Council for the Homeless

What Council for the Homeless does

Council for the Homeless (CFTH) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1989 and headquartered in Vancouver, Washington, that serves as the federally-recognized Continuum of Care lead agency and front door to the Homeless Response System for Clark County, WA. The organization provides housing-focused services to individuals and families experiencing homelessness, including those living outdoors, in shelters, in vehicles, or doubled-up and couch-surfing, with differentiated attention to domestic violence survivors, veterans, youth, families with children, and culturally-specific communities such as Chuukese and Pacific Islander households. Operations are coordinated by CEO Sesany Fennie-Jones, COO Sunny Wonder, and Chief Impact Officer Terrell Berry, supported by 11–50 staff and approximately 1,500 volunteers.

CFTH's core operational platform is its Coordinated Entry system, a centralized assessment and referral mechanism that gathers housing information once and securely shares it across partner agencies, paired with a Housing Hotline, an in-person intake office, mobile coordinated outreach teams, and the countywide Homeless Management Information System (HMIS). Programmatic offerings include the annual Project Homeless Connect event (340 guests served in 2026 across 50 service providers), Built for Zero, Welcome Home Baskets, severe weather resources, the Giving Circle monthly giving program, and the chronic by-name list (CBNL) maintained for vulnerable individuals. The Homeless System Dashboard and annual Point-In-Time Count provide the county's data backbone for housing planning, with reported outcomes of 91% one-year and 87% two-year retention in Permanent Supportive Housing for 2023/2022 cohorts.

The organization's business model is a multi-source nonprofit funding stack rather than a commercial revenue model. All services are provided free to clients. Revenue is drawn from competitive private foundation grants (notably a $5M Bezos Day 1 Families Fund award in November 2023 and a $2M Yield Giving grant in March 2024, both directed at a five-year family homelessness initiative), Washington State Legislature and Clark County government contracts (Housing Trust Fund, shelter, rapid rehousing, document recording fees), corporate and community sponsorships (Walsh Construction Co., Wellpoint, PeaceHealth, Kaiser Permanente, U.S. Bank, Columbia Credit Union, Access Architecture, Clark County Realtors Foundation), the 2,000+ donor monthly Giving Circle, and event-based fundraising across 650 historical campaigns. Distribution is regional across Clark County via the Housing Hotline, co-located services at partner sites such as YWCA Clark County, mobile outreach teams, and the centralized Vancouver office.

Name

Council for the Homeless

Legal name

Council for the Homeless

Website

https://councilforthehomeless.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Council for the Homeless is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1989 and serving as the Continuum of Care lead agency for Clark County, Washington's homelessness response system, coordinating housing intake, outreach, and partner services for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homeless Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Temporary Shelters (624221), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230), Other Community Housing Services (624229), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC), Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Homeless services coordination
• Housing assistance programs
• Community outreach services
• Coordinated entry systems
• Nonprofit housing support

Headquarters

HQ city

Vancouver

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Grants and Foundation Funding: Council for the Homeless receives significant grant funding from foundations such as the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund ($5 million grant for family homelessness initiatives) and government sources including document recording fees and state/county budgets.
2. Corporate and Community Sponsorships: Annual fundraising events like Gathering for Change are supported by corporate sponsors including Walsh Construction Co., Access Architecture, Wellpoint, PeaceHealth, Columbia Credit Union, and others.
3. Individual Donations: Monthly Giving Circle program with 2k+ monthly donors, one-time donations, and planned giving options.
4. Government Contracts: Operating and capital budget funding from Washington State Legislature including Housing Trust Fund investments, shelter programs, and rapid rehousing programs.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Council for the Homeless is a nonprofit lead agency that operates Clark County's Homeless Response System. It connects individuals and families experiencing homelessness with housing and support services through a Housing Hotline, a centralized Coordinated Entry assessment system, mobile outreach teams, and partner referrals. The organization also delivers advocacy, data tracking via the Homeless System Dashboard, and community events such as Project Homeless Connect, while funding housing stability through donations, grants, and government contracts.

Product overview

Council for the Homeless is a nonprofit organization that serves as the lead agency and front door to Clark County's homelessness response system. The organization operates as a coordinated network rather than a single product, offering housing-focused services including a Housing Hotline, Coordinated Entry assessment system, and Homeless System Dashboard for data tracking. Community engagement programs include Project Homeless Connect events, The Giving Circle monthly giving, and Welcome Home Baskets donation program. The organization also provides advocacy, severe weather resources, and partners with multiple agencies through the Built for Zero initiative to prevent and end homelessness.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Housing Hotline

Quantifiable outcome

• 91% of people who entered a PSH program in 2023 remained stably housed one year later
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles7 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

32 partnerships are on record, tiered minor, core and flagship.

