Posts tagged Batch 5
Aaron Fairchild featured on The Regenerative Real Estate Podcast

Green Canopy CEO, Aaron Fairchild, was recently featured on the Regenerative Real Estate Podcast by Latitude | Regenerative Real Estate in the episode "Scaling Green Developments with Aaron Fairchild." 

The podcast explores our natural and built environments and how they can be used as a force for good. The show sets out to inspire impactful ideas, meaningful change, human wellness, and ecological restoration through interviews and easy to digest conversations.

In this episode, Aaron discusses Green Canopy’s work with investors that are seeking to do good with their funds while still returning a healthy profit, alongside development ventures that provide affordable housing options and work with community-based and socially justice organizations like Nehemiah Initiative Seattle and Habitat for Humanity.

Listen to this episode to hear more of Aaron’s valuable take-aways that help to illuminate how you can make an impact in your life, career, and with your money.

Green Canopy’s 2020 Impact Report

The year 2020 will go down in history books. We navigated through a pandemic and participated and observed civil unrest due to the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others. During this time, an additional 200,000 small businesses permanently shuttered, while at the same time the largest tech companies grew and billionaires profited such that their wealth grew by 27% during the peak of the crisis.

Perhaps we needed 2020 to rip the band aid off our perception that the world is just fine, and that status quo is good enough. Yet, the built environment is still responsible for 40% of our global carbon emissions. And, amidst a housing affordability crisis, the nation is 3.8 million homes short of demand and growing.

Fortunately, people did come together to reimagine a more resilient and vibrant future. We hope that by sharing this report we can create further inspiration and market transformation towards a brighter, more resilient, healthy and equitable future that in our hearts know is possible. While 2020 was a particular challenging year, Green Canopy continues to position itself to disrupt the industry to ensure a better alternative to the current paradigm of housing.

With deep gratitude,
Susan Fairchild
Director of Investor Relations & Impact

Green Canopy and Habitat for Humanity Combine Strengths to Deliver Affordable and Sustainable Housing

SEATTLE, Washington (May 6, 2021) - Green Canopy and Habitat for Humanity Seattle – King County (Habitat) are pleased to announce a partnership to design a 17-unit affordable multifamily housing development in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Seattle. The 4-star Built Green project, located near Cal Anderson Park, features one- and two-bedroom units to be sold to households making at or below 80 percent area median income. The collaboration will bridge affordability and sustainability and fill a gap in the housing market for low-income individuals, couples, and smaller families.

Combining a land trust model with permanent affordability requirements, Habitat lowers barriers to homeownership. Habitat’s homeownership model creates opportunities for those who may not otherwise have access to owning a home and enables them to build equity and obtain security and stability. In Seattle, population growth, low inventory and market price appreciations have prevented first-time homebuyers from being able to afford to live within the urban center and create wealth through equity in ownership.

“We have identified a significant gap in the housing market for those who can’t afford to build equity in the city that they live and work in,” said Patrick Sullivan, Director of Real Estate Development at Habitat. “Typically, affordable housing options are located outside of city centers and further from jobs and other amenities. We are excited to offer these homes to hard-working and deserving people who would otherwise be priced out of the area.”

Through this partnership, Green Canopy and Habitat for Humanity serve as a model for aligning for-profit and nonprofit organizations to develop market-rate land, while accelerating access to affordable, sustainable homes.

“We believe the partnership between Habitat and Green Canopy will set a new standard for homebuilding,” said Brett D’Antonio, CEO of Habitat for Humanity Seattle-King County. “Through private non-profit partnerships we are able to deliver more affordable housing units than we could alone.”

Known for its innovative, highly energy efficient urban infill homes in Seattle and Portland, Green Canopy specializes in unparalleled cost control and project management without compromising on sustainability.

“It is oftentimes a trade-off between sustainable or affordable when it comes to housing,” said Sam Lai, Green Canopy’s cofounder. “We are passionate about unlocking the potential impact of combining our expertise in green building and cost control with Habitat’s expertise in offering homes at a price point that increases accessibility.”

Green Canopy’s stringent green building standards result in homes that are not only better for the environment, but also better for residents’ health. Homeowner’s indoor air quality is improved by using all-electric appliances, low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) products and materials, and through systems like the Energy Recovery Ventilators (ERVs), which bring fresh, filtered air into the homes. Furthermore, the end product simply costs less to operate on a monthly basis than a comparable code-built home.

“Providing all-electric, sustainable, and healthy homes at affordable price points provides a better alternative to the current paradigm of housing,” said Susan Fairchild, Director of Impact at Green Canopy. “Through partnership and collaboration, we believe we can democratize sustainable homes so in time, people at every income level can live in more sustainable and healthy homes.”

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About Green Canopy: Green Canopy is an award-winning urban infill developer and homebuilder specializing in high performing, deep green, all-electric healthy homes. Their mission is to build relationships, businesses, and homes that help regenerate communities and environments. The team at Green Canopy offers development and general contracting services to third party investors, developers, and investment property owners.

About Habitat for Humanity Seattle – King County: Habitat SKC is dedicated to eliminating substandard housing locally and worldwide through constructing, renovating and preserving homes, advocating for fair and just housing policies, and providing training and access to resources to help families improve their shelter conditions. Habitat is founded on the conviction that every man, woman, and child should have a simple, durable place to live in dignity and safety, and that decent shelter in decent communities should be a matter of conscience and action for all.

 

For more information, please contact:
Susan Fairchild, Green Canopy Director of Impact and Investor Relations
susan@greencanopynode.com

Sam Lai, Green Canopy Cofounder
developmentservices@greencanopynode.com


Expanding the meaning of Earth Day

By Aaron Fairchild

Green Canopy’s Mission:
Building relationships, businesses, and homes that help regenerate communities and environments.

Last year for the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, I wrote that I hoped that observing Earth Day during a time of historic global crisis would perhaps draw greater attention to the need for society to transform to be more just, equitable and resilient. It was an observation that the purpose of Earth Day needs to expand to include justice, equity, diversity and inclusion.

Today, as the dawn broke on the shoreline of spring in America, accountability for the injustice of George Floyd’s murder was served. It reminds me what can be accomplished when a large collective comes to agreement that justice can be achieved, justice in voting and representation, housing, education, policing, health care and the environment. When we come together and demonstrate compassion through accountability for injustice, we create the conditions required for justice in all its forms to emerge into the radiance of our collective demonstration, and we are blessed.

When we collectively exercise restraint of our worst and consumptive impulses, our better versions have more space to emerge throughout our lives.

This ongoing social justice movement offers an opportunity to deepen and expand the original purpose of Earth Day. Created in 1970, “Earth Day is an event to increase public awareness of the world’s environmental problems.”

I believe that examples of aligning environmental and social issues point the way to reconsider what Earth Day should be about. Environmental organizations run the risk of being seen to appropriate social justice issues as merely a means of advancing environmental agendas. Their approach must be grounded in genuine partnership and compassion and focused on the equitable and just behavior of humans in all the environments we occupy.

