastern Bank to celebrate the launch of ONE+, a mortgage and down payment assistance program administered by MHP to provide access to homeownership for hundreds of Massachusetts residents in 29 communities across the state.

Launched with more than $11 miillion in funding - more than $7 million of which came through the Boston Foundation and members of the Partnership - the program is working with more than two dozen lenders across the state.

The launch, however, is just a first step. TBF and the Racial Wealth Gap Partnership have set out to raise $25 million for this work.

Visit wealthgap.org to learn more

Why Homeownership?

The Wealth Gap Partnership's initial focus on homeownership is based on two simple facts:

Homeownership is the largest driver of intergenerational wealth for Americans across virtually all racial and demographic groups.
The United States, and Greater Boston in particular, have a significant and measurable gap in homeownership between white households and Black, Asian and Latino households.

With a data-informed and mission-driven approach to advance racial and economic equity, the Wealth Gap Partnership brings together housing, financial, nonprofit, philanthropic and civic leaders to develop approaches to support, strengthen, and expand the current landscape of affordable homeownership, and through it, build intergenerational wealth for communities of color.

Who We Are

The Wealth Gap Partnership is a broad-based group of more than 40 members representing sectors including banking and finance, housing, issue advocacy, government, healthcare and life sciences, and education.

The partnership is convened and anchored by the Boston Foundation, including by its Director and leadership staff from across the organization, representing the Foundation's significant commitment to this issue.

Click here for the members list

Partnership Priorities:

Expanding Down Payment Assistance

Coming up with the down payment and closing costs for a home is a major hurdle to homeownership. Expansion of these programs and other forms of subsidy can help families overcome these obstacles and save their cash reserves for expenses associated with being a new homeowner, like unexpected repairs.

Increasing Access to Affordable Mortgage Products

Access to affordable mortgage products allows prospective homebuyers the opportunity to make affordable monthly payments resulting in significant cost savings. These cost savings can save families hundreds of dollars a month that they can use for short-term disposable income and long-term savings.

Increasing Housing Supply

Lack of adequate housing supply is a fundamental, underlying cause of the affordable housing crisis in Massachusetts. There simply are not enough housing units to meet the demands of Massachusetts residents, especially those with low or moderate incomes.

Tools and Avenues for Change:

Programming &
Interventions

Tackling individual, systems, and root-level causes of inequity requires the support of and investment in programs and institutions that work within communities of color to improve their lived circumstances. The Partnership believes our role is to find opportunities to identify such programs and uncover ways to amplify and expand their efforts.

Policy &
Advocacy

We believe that our laws must play a pivotal role in addressing the significant and longstanding wealth gaps that exist in communities of color. As a result, our work includes efforts to influence and shape policymaking on the local, municipal, and state level.

Research & Communications

The Partnership’s work is data informed and mission driven. Our work is shaped not only by the importance of our cause, but also by the qualitative and quantitative information we collect, receive, and analyze as well as our communication and engagement of these learnings (and the actions that come from them) to our external stakeholders and target communities.

To learn more about the work of the Racial Wealth Gap Partnership, and how you can support or join in the effort, visit wealthgap.org or contact Courtney Brunson, Director.