Oak Park Regional Housing Center

What Oak Park Regional Housing Center does

Oak Park Regional Housing Center (OPRHC) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1972 by Roberta "Bobbie" Raymond in Oak Park, Illinois, with the mission of promoting and sustaining racially and economically integrated communities in Oak Park and the broader Western Cook County region of metropolitan Chicago. The organization delivers free services on both sides of the housing market — customized apartment referrals and rental counseling for housing seekers (approximately 6,000 per year), and marketing assistance, tenant-screening guidance, fair housing compliance education, and property improvement grants for landlords and property owners. It operates through two physical offices (the Oak Park headquarters at 1041 South Boulevard and the West Cook Homeownership Center at 5934 W. Lake Street in Chicago) and the LiveInOakPark.com consumer portal.

Its programmatic portfolio spans Apartment Referrals, the HUD-certified West Cook Homeownership Center (homebuyer education, down payment assistance including the $10K West Cook Advantage forgivable loan, and foreclosure prevention across 13 western Cook County communities), Fair Housing Services (Analysis of Impediments reports, Fair Housing Ordinances, and Action Plans for municipalities), Property Owner Resources, Community Engagement programs (Neighbors Knowing Neighbors, Power of Engagement), Financial Empowerment education, and the Austin Laramie Redevelopment initiative. The underlying technology is modest — primarily a listing/CRM-style referral database and consumer website — with online homebuyer education delivered through the eHomeAmerica partnership.

OPRHC is funded through a diversified mix of individual donations and a monthly Friends of the Housing Center giving program, corporate sponsorships from a syndicate of regional banks (Republic Bank, BMO, Chase, PNC, Wells Fargo, ONBank, Associated Bank), foundation grants (Monroe Foundation, IFF), and an endowment — the Roberta Raymond Housing Center Legacy Fund housed at the Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation, seeded at $50,000 with a long-term goal of $20 million. The Thrive 2025 campaign is targeting $2.5 million to support ongoing operations. The organization employs 11-20 staff plus a Board of Directors and is led by Executive Director Athena Williams, appointed September 2019.

Name

Oak Park Regional Housing Center

Legal name

Oak Park Regional Housing Center

Website

https://oprhc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1972

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Oak Park Regional Housing Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1972 that provides free apartment referrals, homeownership counseling, fair housing services, and property-owner support to promote integrated communities across Oak Park and Western Cook County.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Other Community Housing Services (624229)

SIC

Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531)

akta.pro primary industry

Public & Affordable Housing Programs (Subsidies, Vouchers, Public Housing) (BPAIANAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization Housing Programs (FSALAKAO), Housing & Neighborhood Services (Local Housing Programs) (BPAIACAJ)

Keywords

• Fair housing services
• Housing counseling
• Apartment referral services
• Homebuyer education
• Community housing development

Headquarters

HQ city

Oak Park

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, monthly giving program (Friends of the Housing Center), and major gifts. Thrive 2025 campaign aims to raise $2.5 million.
2. Corporate and Foundation Sponsorships: Partnerships with corporations (Republic Bank, BMO, Chase, PNC, Wells Fargo) and foundations (Monroe Foundation, IFF) for program and event sponsorship.
3. Roberta Raymond Housing Center Legacy Fund: Endowment at Oak Park-River Forest Community Foundation aiming to grow to $20 million for long-term sustainability. Started with $50,000.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Oak Park Regional Housing Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides free housing-related services to seekers and providers in Oak Park and Western Cook County. Its core offerings include customized apartment referral services for approximately 6,000 seekers annually, HUD-certified homebuyer education and counseling through the West Cook Homeownership Center, foreclosure prevention, fair housing compliance and advocacy services for municipalities, property owner counseling and improvement grants, and community engagement programs designed to promote integrated and inclusive neighborhoods.

Product overview

The Oak Park Regional Housing Center offers a unified suite of housing services focused on promoting fair housing, integration, and community development in Oak Park and western Cook County. The core offerings include Apartment Referrals (customized rental listings for seekers), the West Cook Homeownership Center (HUD-certified home buyer counseling, down payment assistance via West Cook Advantage, and foreclosure prevention), Fair Housing Services (education, compliance, and advocacy for municipalities), Property Owner Resources (landlord training, grants, and marketing assistance), Community Engagement programs (Neighbors Knowing Neighbors, Power of Engagement), and Financial Empowerment programs. The Live in Oak Park platform serves as the consumer-facing rental referral portal. These programs collectively aim to expand housing options, combat segregation, and improve opportunity through education, counseling, and direct services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 65%+ of clients make integrated moves that sustain economic prosperity vs <25% without their involvement
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• IFFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity development financial institution and consulting partner for housing and community development projects.
• Bethel New LifecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity development organization collaborating on place-based efforts and community reinvestment initiatives in the Austin community.
• Oak Park-River Forest Community FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManages the Roberta Raymond Housing Center Legacy Fund endowment. Partnership to provide long-term sustainable funding for the organization.
• ChicagominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCity of Chicago partnership for regional housing and community development initiatives.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• LUCHA (Latin United Community Housing Association): Chicago-based nonprofit providing housing counseling, foreclosure prevention, and homebuyer education for low-income families, closely mirroring OPRHC's service-delivery model (HUD-certified counseling, free direct services) in an overlapping Chicago geography.
• Housing Action Illinois: Statewide fair housing advocacy coalition focusing on housing policy, foreclosure prevention, and tenant rights across Illinois — a direct mission and operating-model match for OPRHC's fair housing and homeowner-counseling work.
• The Resurrection Project: Chicago-based community development nonprofit combining housing stability work, immigration legal services, and community organizing — closely aligned with OPRHC's place-based, integration-focused community development model.
• Chicago Coalition for the Homeless: Chicago-based housing advocacy and direct-services organization serving vulnerable populations with overlapping housing access and counseling programs; comparable funding model (grants + donations) and constituency overlap.
• Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation: Chicago nonprofit preserving and developing affordable rental housing on the city's north and west sides, with similar geographic focus and shared affordable-housing mission, though heavier on real-estate development than counseling.
• Business and Professional People for the Public Interest (BPI): Chicago-based public interest law and policy organization focused on housing justice, community development, and civil rights — overlapping mission with OPRHC's fair housing advocacy and Analysis of Impediments work.

Broad incumbents

• National Fair Housing Alliance: The largest national fair housing advocacy organization, working on enforcement, education, and policy on the same anti-discrimination and integration mission OPRHC addresses locally — broader scope and national footprint.
• Heartland Alliance: Major Chicago-based human services nonprofit with housing programs alongside healthcare, legal aid, and refugee services — substantially broader scope than OPRHC but overlapping on housing stability work for vulnerable populations.
• Erie Neighborhood House: Larger Chicago-based social services organization offering housing-related programs alongside broader immigrant and family services — meaningfully larger and more diversified than OPRHC.

Regional players

• Metropolitan Planning Council: Chicago-region planning organization that addresses housing affordability, equity, and integration through research and policy — adjacent mission to OPRHC's community development work but delivered through regional planning rather than direct services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/race_and_place

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Oak Park Regional Housing Center