 Can we adjust the aperture of Earth Day’s intent to be more wholistic and inclusive of social justice, equity, diversity and inclusion?

Throughout the pandemic I have felt hope when seeing several social and environmental impact organizations and projects outwardly share the observation that the environmental movement can and must be more inclusive. Perhaps when looking back fifty years from the future, we will be able to point to this moment of enhanced social justice awareness as the catalyst of greater societal unity and positive transformation across the planet.

Below are data points of hope from many different organizations that highlight positive alignment at the intersection of social and environmental issues.

I look forward to attending both the Nobel Prize, Theater of War production as well as the MoMA exploration!

 
Locally:

 

Natural Flow
af
 
Sit just above a stream, and
Listen to water flow.
Wind dances on your skin, and
Gently tickles tremoring licorice ferns
Up the spine of a mossy maple tree.
Sound, feeling, and movement harmonize
With birdsong blessings
Sprinkled into the air.
Feel this wilderness
Within you
To carry you
Throughout the day.

Green Canopy & Grow Community Partner to Build Third Phase of Sustainable Neighborhood
 
 

SEATTLE, Washington (February 3, 2021) - Green Canopy and the Grow Community have announced their partnership to build the third and final phase of the Bainbridge Island development project.

Grow Community was established in 2012 with the goal of creating a sustainable, intergenerational community intended to support the health and longevity of its residents. The development, featuring 119 homes and a community center, is located minutes from the ferry dock in the town center of Bainbridge Island and is designed to be a Net Zero neighborhood with the ability to use solar panels to provide 100% of the energy needed to power each home.

Phase 3 of the Grow Community will bookend the project, with a focus on townhomes that reflect the rest of Grow’s intentional sustainable, healthy, and community-based lifestyle. Jonathan Davis, the architect and resident of Phase 1, will be returning to design the final phase of the Grow Community.

“People move here intentionally because they believe in the vision and the values of the community. It’s amazing to see the connections made here and it has been comforting for residents to know there are others around to support them as needed,” said Davis. “I am honored to finish out the design for the Grow Community. And I’m excited to be able to work with Green Canopy to do so.”

The collaboration from Green Canopy and the Grow Community signifies a dual commitment to building resilient and sustainable communities. Green Canopy is known for building deep green and Net Zero Energy homes ranging from single-family homes to multi-unit projects, and its proprietary project development platform allows for unparalleled cost control and project management.

“What is exciting about this project is the alignment of values – this project aligns with our mission. It’s humbling to be welcomed into the Grow community as a development partner with so much of the way already paved before us” said Sam Lai, Green Canopy’s co-founder.

The Grow Community is the first One Planet neighborhood in the United States. The One Planet framework guides the design of Net Zero Energy neighborhoods as places where people can reduce their overall carbon footprint while living healthier and reducing costs. The program focuses not just on environmental impacts, but also on economic and social sustainability.

“Founding partners John and Ed Ellis have been instrumental in the completion of this project,” said Grow resident and original development team member Marja Williams. “Without them, this community would have never been as successful as it is today.”

“I’m eager to see this project finished in a way that I can be proud of. Much of the work that we’ve done with the Grow Community was meant to inspire others, and I think we’ve been successful in that,” said Ed Ellis.

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About Green Canopy: Green Canopy is an award-winning urban infill developer and homebuilder specializing in high performing, deep green, all-electric healthy homes. Their mission is to build relationships, businesses, and homes that help regenerate communities and environments. The team at Green Canopy offers development and general contracting services to third party investors, developers, and investment property owners.

About Grow Community: Grow Community is an urban One Planet neighborhood on Bainbridge Island, just a 35-minute ferry ride from downtown Seattle. With beautifully designed solar-powered homes, shared community gardens and clean transportation options, Grow allows all generations to enjoy a high-quality and healthy lifestyle.

For more information, please contact:

Susan Fairchild, Green Canopy Director of Impact and Investor Relations

Coming Together in a Time of Change

By Aaron Fairchild

The combination of Dr. Martin Luther King Day and the Presidential Inauguration happening this week, just after crossing the threshold into a new year, offers plenty for reflection.  

We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

As we embark into 2021, our anticipation is fueled by all that has come to pass over the last year. 2020, at least in part, lived up to its promise of improved vision. Last year revealed with clarity an inequitable and unjust racial caste system at work throughout America. We watch as the physical, financial and emotional suffering brought on by COVID-19, and the outgoing Administration, disproportionately impact some Americans more others.

The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.

Kahlil Gibran  

Where do you find joy?

Leading up to this Presidential Inauguration I have watched the replay of violent scenes at the Nation’s Capital disheartened, aghast and yet hopeful – I am sure this is an emotional mixture many of you share in degrees. To remain hopeful and perhaps even positive while feeling aghast and disheartened is to achieve a certain symmetry; balance and wholeness come to mind. The hard work of holding competing forces simultaneously becomes even harder given the uncertainty our Nation is experiencing.

How do we hold our collective need for accountability for violence and violent rhetoric, with love and empathy at the same time? What will you say to your friends and family that support(ed) Donald Trump the next time you see them?

Dr. Cornel West offers some hope.

“We come from a people who have been terrorized for four hundred years. And we’ve learned a lot from being terrorized. We’ve learned a lot from being invisible, spit on, dishonored, and devalued. One thing we’ve learned is that when you have been terrorized, it is spiritually empty to terrorize others back. We need to take it to a higher moral and spiritual level … In the age of terrorism, you can learn a whole lot from people who’ve been terrorized for four hundred years but who have taught the world so much about freedom; from people who’ve been hated for four hundred years but who still teach the world so much about love.” (The Quote is from an interview with Dr. West, Prisoner of Hope, in the Sun Magazine)

This quote calls me to look for role models in Dr. Martin Luther King and other peace activists of the civil rights era and their commitment to hold to love and peace in the face of violence. It asks me to follow the current agents of change within the African American community as examples of the possibility of holding empathy and love simultaneously with the need for accountability and justice. Black voices matter now as much as ever. Black safe spaces matter now as much as ever. Black lives matter now more than ever if we have any hope of coming together in harmony.

Listening to Black voices, for me, means I must be in listening proximity. Join me and Green Canopy in 2021 as we attempt greater proximity so we can better listen and continue learning the many ways real estate, the development of real estate, the financing of real estate, the construction of real estate and the ownership of real estate are being utilized as a massive turbine for African American community empowerment and positive environmental outcomes. Partnering in right relationship with and supporting Black owned, and/or Black led organizations, creates a force multiplier of positive social outcomes for everyone. When aligning issues of equity and justice with green real estate development methods and materials, greater social balance, sustainability and perhaps symmetry can be achieved.

Green Canopy looks forward to partnering with all of you and its many stakeholders throughout the region and ecosystem of real estate to advance its mission and Theory of Change in 2021.

Lastly, I leave you with a list a friend shared with me last week of 10-positive things of 2020. This list calls me to imagine even more positivity. It anchors me in considering how we show our love for each other. 

May the American community we inherited be blessed, and may we continue the hard work of bringing this community together in wholeness and with our love.

