Gerard Place

What Gerard Place does

Gerard Place is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in November 2000 by twelve Congregations of Women Religious in the Diocese of Buffalo, operating from a single campus at 2515 Bailey Avenue in the Bailey-Delavan neighborhood of Buffalo's East Side (zip 14215). Its core service is a transitional housing program providing fully-furnished two-bedroom apartments, case management, counseling, and life-skills support to homeless single-parent families (primarily mothers with custody of at least one child), typically for up to two years. The reported 90%+ rate of family transition to permanent housing without return to homelessness materially exceeds the ~64% national average for similar programs.

The service portfolio has expanded well beyond housing into a co-located community center offering the web-based National External Diploma Program (NEDP) and traditional GED preparation, English Language Learner instruction, Tech-Stride digital literacy, and on-site healthcare certification programs delivered in partnership with Trocaire College (Phlebotomy, Pharmacy Technician, Sterile Processing, EKG). Adjacent programs include a Healthy Mom & Baby maternal/infant outreach with Oishei Children's Hospital, a Senior Circle & Respite nutrition and wellness program, a Culinary Arts training course, a food pantry distributing roughly 10,000 lbs of food monthly to 200+ individuals, and on-site early childhood education through EduKids. The integrated one-stop model is designed to eliminate transportation barriers and address housing, education, employment, food security, and childcare simultaneously.

Financially, Gerard Place operates on approximately $1 million in annual funding drawn from individual donations, corporate sponsorships (notably Catholic Health as 2017 'Charity of the Year'), federal and state grants (including a $246,945 HUD award in 2016), foundation grants (including a $100,000 21st Century Fund award), United Way donor designations, and planned giving. All services are delivered free of charge to qualifying beneficiaries; there is no commercial pricing. The organization is led by President/CEO David Zapfel with a staff of 11–50, governed by a Board of Directors and Community Advisory Board, and has cumulatively served more than 320 families since opening.

Name

Gerard Place

Legal name

Gerard Place

Website

https://gerardplace.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Gerard Place is a Buffalo, NY-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit providing free transitional housing and co-located education, job training, food, and maternal/child services to homeless single-parent families and broader Bailey-Delavan (14215) residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Services and Homeless Support

NAICS

Other Residential Care Facilities (623990)

SIC

Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)

akta.pro primary industry

Senior & Transitional Monthly Housing (THAMAFAJ)

Keywords

• Transitional housing services
• Homeless family support
• Adult education programs
• Workforce development training
• Community food distribution

Headquarters

HQ city

Buffalo

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: Annual fund contributions from individual donors supporting the general operations and program expansion of Gerard Place.
2. Corporate Sponsorships: Corporate partners provide funding, volunteer support, event sponsorships, and in-kind contributions. Companies like Catholic Health have served as 'Charity of the Year'.
3. Federal and State Grants: Government funding including federal HUD grants ($246,945 for housing development), state grants, and county subsidies for daycare and other services.
4. United Way Donor Designations: Eligible to receive contributions through United Way Donor Designation Option program.
5. Planned Giving: Bequests, gifts of property, life insurance beneficiaries - donors can include Gerard Place in their estate planning.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Gerard Place provides transitional housing in fully-furnished two-bedroom apartments for homeless single-parent families and their children for up to two years, paired with case management, counseling, and life skills support. Through its on-site Community Center, it also delivers GED/NEDP/ELL adult education, healthcare career training (Phlebotomy, Pharmacy Tech, Sterile Processing, EKG), culinary arts training, digital literacy, food distribution, senior wellness programs, maternal/infant support, and preventive rent assistance for families at risk of eviction.

Product overview

Gerard Place is a single-site community services organization providing a coordinated portfolio of programs addressing homelessness, food insecurity, education, and workforce development. The core offering is transitional housing for single parents and children, supplemented by an on-site Community Center that delivers GED/education classes, healthcare job training certifications, digital literacy, food distribution, and senior services. The programs are designed to eliminate barriers to self-sufficiency by bringing services directly into the Bailey-Delavan neighborhood.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Housing Program Transitional housing program providing safe, fully-furnished two-bedroom apartments for single parents and their children for up to two years, along with case management, counseling, and support services to help families achieve self-sufficiency.
• Community Center Programs (GED/NEDP/ELL) Community Center offering GED, web-based National External Diploma Program (NEDP), and English Language Learners (ELL) instruction for adult learners seeking high school equivalency credentials.
• Job Training Program Tuition-free healthcare career training programs offered in partnership with Trocaire College, including Sterile Processing, Pharmacy Technician, Phlebotomy, EKG Technician, and Healthcare Exploration certifications, plus a Culinary Arts Program (120 hours) with job placement services.
• Food Distribution Program Food pantry and Monday/Wednesday take-out meal program distributing non-perishable goods and hot meals to community members in the 14215 area, including a monthly mobile pantry with FeedMore.
• Healthy Mom & Baby Program Program offering baby supplies, support groups, on-site nursing assistance through partnership with Oishei Children's Hospital, and access to Baby Café for pregnant women and new mothers in the 14215 community.
• Senior Circle & Respite Program Nutrition program providing free hot meals, healthy cooking classes, yoga, exercise programs, Medicare information assistance, and social respite care for seniors and their caregivers in partnership with Cornell Cooperative Extension.
• Tech-Stride Digital Literacy Program Digital literacy program designed to empower learners with modern technology skills, bridging the gap between digital skills and real-world applications.
• Preventive Services Program Homelessness prevention program providing up to six months of back rent assistance for individuals and families at imminent risk of eviction who meet specific income and eligibility criteria.

