ECHO Housing

What ECHO Housing does

ECHO Housing, legally the Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity, is a private California nonprofit founded in 1964 and incorporated in 1965. It is a HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agency that delivers eight core programs: Fair Housing Services (investigation, mediation, and enforcement against housing discrimination), Tenant/Landlord Services counseling, Rental Assistance Program for move-in costs and delinquent rent, First-Time Homebuyer Counseling, Home Buyer Education (an eight-hour classroom course), Homeseeking Services for the Tri-Valley area, Project SHARE (a shared housing matching program), and Rent Review & Eviction Programs providing non-binding conciliation and mediation. Services are delivered free of charge to clients.

The organization serves very low to moderate income residents, with named target groups including families with minor children, veterans, pregnant women, seniors aged 55 and older, disabled adults, domestic violence survivors, and emancipated youth. It operates from eight physical sites across three Northern California counties — Alameda (headquarters in Hayward plus Livermore and Oakland), Contra Costa (Concord), and Monterey (Salinas plus satellite hours in King City, Seaside, and Pacific Grove) — supported by a toll-free bilingual hotline (855-ASK-ECHO) and a basic web presence. The technology layer is informational rather than productized: website program pages, downloadable tenant-protection flyers, training videos, email newsletter signup via VerticalResponse, and donations via Zeffy.

ECHO's revenue model is almost entirely government-funded. The organization receives a federal HUD grant (secured in 1980) plus jurisdictional contracts from more than 20 named cities across Alameda, Contra Costa, and Monterey Counties, county contracts, and tax-deductible donations (EIN 94-6124081). Pricing to end clients is zero. It has no subsidiaries, no parent company, and no venture or institutional investors; a notable 1968 spinoff, Eden Housing, Inc., became an independent affordable housing developer, and a 2005 merger absorbed Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing (MCFH). The organization reports serving over 3,000 clients per year.

Name

ECHO Housing

Legal name

Eden Council for Hope and Opportunity

Website

https://echofairhousing.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1964

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

ECHO Housing is a nonprofit HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agency founded in 1964 that provides free fair housing, tenant/landlord, rental assistance, and homebuyer education services to over 3,000 very low to moderate income clients annually across Alameda, Contra Costa, and Monterey Counties in California.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Housing Counseling Services

NAICS

Other Community Housing Services (624229), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSALAKAN

Fair Housing, Compliance & Housing Program Oversight

Financial & Insurance/Mortgage & Housing Finance/Housing Finance Agencies & Government-Sponsored Housing Programs

SECONDARYBPAGALAC

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts)

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Social Enterprises & Impact Organizations

Keywords

• Housing counseling services
• Fair housing advocacy
• Tenant landlord mediation
• Rental assistance programs
• Homebuyer education

Headquarters

HQ city

Causeway Bay

HQ country

Hong Kong SAR China

HQ region

Asia

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Funding: ECHO receives jurisdictional funding from cities in Alameda County, Contra Costa County, and Monterey County. Federal grants from HUD provide mortgage counseling and fair housing services. The organization has received funding from every city in Alameda County including unincorporated areas, Contra Costa County, and cities including Concord and Walnut Creek.
2. Donations: ECHO accepts donations through platforms like Zeffy. EIN 94-6124081 for tax-deductible contributions.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ECHO Housing is a HUD-approved, non-profit housing counseling agency that delivers free fair housing services, tenant/landlord counseling, rental assistance, first-time homebuyer education, and homelessness prevention programs to very low to moderate income residents. It produces fair housing audits, conducts discrimination investigations, provides trained mediators, and runs shared housing matching and rent review programs across three California counties.

Product overview

ECHO Housing is a non-profit housing counseling organization offering a portfolio of eight distinct programs and services centered on fair housing advocacy and tenant/landlord support. The core programs include Fair Housing Services (investigation and enforcement against housing discrimination), Tenant/Landlord Services (mediation and counseling), and Rental Assistance Program (financial support for move-in costs and delinquent rent). Additional services include First-Time Home Buyer Counseling and Home Buyer Education for prospective homeowners, Homeseeking Services for Tri-Valley Area residents, Project SHARE for shared housing arrangements in Livermore and Pleasanton, and Rent Review & Eviction Programs providing mediation for rent increases and disputes across multiple Bay Area jurisdictions. These programs collectively address the housing lifecycle from rental support through homeownership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Fair Housing Services Counseling, investigation, mediation, enforcement, and education to end discrimination in housing based on race, color, ancestry, national origin, disability, familial status, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, source of income, and other protected characteristics.
• First-Time Home Buyer Counseling One-on-one counseling on the home-buying process including credit review, action plan development, and preparation for homeownership responsibility, offered to residents of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.
• Home Buyer Education Eight-hour classroom training covering credit information, home ownership incentives, HUD-insured mortgages, predatory lending awareness, fair housing/fair lending education, and closing procedures, culminating in a Certificate of Completion.
• Homeseeking Services Information, referral, and counseling on housing in the Tri-Valley Area for residents of Livermore and Pleasanton, including referrals to affordable housing complexes and Housing Choice Voucher wait lists.
• Project SHARE (Shared Housing) Shared housing program for Livermore and Pleasanton residents, providing referrals, matching services, background checks, counseling on fair housing and tenant/landlord relations, rent/service exchange arrangements, and dispute resolution for home providers and home seekers.
• Rent Review & Eviction Programs Non-binding conciliation and mediation services for rent increases and eviction-related disputes, serving residents in cities including Albany, Concord, Emeryville, Larkspur, Union City, and unincorporated Alameda County.
• Rental Assistance Program Financial assistance for move-in costs or delinquent rent due to temporary financial setbacks, available to qualifying families with minor children, veterans, pregnant women, seniors 55+, disabled adults, domestic violence survivors, or emancipated youth in Alameda County.
• Tenant/Landlord Services Counseling program providing information on rental housing issues including evictions, rent increases, repairs, habitability, harassment, and illegal entry, with trained mediators for dispute resolution and referrals to legal services.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,000 clients served per year
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major and minor.