Real Leaders Impact Awards 2021

Real Leaders has announced the newly selected winners of its 2021 “Top Impact Companies” from around the world, and Green Canopy is proud to have been selected. 

“These top impact companies prove that businesses can thrive by being a force for good’ said Mark Van Ness, Founder of Real Leaders. “They are the Real Leaders of the New Economy” added Van Ness.

The 2021 award winners include game-changers such as: Tesla, Beyond Meat, Patagonia and 147 other well-respected impact brands of all sizes and from a variety of industries. .

A special ceremony will be held on January 27th, 2021 to honor the winners and will include key impact speakers featuring Seth Goldman, Chairman of Beyond Meat and a musical performance from Michael Franti, world-renowned musician and activist.


ABOUT REAL LEADERS

Real Leaders is the world’s first business and sustainable leadership magazine and serves a community of visionaries, collaborating to regenerate our world. Its mission is to inspire better leaders for a better world. Real Leaders is a Certified B-Corp and signatory in the United Nations Global Compact (an advocate for achieving the global goals for sustainable development).

Real Leaders positions leaders to thrive in the new economy and to inspire the future. 

Visit www.real-leaders.com for more information.

Gratitude in a Time of Change

By Aaron Fairchild

On November 11th of this year, the Presidential election results were still murky and the COVID virus on a rampage. At Green Canopy we celebrate Veteran’s Day. Instead of working, I was doing yardwork in a fog thinking about America’s stark divisions. Truth be told, I was futzing around the yard occupying myself while being concerned, angry and confused about how Americans can hold such opposing views. The common question of the moment comes to mind, “Why can’t we all just get along?!”

Later in the day I received a text from a team member at Green Canopy. He was responding to my earlier Veteran’s Day text thanking him for his service to America in the Marine Corps.

His response,

“Thanks for thinking of me Aaron. When I reflect back on that time, I think of all of the other men I served alongside. We all had different values, political beliefs, and backgrounds and we put all that aside to work together to achieve a common goal. I found magic in that process because it allowed me to look past all those differences to see the person inside. I think that was the first time I realized that most of the time, we have more in common than different.”

And then it occurred to me,

Without the differences that separate us, the sincere gratitude for times when we do come together would be diminished. The fundamental differences between us offer us a gift, if we can receive it, to look beneath those distracting differences and into our shared humanity; the footing of our common bond.

During this Holiday Season I would like to share gratitude for the differences between us and the opportunity they offer us to create safe spaces for each other to come together. Without our differences, life would be less interesting and less colorful, and perhaps if we all shared similar views and experiences, we would not feel the need to go beneath our similarity to more deeply explore ourselves and our shared humanity. Perhaps our differences are the forcing function that offer us the opportunity to live into the better, more substantive version of ourselves.

Final Report: Green Canopy’s Successfully Winds Up Third Fund

Green Canopy is pleased to announce the successful wind-up of the Birch Fund. The Birch Fund is the firm’s third Real Estate Impact Fund. The Fund, managed by Green Canopy Capital, provided capital to acquire and construct certified green and energy efficient residential projects in Seattle, WA and Portland, OR. The Birch Fund deployed $15.3M in capital from 60 impact investors from around the nation, The Fund returned an annualized IRR to investors of 10.7%, in line with investor expectations.

The Birch Fund enabled Green Canopy to build 102 deep green and healthy homes across Seattle and Portland. Of these homes, 10 were Net Zero Energy and 8 were Net Zero Energy Ready homes. “By opting to build deep green, sustainable homes that far surpass code requirements, Green Canopy has been able to mitigate 731 metric tons of greenhouse gases. That’s equivalent to us planting over 12,000 trees,” says Sam Lai, Co-Founder of Green Canopy.

Impact investments are made with the intention to generate positive, measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return on invested capital. In 2011, Green Canopy began Green Canopy Capital, a wholly owned fund manager to scale the Firm’s impact through impact investments. Impact investors have fueled all four of Green Canopy Capital’s funds, ensuring ongoing alignment with Green Canopy’s mission and theory of change, while also providing a healthy financial return. 

“As our family foundation shifted focus from grant-based mitigation to investing in systems change, our relationship with Green Canopy Homes has evolved from an interesting new portfolio company to trusted impact partner. Across three generations of funds, as well as special projects, we are proud to (profitably!) support the development of all-electric, highly efficient homes in thriving, walkable communities.”  – Jim Norton, Rouse Family Foundation

As a portfolio company of the angel investment group E8, Green Canopy is delighted with the ongoing partnership in aligning investor capital to our fund offerings. E8 is an international, Seattle-based investor community whose mission is to accelerate the transition to a prosperous and cleaner world by investing in and fostering emerging cleantech enterprises.

“Green Canopy and their fund offerings have been a staple investment for many of our members since 2010, with Birch Fund being the most recent example. Thank you to the Green Canopy team for delivering on expectations and maintaining regular communication and transparency,” says Mike Rea, Executive Director of E8.

Green Canopy’s fourth fund, Cedar Fund, was deliberately structured as a resilient real estate fund capable of generating income regardless of the cycle. To date, the Cedar Fund has raised over $7M in investor capital from 30 impact investors from around the country. “As society continues waking up to realize the uncertain state of the world, more and more investors are also coming to the realization that in order to create a better world, they must invest in creating that better world. Impact investing provides a clear pathway to do so, ensuring not simply a focus on financial returns but also ensuring positive social and environmental outcomes,” says Susan Fairchild, Director of Investor Relations & Impact.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:
Susan Fairchild
susan@greencanopy.com

Green Canopy’s 2019 Impact Report

Between the pandemic of COVID-19 and the civil unrest following the murder of George Floyd, the world as we know it has changed dramatically. There has been a grand unveiling of the massive inequities and planetary injustices hidden in plain sight.

With this in mind, we recognize its time for a different approach to business as usual - a more resilient and equitable approach. We are pleased to share Green Canopy’s 2019 Impact Report.

We hope that by sharing this report we can create further inspiration and market transformation towards a brighter, more resilient, healthy and equitable future that in our hearts know is possible.

All the best,
Susan Fairchild
Director of Investor Relations & Impact

Goodwill Church Livestream Recap

This past Sunday morning the Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church held a special, Beloved development Service. The Church, with members of the Nehemiah Initiative, launched an inspirational endeavor to empower the African American community by re-developing community land owned by the Church for affordable and sustainable housing. Black churches combined are the largest African American community landowners in Seattle. The epidemic of displacement has often forced them to sell their assets. The Nehemiah Initiative is a Beloved and inclusive initiative helping advocate for the retention and renewal of land owned within the African American community.

On behalf of the Nehemiah Initiative and the Goodwill Baptist Church, we would like to say thank you to those of you who joined the Facebook livestream of the Service! If you would like to watch the full service you can do so here. We have also recapped the service below.

