Housing Education and Economic Development

What Housing Education and Economic Development does

Housing Education and Economic Development Inc. (HEED) is a Mississippi-incorporated, HUD-approved nonprofit housing counseling agency founded in 1989 and headquartered at 3405 Medgar Evers Blvd., Jackson, MS. The organization operates with a 1–10 employee team led by Founder/CEO Charles Harris and provides free housing services across Central and Northern Mississippi. Its mission targets housing and lending discrimination awareness, foreclosure prevention, predatory-lending education, and first-time homebuyer preparation.

HEED's core product offering comprises three free client-facing service lines: (1) Homebuyer Education, a HUD-approved program delivering approximately four hours of curriculum via NeighborWorks America's Realizing the American Dream, covering FHA-insured financing, home inspection, and homeownership readiness; (2) Fair Housing Workshops, roughly two-hour sessions on the Fair Housing Act's protected classes and remedies; and (3) 1-on-1 Bilingual Housing Counseling covering pre-purchase, foreclosure intervention, post-purchase, renter, and homeless counseling delivered by HUD-certified counselors. A fourth line — Fair Housing Complaint Processing — assists clients in filing discrimination complaints with HUD. The technology layer consists of HUD-approved curriculum delivery and a basic website (heedhousing.org); no proprietary software platform, API, or AI capabilities are disclosed.

Revenue mechanics are bifurcated. Client services are provided free of charge, with funding sourced from grants and foundation support, including a November 18, 2025 award of $58,500 from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas Partnership Grant Program (in collaboration with five member banks). A secondary revenue stream is generated via annual Fair Housing-Fair Lending Conference registration at $175 per attendee, providing 7 CEUs for Real Estate Agents (37th annual conference scheduled for April 23–24, 2026 at Hilton Jackson). Strategic partnerships with HUD, NeighborWorks America, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), and Jackson State University provide training pipelines and referral flows. The organization serves a hybrid market: Mississippi residents seeking affordable housing assistance (primary, free services) and real estate professionals seeking continuing education (secondary, paid conference).

Name

Housing Education and Economic Development

Legal name

Housing Education and Economic Development Inc.

Website

https://heedhousing.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

HEED is a HUD-approved nonprofit housing counseling agency in Jackson, Mississippi, founded in 1989, providing free homebuyer education, foreclosure prevention counseling, fair housing complaint processing, and bilingual housing services to Mississippi residents, supplemented by an annual Fair Housing Conference.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Housing Counseling and Fair Housing Services

NAICS

Other Community Housing Services (624229)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Counseling, Foreclosure Prevention & Loss Mitigation Programs (FSALAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Fair Housing, Compliance & Housing Program Oversight (FSALAKAN), Reverse Mortgage Counseling & Consumer Education (HUD-Approved) (FSALAIAG), Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

Keywords

• Housing counseling services
• Fair housing education
• Homebuyer education
• Foreclosure prevention counseling
• Nonprofit housing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Jackson

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Grants and Foundation Funding: HEED receives grants from financial institutions and housing organizations to support affordable housing programs, organizational capacity building, and housing counseling services. This includes funding from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Dallas Partnership Grant Program.
2. Conference Registration Fees: Revenue generated from annual Fair Housing-Fair Lending Conference registrations at $175 per attendee. The conference provides continuing education units (7 CEUs) for real estate professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

HEED is a HUD-approved nonprofit housing counseling agency providing free homebuyer education, fair housing workshops, and one-on-one housing counseling services (pre-purchase, foreclosure intervention, post-purchase, renter, homeless) to Mississippi residents using NeighborWorks America's Realizing the American Dream curriculum. The organization also processes fair housing discrimination complaints with HUD, conducts fair housing enforcement (including complaint processing, victim counseling, and systemic audits), and hosts an annual Fair Housing-Fair Lending Conference for real estate professionals offering CEU credits.

