Building a More Resilient Housing Organization
Six lessons from The NHP Foundation's own strategic planning process.
As housing costs rise and affordability challenges deepen, housing providers are asked to fulfill a large and growing public need with ever-increasing pressures on their own bottom lines. In this environment, strategic planning brings investment, development, long-term ownership and resident services under one vision to prioritize mission through a lens of organizational sustainability.
At The NHP Foundation, developing our 2026–2028 Strategic Plan gave us the opportunity to examine what it would take to sustain our properties, support our residents and strengthen our financial position over time. With support from HR&A Advisors, a real estate and economic development consulting firm, we assessed our strengths, questioned familiar approaches and established priorities within a changing landscape.
The result is a plan centered on organizational resilience: creating and preserving quality affordable homes while sustaining the resources that make our mission possible.
The process reinforced six lessons to develop plans that work.
1. Start with an honest assessment
An effective strategic plan begins with a clear understanding of market conditions, organizational strengths and opportunities for improvement. Today’s housing environment is marked by tightening resources, rising costs and higher demand, requiring that owner-operators rethink deal structures, property operations and resident services funding.
These pressures demand scrutiny of the business model supporting the mission. Which activities generate dependable revenue? Where are costs outpacing resources? How much capacity does a new opportunity require? How can we adopt new approaches to old challenges?
At NHPF, even a strength warranted reexamination. Our successful development track record encouraged us to pursue deals wherever we saw potential. Strategic planning sharpened our focus on long-term operating performance and the importance of local expertise, leading us to prioritize a smaller number of core markets—an approach already yielding results. NHPF exited two markets in 2026 and our 2027 pipeline is exclusively in our target markets.
2. Bring different perspectives into the process
Internally, this meant designing a strategic planning process that sought input from each core function–development, construction management, asset management, finance and Operation Pathways, our resident services subsidiary—both individually and in collaboration. Led by a joint Management and Board Strategic Plan Steering Committee, these discussions shaped our direction.
We involved those responsible for implementation early, asking what collaboration looks like, where resources are stretched and what would improve results. A development opportunity may look compelling but depend on unsustainable operating assumptions. Resident services staff may identify barriers to household stability that financial reports cannot explain, while risk assessments may reveal latent vulnerabilities that need attention.
HR&A also led outreach to third parties to inform these discussions, spanning for-profit and non-profit peers, partners and public agencies that are innovating in our industry. These perspectives tested our assumptions, introduced new potential solutions and pushed us to do better.
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3. Make clear choices about growth
A strategic plan should establish which opportunities deserve resources and where the organization’s strengths can make the greatest difference. For NHPF, that meant learning when to say “yes” and, equally important, when to say “no.” It also meant acknowledging that growth does not need to be the driving assumption. A promising opportunity is only worth pursuing if it fits our mission and our capacity to deliver.
Our market and deal selection criteria extend beyond whether a transaction can close. We consider market fundamentals, existing presence, partnerships, political will, available capital and competitive advantage, alongside execution risk, staffing and long-term cash flow. We adopted new decision criteria and market assessment tools and committed ourselves to revisiting them annually to determine where to grow, pause or exit.
Our plan also broadens financing and investment approaches to include naturally occurring affordable housing, workforce housing and mixed-income development alongside continued Low-Income Housing Tax Credit work. This diversification expands our response to regional needs and strengthens our financial sustainability, broadening the impact of our mission.
4. Connect financial sustainability to resident outcomes
For mission-driven housing providers, financial sustainability determines how consistently we can maintain homes, respond to problems and invest in residents. Our mission execution is contingent on our own financial well-being.
NHPF’s plan connects housing growth with portfolio stewardship and resident impact. It considers a property’s full life, including capital needs, utility costs, management performance and support for residents, particularly those facing significant financial or health challenges.
Through Operation Pathways, the plan prioritizes food security, financial wellness, economic mobility and resident leadership. These commitments require sustainable funding, coordination with property operations and clear measures of progress.
Resident Services is at the heart of who we are and what we do, and ensuring their sustainability is just as important as delivering them. This starts with an understanding of the impact of resident services on property economics.
5. Set measurable goals
Broad aspirations become actionable when tied to baselines, targets and responsibility. We selected a focused set of indicators reflecting mission and financial health, and assigned responsibility for each and established how progress will be reviewed. Together, these measures give our team a shared definition of success and clear guidance on how to achieve it.
NHPF aims to grow from a 2025 baseline of 61 properties and approximately 9,500 homes to 70 properties and approximately 11,000 homes by the end of 2028. As we expand, we will uphold the high-quality of our existing portfolio, maintaining or improving cash flow, reserves and occupancy. On-site food pantries will grow from 12 to all properties where Operation Pathways currently operates, and Family Self-Sufficiency programs will increase from four to 10 properties.
NHPF also plans to diversify deal structures, including 501(c)(3) bond financing for both new construction and preservation. These approaches can reduce reliance on limited federal and local funding, expanding our pipeline and diversifying sources of revenue.
6. Build adaptation into implementation
A strategic plan needs a review process that stays relevant as markets, funding opportunities and organizational capacity change.
Regular checkpoints allow organizations to assess progress, revisit assumptions and adjust priorities or tactics. Keeping goals visible in investment decisions, budgets and team discussions makes the plan part of everyday management.
For housing organizations, the value of strategic planning comes from putting it to work: directing limited resources, strengthening accountability and adapting with purpose so the homes and services residents depend on remain sustainable over time.
Done with purpose and focus, strategic planning can do more than serve as a directional signal to an organization. It can guide day-to-day work and operations, helping an organization stay true to its roots while it navigates what will likely remain a challenging climate for the affordable housing industry.
Thalia Lankin is COO of The NHP Foundation.
Please note: To become a Viewpoint writer, reach out to Therese Fitzgerald at therese.fitzgerald@cpe-mhn.com. All Viewpoints are copyright of Commercial Property Executive 2026. We do not accept AI-written content.