Sunday Service at the Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church

The morning was a moment of wholeness and coming together on behalf of the African American community and Goodwill Church. The service began with the Praise Team soulfully lifting our spirits in preparation for a message of empowerment and purpose (Facebook Live minute 2:26)

Nehemiah Initiative Members each shared their perspective on the importance of the work

  • Donald King, president and CEO of Mimar Studio | FB Live minute 23:34 | Full Text

    • Spoke on the Black church as “key to building our community and empowering and sustaining it.”

  • Dr. Mark Jones | FB Live minute 30:27 | Full text

    • Spoke about Beloved Community and the importance of Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words.

  • Kateesha Atterberry, CEO Urban Black | FB Live minute 37:30 |Full text

    • She shared a deeply powerful story about a Black woman leader and the role of the church.

  • Aaron Fairchild, CEO Green Canopy | FB Live minute 46:02 | Full text

    • Made the invitation to join this inclusive effort, to take one step towards wholeness, and asked for contributions to the pre-development planning effort (x2!)

  • Bishop Garry Tyson, Pastor | FB Live minute 1:15:00

    • Gave a Sermon on Purpose

Thank you to everyone who was able to join the Sunday Service and to those of you who have already contributed to the pre-development planning efforts. We are pleased to share that as of today, we are just over halfway to our $50,000 goal!

If you haven’t already, we would like to invite you to join us by contributing to the Goodwill Church’s Building Fund.

Development site rendering

Development site currently

We will continue to share more about this project and the work to regenerate our communities in the weeks and months ahead. Thank you for joining us on this journey!

With Gratitude,

The Members of the Nehemiah Initiative that spoke at Sunday’s Service.

  • Bishop Garry Tyson, Donald King, Dr. Mark Jones, Kateesha Atterberry, and Aaron Fairchild*

*Green Canopy is grateful for the opportunity to join members of the Nehemiah Initiative in advocating for Goodwill Missionary Baptist Church.

For Contributions by Check or Donor Advised Funds:
Name: Goodwill Baptist
Purpose: Building Fund
Attn: Bishop Garry Tyson
EIN: 91-1249502
Address: 126 15th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122


For further recommended reading:

-   McKinley Futures Nehemiah Studio Book (download PDF)

-   Learn about the importance of the Black Church in the African American community and the reason the need is profound.

-   Building Beloved Community While Working to Decarbonize Buildings

-   Green Canopy’s blog on Wholeness.


Full Livestream Recap Text:

Donald King:

First meetings with Bishop and Aaron and the founding of the Nehemiah Initiative – it was more than a project opportunity; this is bigger than that

Project goals and guidelines – to be designed on this nearly blank canvas thru participation of the Beloved Community to embed these qualities:

HUMILITY – Modest , but elegant

HUMANITY – An example of being a shepard of God’s people and stewards of their environment

HISTORY – Expressions of our African origins and our people’s resiliency

Primarily, the design is about the juxtaposition of traditional and contemporary. Green design as a spiritual responsibility and representative of Bishop Tyson’s declaration that:

“Goodwill will no longer be just a church in the community, it will be a community church

The design of the structures and provision of spaces is and outward manifestation and integral with the mission of the church for Beloved Community.

In closing, I’d like to say that:

All lives matter

All communities matter

All churches matter

However:

Black lives have been in jeopardy and under threat in this hemisphere of the world since 1619 – Black lives matter

Black people didn’t build communities to be separate from others, they were legally segregated for over a century – Black communities matter

The traditional Black church was key to building our community and empowering and sustaining it – in these challenging times, Goodwill, with these projects is delivering on that legacy of the community church and we seek your support to help us do that

Thank you and God bless you.


Mark Jones:

Genesis 4:1 [Cain and Abel]

God asked him where his brother was. Cain answered, “I know not; am I my brother's keeper?”

When you build Beloved Community, the answer is “Yes you are."

Matthew 40 (NIV)

"The King will reply, 'Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.'"

In June 1957, in a speech on Beloved Community entitled “The Power of Non-Violence” Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King replied:

The aftermath of violence is bitterness. The aftermath of non-violence is the creation of Beloved Community, so that when the battle is over, a new relationship comes into being. The end is reconciliation. The end is redemption. This is the love that may well be the salvation of our civilization.

Nehemiah Initiative

Nehemiah Initiative is not just about erecting buildings:

It is about Building Beloved Community(s) that transform oppressive behavior (“Othering”) into “Belonging

It is about Building Beloved Community(s) that create safe and supportive environments within organizations, neighborhoods, and communities.

It is about Building Beloved Community(s) where YOU are Consumer-Producers as residents, property-owners, business owners, and investors — not renters and wage-based employees, and customers

It is about Building Beloved Community(s) where YOU can depend on your Brothers and your Sisters to create and sustain a just economy that allows you to thrive

It is about Building Beloved Community(s) where YOUR life overflows with Mercy, Love in the form of Joy, and deep Compassion for yourself and for others

Conclusion

Let me repeat Dr. King said:

The aftermath of violence is bitterness. The aftermath of non-violence is the creation of Beloved Community, so that when the battle is over, a new relationship comes into being. The end is reconciliation. The end is redemption. This is the love that may well be the salvation of our civilization.

Research Briefings


Kateesha Atterberry:

1.  Importance of Black Institutions

1.1.    History of Black Church

1.2.    Institution of Faith, Fellowship, Healing & Hope, and Economic Safety Net

1.3.    Dismantling of the Black Institution; loss of Legacy

2.  Black Leadership & Black Women in Leadership

2.1.    Black Women are at the helm of change and innovation

2.2.    Showing up in 90%+ in voting, leading Seattle Police depts, building corporations, or ascending to the highest position in the land as Vice President.

2.3.    We make things happen. But it’s not easy

3.  Story of a Black Woman in Leadership

3.1.    Horrific car accident Thanksgiving week of last year;

3.2.    Underwent brain & skull surgery, along with face reconstruction; 20 neurosurgeons, plastic surgeons, ENT doctors, nurses, and physical therapists.

3.3.    It was the church that saved her and these kids. The Body of Believers. An institution.

3.4.    That woman was me. Now, let me return the favor.

“Behold! I will do a new thing

Now shall it spring forth; do you not perceive it?

I am making a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert

The beasts of the field honor me, the jackals, and the owls,

Because I provide water in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert

To give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself

That they declare my praise.” – Isaiah 43:18


Aaron Fairchild:

My Name is Aaron Fairchild and I am so honored to be up here to make an ask. But before we get into that all the rest of it I have a couple, few people I would like to recognize and thank.

Thank you to the Goodwill Baptist membership. While our first meeting down in the fellowship hall was at times tense and uncertain, what has never felt uncertain since is your commitment to living into your faith on those Sundays when you open your arms to my children, my wife, and me to join you in this sacred house of worship; the very beating and living heart of this community. You have opened your hearts to me and I am so grateful and humbled and I will be forever blessed. If it weren’t for all of you, I would not be here today advocating for your pastor and this community. None of us would be here. You have blessed me and all of us, and in so doing we share a blessed space.

I would also like to thank the members of the Nehemiah Initiative. You have been steadfast and committed. Meeting Tuesday after Tuesday, month after month and year upon year. The Pastors! Thank you for your participation in this journey of renewal – Pastor Noble, Broughton, Ransford, Maize and so many more, thank you. Without all of you we would not be here today.

