NeighborWorks marks 25 years of leadership training in Miami Beach

NeighborWorks America is marking the 25th anniversary of its Achieving Excellence leadership program during a five-day training institute in Miami Beach, where more than 1,500 housing and community development practitioners are gathering Aug. 10-14. The event comes as Florida and other markets face affordability, insurance and resilience pressures that are reshaping the sector.

Why it matters: - NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence has spent 25 years training nonprofit leaders working on affordable housing, homeownership, small business lending and community development. - The Miami Beach convening brings together practitioners who influence housing access, neighborhood investment and local leadership across the U.S. - The timing underscores pressure on the sector from affordability, insurance and coastal resilience challenges in Florida and beyond.

What happened: - NeighborWorks America is hosting its NeighborWorks Training Institute in Miami Beach from Aug. 10-14. - More than 1,500 practitioners are meeting at the Miami Beach Convention Center for the five-day event. - The program marks the 25th anniversary of NeighborWorks Achieving Excellence, the organization’s executive leadership program developed with the Harvard Kennedy School. - Alumni from across the country are gathering for a special forum and anniversary celebration.

The details: - The training institute is a twice-yearly, in-person “mobile university” for the NeighborWorks network. - This year’s institute offers more than 80 courses and industry-recognized certifications. - Course topics include affordable housing, asset management, housing counseling, community and neighborhood revitalization, small business lending, nonprofit leadership, Native community development and rural community development. - The NeighborWorks Florida Collaborative will help welcome attendees and guide Florida-focused programming. - The collaborative represents 12 chartered NeighborWorks organizations serving communities from Miami-Dade to the Panhandle. - Agenda items include a HUD-focused conversation called “Together Through Change.” - Other sessions include a Solutions Lab on investing in leadership, a convening for Community Development Financial Institutions focused on federal policy changes for mission-driven capital, and a Southern Region roundtable and reception. - In fiscal 2025, NeighborWorks America and the NeighborWorks network helped create 17,600 homeowners. - The network also provided housing and financial capability counseling and education to more than 102,900 people. - NeighborWorks reported support for nearly 48,700 jobs in communities nationwide.

Between the lines: - The anniversary event is as much about network building as training, with leaders using the convening to share tactics across markets facing different housing pressures. - Florida is serving as a test case for issues that many communities are starting to face, especially affordability and resilience. - The organization is tying its leadership pipeline to measurable community outcomes to show that training and local impact are connected.

What's next: - NeighborWorks leaders and network members will spend the week exchanging ideas, forming partnerships and revisiting leadership strategies. - The discussions in Miami Beach are expected to inform work that participants take back to their local communities. - NeighborWorks says those lessons will feed into efforts to expand affordable housing, strengthen homeownership and build community leadership.

The bottom line: - NeighborWorks is using a 25th-anniversary milestone to spotlight the role leadership training plays in turning local housing work into broader community impact.

More information: neighborworks.org NeighborWorks Florida Collaborative: nwflc.org LinkedIn: NeighborWorks Instagram: NeighborWorks Facebook: NeighborWorks America YouTube: NeighborWorks America TikTok: NeighborWorks America X: NeighborWorks