• Integrated Tax ServicesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 June 2026Partnered with CFTH to educate the community on 2026 Federal Tax Law changes at an event at Firstenburg Community Center. Ralph Doggett, CFP, EA served as featured speaker explaining new tax laws and their impact on charitable giving, personal finances, and nonprofit organizations.
• Firstenburg Community CenterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 June 2026Provided Resource Room venue for tax law education event partnering with CFTH and Integrated Tax Services.
• Johnson BixbyminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 11 June 2026Chief Marketing Officer Kristi Koebke attended the Federal Tax Law Changes event as a CFTH Board member, representing Johnson Bixby.
• WellpointcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 January 2026Sponsor for the 18th Annual Project Homeless Connect 2026, which served 340 guests with 50 service providers.
• PeaceHealthcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 29 January 2026Sponsor for the 18th Annual Project Homeless Connect 2026, which served 340 guests with 50 service providers.
• St. Joseph Catholic ChurchcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 January 2026Host venue for Project Homeless Connect 2026, transforming the church into a vibrant hub of services. The church provided volunteers including a chef who prepared meals, and additional volunteers helped with food prep, serving, cleanup, and parking.
• Pacific Islander Community Association of Washington (PICAWA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 January 2026Planning committee member for Project Homeless Connect 2026, helping to ensure culturally specific services and outreach to Pacific Islander communities.
• Kaiser PermanentecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 January 2026Planning committee member for Project Homeless Connect 2026, contributing healthcare resources and organizational support.
• U.S. BankminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 January 2026Planning committee member for Project Homeless Connect 2026, providing financial services expertise and organizational support.
• Southwest Washington Accountable Communities of Health (SWACH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2026Partnered with CFTH to organize and charter two buses of advocates from Clark County for Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day 2026 at the Capitol in Olympia. SWACH focuses on health transformation and community wellbeing.
• Southwest Washington Equity Coalition (SWEC)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2026Partnered with CFTH to organize advocates for Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day 2026, ensuring Southwest Washington was strongly represented.
• Odyssey World International Education Services (OWIES)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 January 2026Partnered with CFTH to organize advocates for Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Day 2026, with participants also coming from Kelso.
• Vancouver Housing Authority (VHA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025Hosted a panel discussion titled “From Service to Community: A Veteran’s Day Dialogue” moderated by Michael Jones Jr., featuring CFTH Diversion Manager Gina Ochoa among veteran panelists.
• Walsh Construction Co.flagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 October 2025Presenting sponsor of Gathering for Change 2025. Walsh Construction Co. has delivered more than 52 projects in Clark County since 1980. Their mission of 'Building Communities, Empowering People' aligns with CFTH's homelessness prevention work.
• Columbia Credit UnioncoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 15 October 2025Sponsored the 'Leading with Empathy' keynote conversation at Gathering for Change 2025, enabling the panel discussion featuring Jesse Beason and Ed Johnson.
• Community Foundation for Southwest WashingtoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2025Senior Program Officer Esra Khalil moderated the 'Leading with Empathy' panel at Gathering for Change 2025. Foundation supports equity and community change initiatives.
• Vancouver Housing Authority (VHA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2025Hosted 'Housing for All' panel discussion featuring CFTH CEO Sesany Fennie-Jones alongside other housing leaders. Also hosted Veterans Panel Discussion and Voices of Resilience Black History Month event. CFTH Diversion Manager Gina Ochoa participated in VHA's Veteran’s Day Dialogue panel.
• Share VancouvercoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2025CEO Brittini Lasseigne participated in 'Housing for All' panel alongside CFTH CEO, discussing housing solutions and community collaboration.
• Fort Vancouver Regional LibraryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 May 2025Partner for August 26, 2026 community education event screening the film 'No Place to Grow Old' followed by panel discussion.
• Columbia River Mental Health ServicescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Member of monthly Coordinated Outreach Workgroup facilitated by CFTH, collaborating on outreach efforts across Clark County to reach people experiencing homelessness.
• Sea Mar-CSNWcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Member of monthly Coordinated Outreach Workgroup facilitated by CFTH, contributing to coordinated outreach coverage across the entire county.
• Lifeline ConnectionscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Member of monthly Coordinated Outreach Workgroup facilitated by CFTH, collaborating on outreach to individuals experiencing homelessness.
• Live Love OutreachcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Member of monthly Coordinated Outreach Workgroup facilitated by CFTH. Also operates Live Love Warming Shelter for winter shelter services.
• Outsiders InncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Member of monthly Coordinated Outreach Workgroup facilitated by CFTH. Ren Autry and Adam Kravitz from Outsiders Inn participate in winter shelter webinars and operate the SOS (Severe Weather Shelter) emergency shelter.
• SharecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025Member of monthly Coordinated Outreach Workgroup facilitated by CFTH. Brondalyn Clark, Deputy Director of Share Vancouver participated in Voices of Resilience panel.
• Outsiders InnminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2023Winter shelter operator participating in CFTH webinar on keeping people safe during winter. Operates the SOS emergency shelter and has built relationships with guests resulting in housing placements.
• Live Love Warming ShelterminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2023Winter shelter operator participating in CFTH webinar. Brian Norris shared favorite memory of a family birthday party at the shelter, demonstrating the community built within shelter spaces.
• Winter Hospitality Overflow / St. Andrew Lutheran ChurchminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2023Winter shelter operator participating in CFTH webinar. Jane Seidel shared experiences of welcoming guests and the importance of recognizing human dignity.
• Access ArchitectureflagshipGTM or Marketing Partner · 19 October 2023Presenting sponsor of Gathering for Change 2023. Principal Brendan Sanchez discussed trauma-informed architecture and importance of design that creates healing spaces for vulnerable populations.
• Janus Youth ProgramscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023Partner in youth homelessness webinar and monthly Coordinated Outreach Workgroup. Joshua Butler and Megan Griffith from Janus provided expertise on teen and young adult homelessness issues.
• A Way Home WashingtoncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 August 2023Terrell Berry (now CFTH Chief Impact Officer) represented A Way Home Washington in youth homelessness webinar, sharing expertise on youth engagement and creative solutions.
• YWCA Clark CountycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership created in 2023 to support domestic violence survivors with housing services. CFTH Housing Specialist Emily Otero dedicates 16 hours per week at YWCA locations providing housing assessments both online and in-person at the domestic violence shelter. This co-location partnership allows survivors to access housing services in a place where they already feel safe.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Joint Office of Homeless Services (Multnomah County): Lead government entity coordinating homeless services for Multnomah County / Portland, OR. Closely comparable in being a regional lead agency running Coordinated Entry, PSH, outreach, and a homelessness system dashboard — operating in the same Pacific Northwest geography as CFTH.
• National Alliance to End Homelessness: National policy and advocacy organization working to prevent and end homelessness. Comparable in advocacy scope (CFTH's Housing and Homelessness Advocacy Days mirror NAEH's federal advocacy model) and in convening Continuum of Care leads like CFTH.
• Built for Zero (Community Solutions): Community Solutions runs the Built for Zero initiative, which CFTH is a member of, focused on ending homelessness through data-driven by-name list methodology. Provides the national framework and benchmarking that CFTH uses to drive chronic homelessness reduction.
• DESC (Downtown Emergency Service Center): Seattle-based nonprofit providing permanent supportive housing, emergency shelter, and behavioral health services to people experiencing homelessness. Operates a directly comparable PSH model whose outcomes (housing retention) can be benchmarked against CFTH's 91%/87% metrics.
• Vancouver Housing Authority (VHA): The local public housing authority serving the same Clark County geography as CFTH. Co-hosts the 'Housing for All' panel and Veterans Day Dialogue with CFTH; operates affordable housing stock that CFTH clients are placed into, making VHA a deeply intertwined local peer in the housing pipeline.
• King County Regional Homelessness Authority: Continuum of Care / lead agency for the Seattle-King County homelessness response system. Operates the same regional coordinating role as CFTH but at a larger scale in an adjacent Washington county, serving as the closest functional peer for lead-agency structure, data dashboards, and Coordinated Entry operations.
• Share Vancouver (formerly Clark County Food Bank): Local Clark County partner in Coordinated Entry, advocate partner, and panel co-host. Operates an overlapping social services mission (food plus housing navigation) and is a key local peer against whom CFTH's coordination role is measured in the same community.
• Homeless Alliance (Central Oklahoma): Lead agency coordinating the Oklahoma City homelessness response system and a Built for Zero community. Functions as the most directly analogous regional lead agency to CFTH outside the Pacific Northwest, running Coordinated Entry, a housing navigation hotline, and a built-for-zero strategy.
• Low Income Housing Institute: Seattle-based nonprofit that operates shelter, PSH, and outreach programs and runs its own Coordinated Entry access points. Closely comparable operating model — combination of direct service and system coordination — for a Pacific Northwest peer.

Emerging players

• Family Homelessness Center Network (Bezos Day 1 Fund grantees): Other recipients of the Bezos Day 1 Families Fund competitive grants across the U.S. Comparable cohort to CFTH given the $5M November 2023 grant, sharing programmatic design (Family By-Name Lists, school district coordination) and outcome reporting. Useful benchmarks for proving out the family homelessness playbook.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCf6mCs3gutkQ3nxVgLmuBig
• Facebookfacebook.com/CouncilfortheHomeless
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/council-for-the-homeless-of-clark-county-wa
• Instagraminstagram.com/council_for_the_homeless/?hl=en

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Council for the Homeless