I would like to thank the folks at the UW, starting with Renee Cheng the Dean of the CBE who caught the vision of the Initiative and its potential and championed it within the University creating the Nehemiah Studio. Al Levine, Rachelle Berney, Brandon Borne and of course Donald King thank you for your inspiring energy and passion for the effort you put into curating an amazing quarter of field work and discovery. And of course the students who poured their hearts and minds into the work that we are now building off as the catalyst development project at Goodwill begins to come to life. You all have been so inspiring to me and certainly without your efforts none of us would be here on this stage today. And of this Nehemiah family, I would especially like to recognize, Anne Stadler, our soul sister. You are an amazing force of positive energy and a well of deep wisdom. When you speak, everyone stops what they are doing and we listen, because what you bring adds so much value. Thank you Anne.

I would finally like to say thank you to Bishop. Bishop Tyson, my pew walkin’ preacher friend. What to say… what to say? I have been thinking about this conversation a lot over the last few days and my mind and my heart continue coming back to you. Over the last few years I have known you, you have demonstrated amazing courage and humility and at times the gifts of a fighter. But more often I see on displayed the gift of grace, love, and patience and understanding for those around you. You have trusted and remained open to me, your congregation and your community, and to our Nehemiah members - never forcing things. Rather you allow a heavenly energy to flow and guide you in a methodical and meditative manner. You are following flow my friend. With love and acceptance you invited me, all of us on this stage and many others to join you on this inclusive journey, and we will do whatever we can to not let you down and to be deserving of your love, patience, trust and understanding. Thank you, brother.

So now we can get into who I am, and all the rest of it…

So, who am I? My name is Aaron Fairchild and I am a PnW boy, and I run a company called Green Canopy. I came to my work through an earnest and sincere desire to help resolve the dichotomy between our civilization’s behaviors and the environment of which we are called to steward. However, along my journey I continue to learn more, and become more aware of the multitude of issues our civilization is facing that perpetuates this dichotomy. The most significant of these I believe is our inability to compassionately come together and to be whole.

In this historic year as we look out into the world it can often seem so dark. Recession, illness, voter suppression, death, and hardship seem to abound. This makes us feel anxious and at our worst, helpless. The system we live in is so massive and can feel crushing. In our little corner in the PnW, I know many of us are asking what can I possibly do that would have any impact on the unrelenting and often cruel march of world events? And so often the answer that we come to is, nothing. “How can I change the course of history for the better?” And so we reside back within ourselves and our privileged ability to join the largest majority in the world; those that acquiesce. Believing we are helpless and unable to positively change the world for the better, we hand our power to the powerful and the structures they control that then go on to act in our names. And so the world continues its brutal march, with those of privilege and power putting their beliefs into action – and more often than not those actions are destructive and designed to maintain powerbases of privilege and they work to separate us from each other.

We live in a time that the call to vulnerable, active, and critically aware citizenship could not be more urgent! A time where much needed inspiration has the ability to invoke in us the courageous, yet powerfully simple act of that little child who yells out in a mind numbed multitude, “but the emperor wears no clothes!” Often when a simple yet courageous action such as that is taken, it can have transformational power. However, when we yield to that feeling of helplessness, and say or do nothing, we conspire with cynicism and despair. When we yield to helplessness, we strengthen the hand of those that seek to hold us down and separate us for their own power. But when we take back our power and choose to see the healing possibility for renewal and transformation, we open up with greater clarity and our creative energy swells up and flows outward as an active force for good in the world. In this way, we, in our small and tucked away lives here in the PnW, can become powerful agents of transformation in an American culture that is broken and in a dark time. We need to counter this current culture with a movement of wholeness.

One of the counter-culture gurus of the 1950s and 60s – Gary Snyder, who is still alive today in his 90s, once said…

To resolve the dichotomy of the civilized and the wild [the environment we are called to steward], we must first resolve to be whole.

Gary Snyder

This is what I am talking about! This is what Black Lives Matters is talking about. The simple and courageous desire to be whole. When we know that something isn’t right, and we feel helpless, we aren’t whole. But here is a pathway to wholeness… Luke Chpt 15, the parable of the lost sheep! Jesus says, when you have 100 sheep and you lose one, don’t give into helplessness and say, “well at least I got my 99!” No, he instructs us that it is really quite simple. It requires just one foot in front of the other and the courage that true compassion inspires to take that step and walk out into a dangerous world and lift up the sheep that has been left behind. Not because the 99 don’t matter! But because the one life left behind matters. And we are not whole until we come back together.

The story of how Bishop and I met is for another time. But I will share that when we met, he invited me to join him on a journey that is counter to this current ‘gotchya’ culture of separation; I would like to invite you as well. It is a journey that Bishop Tyson began 27 years ago when he answered God’s pastoral calling, to go from one coast of this country to the other with love, compassion, patience and tolerance and to inspire within all of us, and those that have been left behind, the courage, born from compassion, to have faith and to not give into to our sense of helplessness, but to join him in a Beloved journey of empowerment.

Within the broad and inclusive approach the Bishop has taken to develop this community’s land is an opportunity for us to share wholeness. It is an opportunity for all of us, to take one compassionately courageous step and join this effort by committing ourselves and our money to see this vision through. So please, this is important, projects like this are important for healing. And they don’t come around very often! When they do, they point the way for others to counter this current culture. When a great body of people such as us come together in love and compassion to demonstrate what we can build together, it has the ability to create a great wave of love to wash over others and inspire them to throw aside their helplessness, to take that first courageous step forward, and to lift up those that have been left behind and be whole. Please join us by contributing whatever you can afford… X2! J Go to the Church’s Givelify site and give. Write a check and mail it to the church. Call me or Bishop or someone you know associated with this community and take one step closer to being whole by giving to this community. Thank you.

Wholeness

By Aaron Fairchild

I am excited to share the most inspiring collaborative effort I have been a part of. Goodwill Baptist Church, an African American church in Seattle’s Central District, is hosting a conversation during their Sunday morning service to talk about their community development vision. Their approach and vision has opened my eyes in many ways. You see, I came to my work at Green Canopy through an earnest desire to help resolve the dichotomy between our civilization’s behavior and the environment upon which we rely. As I continue my journey, I become increasingly aware of the many issues facing our civilization. And the most significant of these, I believe, is our difficulty coming together to be whole.

To resolve the dichotomy of the civilized [world] and the wild [environment], we must first resolve to be whole.
- Gary Snyder

This is what people call for when explaining Black Lives Matter. Not that everybody else doesn’t matter, but that society is not whole until we collectively lift up Black lives and bring them into a shared wholeness of opportunity and prosperity. Lifting up the Black Church is a regenerative effort in many aspects. By helping to empower this community to develop their land, we help lift up a cornerstone of the African American culture and contribute to our collective wholeness! Learn more about the importance of the Black Church in the African American culture and why helping the Black Church is so important.
 