Quantifiable outcome

• 90%+ of families transition to permanent housing without returning to homelessness (national average is ~64%)
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Catholic HealthcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2017Catholic Health selected Gerard Place as 'Charity of the Year' for 2017, conducting collection drives and spreading awareness about programs and services. Ongoing partnership for community support.
• Trocaire CollegecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2000On-site healthcare certification programs including Phlebotomy, Pharmacy Technician, Sterile Processing, EKG, and Healthcare Exploration. Trocaire provides instructors and credentials while Gerard Place provides facilities and student recruitment. 39 people have completed or enrolled since program launch.
• Friends of Night PeoplecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Monday and Wednesday Take Out Meal Program providing hot meals to community members in need. Meals are prepared in Gerard Place's culinary kitchen and distributed to those in need.
• FeedMorecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonthly mobile pantry program bringing food distribution to the community. Addressing food desert conditions in the 14215 zip code.
• Oishei Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical Outreach Nurse Brittany Holland works at Gerard Place through this partnership, providing prenatal/postpartum care and maternal health services to mothers in the 14215 community.
• EduKids, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBuffalo Promise Neighborhood Early Childhood Academy located at Gerard Place Community Center, providing childcare for infants to 4.5 years old.
• Cornell Cooperative ExtensionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Senior Circle Nutrition Program providing food, education, and wellness activities for seniors.
• Erie County Healthy Corner Store InitiativeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting Senior Circle Nutrition Program and addressing food access in underserved community.
• Trinity Lutheran ChurchminorGTM or Marketing PartnerVolunteers from Trinity Lutheran Church help with monthly food distribution and drop off collections from the church community. Ongoing volunteer support since before COVID.
• Buffalo Public Schools Adult EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCulinary Arts Program (120 hours) taught by NYS Certified Instructor in Gerard Place's state-of-the-art kitchen with job placement services included.
• Homeless Alliance of Western New YorkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner in federal homelessness funding initiative coordinating services across 15 agencies in Erie and Niagara Counties.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Family Promise: National non-profit network mobilizing communities to help families experiencing homelessness achieve sustainable independence via housing, education, and employment support. Closely comparable mission and bundled-services model to Gerard Place, though operating at significantly larger scale across multiple states.
• Pine Street Inn: Boston-based non-profit providing shelter, transitional housing, and supportive services (case management, job training, healthcare) for homeless individuals and families. Comparable integrated housing-plus-wraparound-services model, though at materially larger scale than Gerard Place.

Broad incumbents

• Coalition for the Homeless: National advocacy and direct-service non-profit focused on homelessness policy and family housing programs. Comparable mission space and family homelessness focus, though primarily advocacy-oriented with a much larger operating footprint than Gerard Place.
• Salvation Army of Buffalo: Local expression of the national Salvation Army providing shelter, food, and family services in the Buffalo region. Operates at larger scale with broader programs but overlaps substantially in serving homeless families and offering transitional support.

Regional players

• Catholic Charities of Buffalo: Regional Catholic social services organization serving Western New York with housing, food, and family support programs. Operates in the same geographic market and serves overlapping beneficiary populations; broader service portfolio but similar funder base.
• Community Missions of Niagara Frontier: Niagara Falls-based non-profit providing emergency shelter, transitional housing, and supportive services for homeless and low-income individuals in Western New York. Directly comparable regional peer co-funded in the same 2016 HUD homelessness initiative.
• Jericho Road Community Health Center: Buffalo-based non-profit community health center serving underserved and refugee populations on Buffalo's East Side. Active partner of Gerard Place (referring patients to the Healthy Mom & Baby program) and overlapping beneficiary geography.

Emerging players

• Habitat for Humanity of Buffalo: Buffalo affiliate of the national affordable housing non-profit focused on homeownership pathways for low-income families. Different model (homeownership vs transitional housing) but overlapping beneficiary population and Buffalo geography.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses3 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gerard_place
• Facebookfacebook.com/Gerard-Place-100067638939991
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gerard-place-program-services

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles18 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 Gerard Place