• Eden Housing, Inc.majorOthersECHO and the Eden Council of Churches took a primary role in developing Eden Housing, Inc. in 1968 as an affordable housing development agency. Eden Housing has since spun off to become an independent entity, building affordable housing throughout the Bay Area.
• San Francisco Development FundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 1983, ECHO worked with the San Francisco Development Fund to develop a Reverse Annuity Mortgage Program for senior homeowners and began delivery of counseling services for the project.
• Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing (MCFH)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 2005, ECHO completed the merger with Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing to provide fair housing counseling and investigation to Peninsula residents.
• Gray PanthersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerProject SHARE was started in 1981 by the Gray Panthers who saw shared housing as a solution to elder community problems. The Gray Panthers looked to ECHO Housing to administer and carry out the program.
• Southern Alameda County Target 1990 Housing Task ForceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 1986, ECHO was chosen by the Southern Alameda County Target 1990 Housing Task Force to administer the innovative Rental Assistance Program which began operation in 1987.
• Unidos USminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational civil rights organization focused on Latino community; listed as a partner and supporter of ECHO Housing.
• Bay Area Legal AidminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partner for legal services for advice and representation on housing-related issues including evictions, rent increases, repairs and habitability, and harassment.
• California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc.minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partner for legal services for housing-related issues.
• Centro Legal de la RazaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partner for legal services for housing-related issues, serving the Bay Area Latino community.
• East Bay Community Law CenterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerReferral partner for legal services for housing-related issues.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GreenPath Financial Wellness: A national HUD-approved housing counseling agency delivering mortgage default counseling, rental counseling, homebuyer education, and financial wellness services. Comparable as a HUD-approved counseling provider in the same regulatory and funding framework ECHO operates in.
• Housing Rights Center: Long-standing HUD-funded fair housing organization based in Los Angeles that conducts discrimination investigations, enforcement, mediation, and education. Highly comparable mission and HUD-funded service mix to ECHO, just at a Southern California scale.
• Project Sentinel: A HUD-approved housing counseling agency based in Sunnyvale, CA serving Santa Clara County and surrounding Bay Area. Directly comparable as a regional nonprofit providing fair housing investigation, tenant/landlord counseling, rental assistance, and HUD homebuyer education in the same Northern California market.

Broad incumbents

• National Fair Housing Alliance: The national trade association and umbrella body for the fair housing field, administering the Fair Housing Initiatives Program and HUD partnerships. Comparable because member agencies (including ECHO structurally) follow NFHA's fair housing enforcement and education playbook.
• Money Management International: One of the largest HUD-approved housing counseling agencies nationally, delivering mortgage, rental, and credit counseling. Comparable as a counterpart agency working within the same HUD counseling framework and competing for similar grant funding.
• National Foundation for Credit Counseling: The national membership network of HUD-approved credit and housing counseling agencies, providing infrastructure, standards, and grant access that member agencies leverage. Comparable as the umbrella for the HUD counseling industry ECHO belongs to.

Others

• Bay Area Legal Aid: A Legal Aid Society serving the Bay Area's low-income residents on housing, evictions, and habitability — a referral partner of ECHO. Comparable ecosystem player because it converts housing counseling leads into legal representation that ECHO itself does not provide.
• Midpeninsula Citizens for Fair Housing (now part of ECHO): A sister fair housing agency that merged into ECHO in 2005 to extend services onto the Peninsula. Useful historical peer demonstrating organizational pattern of fair housing nonprofits and consolidation dynamics in the region.
• Eden Housing, Inc. Affordable housing developer originally incubated and spun off from ECHO in 1968. Closely aligned by origin and mission (housing access for low-income Bay Area residents), but operates as a developer/owner rather than a counseling agency.

Regional players

• California Rural Legal Assistance, Inc. Statewide Legal Aid provider for low-income Californians, with offices reaching into Monterey County (one of ECHO's service counties). A current ECHO referral partner providing the legal representation ECHO itself does not offer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ECHO_Housing
• Facebookfacebook.com/ECHO.FairHousing
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/eden-council-for-hope-and-opportunity

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 ECHO Housing