I would like to invite you to join this conversation during their normal Sunday service via a Facebook livestream, this Sunday, August 16th at 10am. I hope you can join me in this regenerative effort that expands outward beyond Goodwill Baptist Church. 

RSVP for the Livestream

The Goodwill Baptist Church Development Plan

In 2017 I had the pleasure of meeting Bishop Garry Tyson of Goodwill Baptist Church. He reached out to Green Canopy to discuss a property owned by the church. He shared with me that over the last decade, 12 Black churches in the Central District have felt forced to sell their land as victims of the ongoing epidemic of displacement. At our meeting Bishop Tyson invited me to join him on a journey of empowerment, collaboration and friendship that continues today with routine meetings to identify partners and iterate development approaches. 

Through a collaboration with the College of the Built Environment at the University of Washington, the Nehemiah Initiative, and Green Canopy; Goodwill Baptist has developed a generative approach to help build a more beloved community in the Central District. Goodwill Baptist will develop their property in three phases as an example of what we can accomplish working together. Phase One, at a high level, will focus on affordable housing for families in a deep green apartment building constructed on a their vacant, grass parking lot. Phases Two and Three will focus on sustainable mixed use and mixed income projects.

The development decisions for all three phases are led by the Church and African American led organizations, with the shared desire to hire second chance employees to construct these projects through the general contractor, Square Peg Developers and their partner WELD. Green Canopy will continue in support of Goodwill Baptist and the development team to help ensure the highest degree of quality and sustainability can be most cost-effectively achieved.
 
In order to advance the work of Phase One, the Goodwill Baptist’s development team, led by developer and property manager Urban Black and architect Donald King (members of the Nehemiah Initiative), need to complete the pre-development work. Until now, the work has been a labor of shared commitment. So, Goodwill Baptist Church is seeking charitable contributions to help raise a minimum of $50,000 to complete the pre-development work.
 
I would like to invite you to consider contributing to Goodwill Baptist’s Building Fund and joining us on Sunday’s livestream at 10am.

Contribute to the Building Fund

$50,000, a relatively minor sum, is necessary to fund the initial part of the pre-development work required to complete the community engagement, development plan and concept design. Once there, the church’s development team will continue to raise any additional funds needed to complete the full permit package and pay permitting fees. This will also allow serious conversations for construction and long-term financing to begin. A collective giving effort to help empower this community to develop their land is the first step toward building the broad base of support necessary to activate the Beloved Community of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King’s vision for the Central District and our region.
 
Dr. King’s Beloved Community is a global vision of wholeness, in which all people can share in the wealth of the earth. In Dr. King’s vision of Beloved Community, poverty, hunger, and homelessness will not be tolerated because the structures of our collective human decency will not allow it. Racism and all forms of discrimination, bigotry, and prejudice will be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of sisterhood and brotherhood; wholeness. Only through the wholeness a beloved community has to offer can the dichotomy of the civilized world and our environment be resolved. The approach that Bishop Tyson has taken is a restoration to wholeness; a beloved community development approach. Contribute and be a part of helping to midwife a future that generations to come will be grateful to inherit.   

Contribute to the Building Fund

RSVP for the Livestream

Affordable Net Zero Ready Homes Available in the Heart of Seattle

By Aaron Fairchild

In the heart of Ballard, arguably one of the region’s most opportunity rich communities, seven newly constructed, affordable homes will soon be available to rent for families earning 60% and 80% of the area median income. In partnership with many others, Green Canopy will complete these Net Zero Ready, all-electric, healthy, Built Green certified and affordable homes this summer.

At the front end of the COVID-19 pandemic the crossed the equinox and entered into spring and I wrote,

As the earth crosses the threshold of equinox into spring, humanity finds itself awakening to the reality that society too is crossing a threshold.”

Shortly thereafter, in the fullness of springtime in bloom, much of America, and many parts around the world, experienced a secondary awakening, crossing yet another threshold. Mr. Floyd’s brutal passing was the moment the world recognizes as a threshold’s leading edge into new societal territory. The future our hearts know is possible, feels possible. The better version of our society and interactions feels possible. I am grateful for those in the streets protesting in favor of ushering in that better version of ourselves. They march for change and transformation, for justice, for equity, for the young, the old, for Black lives, for the left behind, marginalized and excluded; they march for humanity’s better version to bloom.

The work needed to realize this time’s greater purpose takes courage.

Indeed, we are all linked by our common humanity and feel that we must do something. In 2017 Green Canopy officially changed its mission to, We build homes, relationships, and businesses that help regenerate communities and environments. The journey since then has been filled with learning how to navigate rapidly changing markets, learning what regenerating communities requires, and learning how to cost effectively build the best-in-class housing that regenerative communities deserve. It has also been filled with attentive listening into new relationships and deepening existing ones. Through it all I have come to understand that for Green Canopy to realize its full potential, those relationships are the most critical component to our regenerative approach.

In this moment, can we let go of fear, listen and collectively focus on what action is needed to create more equitable, healthier, and resilient communities and relationships?

Taking the difficult yet necessary steps to explore the white supremist American culture begins with the listening and vulnerability required to let empathy flow in. From there a personal journey can begin. One that is full of exploration and learning the history that undergirds the present, and how we contribute to injustice and inequity. With lessons learned and relationships built throughout Green Canopy’s history, our team continues to learn and improve its ability to respond with compassion. May we prove ourselves worthy of this work, and may you hold Green Canopy accountable to the work our future requires. Below is but one example of this work.

Can we consider new and more equitable ways to provide for society’s basic needs such as, health, food, housing, education, security, and employment?

In the heart of Ballard, arguably one of the region’s most opportunity rich communities, seven newly constructed, affordable homes will soon be available to rent for families earning 60% and 80% of the area median income. In partnership with many others, Green Canopy will complete these Net Zero Ready, all-electric, healthy, Built Green certified and affordable homes this summer.

These homes were designed far beyond what the basic code requires to accommodate families; five of the units have three bedrooms, and two units have two bedrooms with garages. We are humbled to work with so many aligned partners on this project. The relationships required to produce deep green and affordable homes, utilizing a reverse displacement strategy into an existing community of opportunity, are many and worthy of note. Without the contribution of all of these people and organizations, this project would not have been possible.

With deep gratitude for the work require for change, we would like to thank:

  • The Washington State Housing Finance Commission. This group of people deserves special recognition for seeing the vision and quickly organizing to ensure that these deep green units in the heart of Ballard can be offered to families at the 60% and 80% AMI levels. Thank you…you all are amazing!

  • Russ Katz with Windermere Real Estate who initiated this project at the beginning – 7 new Net Zero Energy Ready homes were built in our community because of the opportunity you helped bring together.

  • Julian Weber and the talented team at JWA, we appreciate the way you demonstrate your values through the innovation of your designs and your own Net Zero Energy office building!

  • Malsam-Tsang Structural Engineering for your long-term partnership and consistent, thoughtful approach to structural design.

  • The investors in Green Canopy’s Cedar Fund for championing a project at the intersection of your values.

