As we step into 2024, we are thrilled to announce a significant milestone: the merger of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance (NVAHA) and the Alliance for Housing Solutions (AHS), effective January 1, 2024.
The decision to merge stems from a shared commitment to better serve our community. Through this unification, we are able to leverage our combined knowledge, resources, and voices to make a substantial impact on our region’s affordable housing crisis. Collaboration has always been fundamental to our work, and this unification represents a natural evolution of our shared vision. 
What You Need To Know:
- Unified Vision: Our strategy involves continuing our regional approach while remaining attuned to local solutions through the creation of local housing alliances. Arlington will lead the charge as the initial local alliance. Our combined entity will maintain the local Arlington voice for advocacy, deepen outreach, amplify our impact in the region, and strengthen our presence as the most trusted voice on affordable housing issues.
- Leadership: Jill Norcross will assume the role of Executive Director of the combined entity. Charles McCullough will stay on as a consultant to assist with the merger integration. Alice Hogan will continue the Arlington Alliance for Housing Solutions policy and advocacy work. Hanna Metuda will remain our Director of Policy and Programs. In order to ensure representation and the strategic focus of the combined organization, the new Board of Directors will consist of members of both organizations.
- Donations and Grants: Past and present contributions will continue to fulfill their intended purposes. Future donors will have the option to designate their contributions to a specific local alliance and/or to support NVAHA’s regional work.
- Programming: There are no immediate changes to our existing programming. NVAHA will continue hosting our monthly Lunch & Learns educational sessions, Leadership Council meetings, Rising Housing Leaders programs and other advocacy and educational activities. Alice will continue hosting the Housing Action Arlington monthly meetings and other advocacy activities in Arlington. We plan to establish other local alliances in other Northern Virginia jurisdictions in the future.
- Branding: In the first quarter of 2024, we plan to evaluate our unified brand, name and mission during this period of integration.
We are grateful for our long-time funders, Virginia Housing, the Meyer Foundation, and The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation, for their generous support of this unification. We would also like to acknowledge the team of people who worked hard on this unification, especially our Unification Task Force Members, both AHS and NVAHA Boards of Directors and Staff, our strategic consultants at Curtis Strategy and our legal team at Pillsbury.
This merger represents an exciting step forward in our pursuit of affordable housing solutions. Together, we’ll continue to promote healthy, sustainable and equitable communities that meet the diverse housing needs of Northern Virginia residents. Thank you for your unwavering support—we are eager to embark on this transformative journey alongside you.
We invite you to explore our FAQs page to find detailed answers to questions regarding this merger. If you still have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at info@nvaha.org. We look forward to keeping you apprised of our integration progress.