  • Urban Black and Kateesha Atterberry for your friendship, guidance and desire to collaborate on making these best-in-class homes available to families in need.

 

Jordan Morris and the Seattle Sounders help build a more resilient future

By Sam Lai

Taking Bold Action to Lead by Example: Jordan Morris on Living a Net Zero Energy Lifestyle

Transformation requires celebrated leaders in the community to not only lend their voices, but also to take actions in every day personal decisions, like buying a home. 

Not only are the Seattle Sounders FC committed to social justice and inclusion, they committed to carbon neutrality in 2019. Seattle Sounders FC partnered with Forterra to offset carbon emissions by planting trees along the Green-Duwamish River. This was bold and courageous action, making the Sounders the first, and only, carbon neutral professional sports franchise in US history.

Similarly, the Sounders’ star forward, Jordan Morris, has taken bold action to lead by example with a carbon-free lifestyle at home. Initially, when Jordan started his search for his new home, he was not looking to make a grandiose statement about the environment and climate change. He was looking for a comfortable, healthy, and beautiful place to call home. But when Jordan learned about the benefits of living in a certified 5-Star Built Green, Green Canopy Net Zero Energy home, he was compelled to share his story with others.  He understood that industry transformation requires higher-end market innovation to be validated by cultural leaders before innovation can make price points affordable.

Net Zero Energy homes are still extremely rare, even in the Pacific Northwest. Early adopters are required to make healthy, carbon free, Net Zero Energy lifestyles equitable and more affordable for all community members of all income levels, not just superstars.

For Jordan Morris, actions speak louder than words. He has already earned a reputation for putting his teammates first whether donning Sounders’ Rave Green or the US National stars and stripes. Off the field, Jordan is also building resilience in our environment and community.

Special thanks to the Van Wyck and Porter team for making this video possible.

To learn more about how Net Zero Energy lifestyles can also be affordable, read about the 7-unit affordable rowhouse in Ballard.

50th Earth Day

50th Earth Day
by Aaron Fairchild

The arrival of this Earth Day comes during a punctuated time of hardship and crisis felt across the Earth.  On the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, our connection to Earth and our celebration of life may perhaps feel stronger as a result.

With Earth Day occurring during a historic global crisis, it may help highlight our need to change to a society that is more just, equitable, and resilient.

Hopefully our collective attention will shift to areas of greatest need throughout society. To help those of greatest need in balance with all life on the planet is a tall and encompassing order that requires us to behave differently. And while change is difficult, in order to realize a better future for all, change is what is required.

To fully embrace the 50th anniversary of Earth Day and all that it stands for, there may be no better manner than to read the manifesto of change that helped to usher in the first Earth Day in 1970.

I came into my twenties reading the poet philosopher, Gary Snyder. One of the fondest memories of being with my father was when he and I sat on the edge of an alpine lake together and read Gary Snyder’s Pulitzer Prize winning book, Turtle Island. In the back of what is largely a book of poetry, he embedded a short essay as bedrock called, Four Changes. Written in the summer of 1969, Four Changes quickly became the environmental manifesto that helped to lift up Earth Day and all that it stands for. The manifesto calls us to a radical shift in thinking about our relationship with the planet in four critical areas: population, pollution, consumption, and the transformation of our society and ourselves. When I first read Four Changes, I found hidden truths to living harmoniously with the Earth that changed the course of my environmental thought and perspective.

At the 25-year mark of Earth Day, in 1995, Gary Snyder wrote, “The apprehension we felt in 1969 has not abated. It would be a fine thing to be able to say, ‘We were wrong. The natural world is no longer as threatened as we said then.’ One can take no pleasure, in this case, in having been on the right track… Naïve and utopian as some of it sounds now, I still stand by the basics of ‘Four Changes.’”

Six years later, shortly after the events of 9/11 I wondered if Gary Snyder had anything he could offer in the aftermath. I found a Berkley email address for him and wrote to Mr. Snyder. I shared that his writings had influenced my thinking and my relationship with my father and asked if he had any words of wisdom to offer in reflection on 9/11. A couple weeks went by and then, unexpectedly, I received a response: “This is what my friend Wendell Berry has to say about it.” He inserted a link, an early version of Mr. Berry’s essay, Thoughts in the Presence of Fear. Wendell Berry’s essay is another manifesto, a call to change. It also reveals hidden truths and changed my thoughts on environmentalism and social justice.  

Leading up to the 50th Earth Day, with COVID-19 as the backdrop, I reread both of these seminal essays. I inserted COVID-19 where appropriate and in this way their words become a manifesto for this moment as well. Rather conspicuously, neither writing points to saving the whales, or polar bears, or forests. They are not about environmental protection or preservation per say. They are short guidebooks on how to establish a more equitable and resilient economy and society. They point the direction toward environmental and social equity as a singular issue, not as separate issues to be addressed independent of each other. In this way addressing COVID-19 and its inequitable health and economic hardship is addressing changing climate. To meaningfully address climate change, we don’t need new technologies, we need new behavior, and social, political, and economic structural changes. We are witnessing this truth right now with the collapse of oil largely due to a lack of demand. Issues of resilience require holistic solutions that are politically, economically, socially, and environmentally intertwined.

On this Earth Day 2020, I stand by Four Changes and Thoughts in the Presence of Fear, and I am hopeful.

I am hopeful that through our collective work to address COVID-19 and the inequitable health and economic devastation created in its wake, we will also be holistically addressing the intertwined issues of resource scarcity, social equity, and climate change. At the center of 50 years of Earth Days, a turning has begun, and I am hopeful.

For more on hope, here is a short writing by another one of my heroes, Krista Tippet. On Hope.

 

 

 

Courage for a Time of Change

Courage for a Time of Change
by Aaron Fairchild

As the earth crosses the threshold of equinox into spring, humanity finds itself awakening to the reality that society too is crossing a threshold. The encompassing crisis and the equinox hold similarities worth noting. During the equinox, the light from the sun shines equally upon everyone around the globe. The number of daylight hours and nighttime hours are equal across the planet, and equally felt by every living thing; a shared and beautiful solar rhythm experienced across the planet. The equinox and this crisis offer us an opportunity to reflect on our shared humanity.

It takes courage to believe that this half-lit time holds a greater purpose.

Indeed, we are all linked by the spread of the coronavirus – the natural world, and our global economy – the human world. Through this moment humanity is, at some level, coming into the awareness that the natural world impacts our collective ability to survive and thrive on the planet, and how we conduct our economy collectively impacts us as well. Fortunately, we are also becoming aware that we can rapidly adjust our lives and our organizations when motivated to do so.

In this moment, can we let go of fear and focus on what present action is needed to create more equitable and resilient societies, and healthier lives?

For starters, our communities have immediate needs for temporary health clinic facilities, quarantine and transitional housing, and access to food for those in need. Take a second to find your local food bank and make donations today. And as we continue traveling further into the crisis, needs will shift into recovery and renewal.

Is it possible to consider both the immediate needs, and the mid-to-longer term needs of renewal that our communities will face?

At this time, it is hard to consider much beyond the immediate. Everyone in my community is feeling the weight of this moment. Somewhere inside I feel the question, “Is it too soon to begin thinking about rebuilding and renewal when we aren’t even aware yet how much damage will be done?” I feel this question, but I also feel another, “How do we ensure a more equitable and resilient society emerges from the wreckage of this pandemic?” I can’t help but be curious about this already.

Given the burgeoning awareness of our interdependence, can we consider new ways to provide for society’s basic needs such as, health, food, housing, education, security, and employment?

At the very least, perhaps some of us, even within this uncertain moment, can begin the work of renewal to a more beautiful future our hearts know is possible. A future where social justice and environmental sustainability go hand in hand. A future where, regardless of income or social standing, everyone can live in a net positive energy house or apartment. A future where everyone can save and invest in positively impactful and regenerative companies while earning balanced and resilient returns on their savings. A future where our wildlands are preserved and restored for the benefit of all shared life on the planet.

It can take courage to look for purpose within uncertain times.

A blessing from John O’Donohue

For Courage

When the light around you lessens
And your thoughts darken until
Your body feels fear turn
Cold as stone inside,

When you find yourself bereft
Of any belief in yourself
And all you unknowingly
Leaned on has fallen,

When one voice commands
Your whole heart,
And it is raven dark,

Steady yourself and see
That it is your own thinking
That darkens your world,

Search and you will find
A diamond-thought of light,

Know that you are not alone
And that this darkness has purpose;
Gradually it will school your eyes
To find the one gift your life requires
Hidden within this night-corner

Invoke the learning
Of every suffering
You have suffered.

Close your eyes.
Gather all the kindling
About your heart
To create one spark.
That is all you need
To nourish the flame
That will cleanse the dark
Of its weight of festered fear.

A new confidence will come alive
To urge you toward higher ground
Where your imagination
Will learn to engage difficulty
As its most rewarding threshold!

Perspective.

Perspective

We believe in a future where good homes are affordable, and our communities are vibrant and resilient.

As I sit down to type this, markets continue to gyrate and the outlook continues to change. Over the last few weeks, we have all received a flood of COVID-19-related emails and notifications. Throughout the world communities and companies are in crisis management, borders are closing, schools are closing, governments are offering assistance to keep communities safe. Simultaneously, oil prices have collapsed due to a price war within OPEC. It has been hard to find a moment of lasting calm within the news cycle to capture perspective and come to terms with what the virus and the deeper social and psychological infection caused by the pandemic actually mean for all of us.

From my vantage point at Green Canopy, three questions come to mind.

1) What are the underlying positive facts?

2) How is Green Canopy responding in the short-term?

3) What does the longer-term outlook hold?

The Silver Facts.

While the future outlook is uncertain, our past gives us some positive indications. There are silver linings within every storm. Real estate is not the cause, nor is it central to the recession like it was in 2008. There is significantly more equity in housing at this time than in 2008. Many corporations and venture capital firms are flush with cash. Monetary policy from the Federal Reserve has been swift and focused on propping up real estate as much as possible through low cost debt and quantitative easing. The President and Congress are working together to quickly craft a major stimulus package that would see government spending increase substantially. People are coming together and beginning to reimagine what a more resilient and vibrant future for our country and local communities will look like. Our desire for connection, love, and belonging is felt more during prolonged isolation and crisis. As we cross the threshold of equinox into spring and slowly emerge to the other side of this pandemic, greater empathy and stronger community connections will be possible.

What is Green Canopy doing in the short-term?

First, the Company is adhering to all applicable government recommendations and requiring our office team to work from home. Construction work on our projects continues unabated, with precautions,  at this time. Green Canopy will continue to track local, state and federal requirements and recommendations that impact onsite inspections, permitting timelines, and employers. The Green Canopy Team is doing its part to keep the virus from spreading.

Second, many of our more than 100 investment partners have chosen to invest with us because of our dedicated and thorough attention to risk management. The Company and its principals also invest significant capital alongside of our investors and provide personal and corporate guarantees to ensure that we are aligned in all that we do. Green Canopy was founded in the middle of the last recession and we know that proactive risk management practices are key to protecting and growing capital in times of uncertainty. We believe the choices we’ve made, such as investing in urban walkable locations, using low leverage, focusing on deep green, quality, and highly differentiated assets, and buying right, will pay off if fundamentals deteriorate during a recession. And then Amazon goes out to hire another 100,000 employees. While anything can happen in the region, real estate seems positioned to perform better than most other sectors given our regional need for housing is poised to increase. That said, Green Canopy is temporarily pausing on acquisitions and re-negotiating with sellers of properties in the pipeline.

Third, we will continue to raise as much capital in the Cedar Fund as possible in the months ahead so we can play offense when the time is right. The Cedar Fund was deliberately structured to be a resilient real estate fund capable of generating income regardless of the cycle. Our goal is to be positioned to take advantage of a new pricing environment so that we can deliver even more affordable, deep green, quality product while earning solid returns for investors. We believe there will be a return to a more value-oriented environment, but this won’t look anything close to 2008 given that both debt and equity players have been behaving reasonably responsible for the last decade. Given the need for housing, coupled with low interest rates, project starts occurring now or in the near future look well positioned for the cycle and should perform well once the short-term pause in regional economic activity runs its course.

What are the potential longer-term implications?

I expect we will see a dramatic increase in the need for affordable housing in walkable, urban markets. Windermere Real Estate’s Chief Economist, Matthew Gardner, produced a video last week with his view on the potential impact to the Seattle-area housing market. His opinion is that the market fundamentals of the region are sound, but the virus is likely to cause a slowdown in the next few months as many buyers choose to wait. However, based on the fundamentals, he expects the market to have a strong turn around once the virus concerns are effectively addressed.

Mr. Gardner’s view is encouraging for the mid-to-long-term outlook. However, no one, including Mr. Gardner, has experienced anything like this before. So, while his accent resounds with authority when he asserts the fundamentals may remain in place, as noted above, Green Canopy is actively preparing for a change to the fundamentals.

One change I anticipate is greater public- private partnerships; increased collaboration to deliver housing at the intersection of sustainability and affordability. The team at Green Canopy created a Theory of Change a few years ago and it continues to motivate and keep our work aligned. We believe in a future where net zero energy homes are the norm, that these homes are affordable, our wildlands are preserved, our communities are vibrant and resilient, and impact investors earn profits.

This moment offers our society the gift of transformation to a more equitable, sustainable and just society. Rather than fear the coming disruption, perhaps take heart in knowing that we are a community first and foremost and that collectively we can create massive and positive change in behavior when motivated to do so.

Finally, I would like to encourage all of you to join me in demonstrating kindness in all things during this time and to take two quick steps:

1. Ask the federal government to support measures for homelessness and housing in the upcoming emergency supplemental spending COVID-19 bill. As of now, there are no provisions to support people experiencing homelessness.

2. Sign on to the letter requesting an urgent, direct focus on people experiencing or at-risk of homelessness in the statewide COVID-19 response. 


In Community,
Aaron Fairchild