Product overview

Housing Education and Economic Development (HEED) is a non-profit HUD-approved housing counseling agency offering a unified suite of free housing services. The core offerings include Homebuyer Education (using NeighborWorks America's Realizing the American Dream curriculum) and Fair Housing Workshops for consumer education, alongside 1-on-1 Housing Counseling services covering pre-purchase, foreclosure intervention, renter, and homeless counseling. The organization also processes fair housing discrimination complaints on behalf of clients with HUD and organizes an annual Fair Housing-Fair Lending Conference providing CEUs for real estate professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Homebuyer Education HUD-approved housing counseling program providing approximately 4 hours of education covering homeownership readiness, FHA-insured financing, home inspection, home purchase decision, selection, ownership issues, and final disposition. Uses NeighborWorks America's Realizing the American Dream curriculum. Offered free of charge to prospective first-time homebuyers in Mississippi.
• Fair Housing Workshops Approximately 2-hour educational sessions covering the origin of the Fair Housing Act, protected classes, prohibited acts, detection of housing discrimination, and available remedies. Offered free of charge.
• 1-on-1 Housing Counseling HUD-certified bilingual housing counseling services including financial management/budget counseling, mortgage delinquency and default resolution counseling, pre-purchase counseling, renter counseling, and homeless counseling. All services provided free of charge.
• Fair Housing Complaint Processing Services to help clients file fair housing and fair lending discrimination complaints with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), including complaint processing and victim counseling.
• Annual Fair Housing - Fair Lending Conference Annual 1.5-day conference (37th Annual held April 23-24, 2026 at Hilton Jackson Hotel/Conference Center, themed 'Fair Housing: A New Era'). Registration fee is $175 and includes training materials, breakfasts, awards luncheons, and 7 CEUs for Real Estate Agents. Keynote speakers include Sara Pratt, Consultant and Speaker on Fair Housing.

Quantifiable outcome

• 35+ years of fair housing counseling and assistance to Mississippi residents
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHEED is a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. The organization receives training from HUD and assists clients with filing fair housing complaints with HUD.
• NeighborWorks AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHEED uses NeighborWorks America's Realizing the American Dream curriculum for homebuyer education. Staff members receive fair housing and housing counseling training from NeighborWorks America.
• National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHEED staff have received fair housing and housing counseling training from NCRC.
• Jackson State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSheila Moody, Fair Housing Outreach Coordinator, previously held positions at Jackson State University including Grant Administrative Assistant at the Jackson Heart Study and Assistant Director at the National Center for Biodefence Communications.
• National Association of Realtors / HUD National Fair Housing AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe organization collaborates with HUD, NFHA, and other fair housing organizations for training and educational resources. Featured in promotional materials alongside these organizations.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• HomeFree-USA: National HUD-approved housing counseling nonprofit offering homebuyer education and foreclosure counseling with a focus on minority and underserved homeowners — directly comparable in mission, funding model, and HUD-approval status to HEED.
• National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC): National coalition that trains HEED staff in fair housing and housing counseling. Operates fair housing, lending, and community development programs highly comparable to HEED's mandate, with broader geographic reach.
• National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA): National fair housing enforcement and education organization featured as a HEED partner. Operates in the same fair housing complaint processing, outreach, and education space as HEED's Fair Housing Enforcement Director work.

Broad incumbents

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): Major national community development financial institution supporting affordable housing and counseling nonprofits in underserved markets. Comparable funding/grant mechanism and community development mission.
• Clearpoint Credit Counseling Solutions: Nonprofit HUD-approved housing and credit counseling provider. Competes for HUD referral contracts and grants but operates nationally rather than as a regional nonprofit.
• Money Management International (MMI): National HUD-approved credit and housing counseling agency offering pre-purchase, foreclosure, and reverse mortgage counseling. Directly comparable service catalog and HUD certification status.
• NeighborWorks America: National housing counseling and community development network that trains HEED staff and provides the Realizing the American Dream curriculum. Operates a broad network of affiliated nonprofits offering HUD-approved counseling — directly comparable mission and product overlap.
• GreenPath Financial Wellness: Large HUD-approved housing counseling agency providing foreclosure, pre-purchase, and financial counseling across multiple states. Same HUD-approved counseling model as HEED but at substantially greater scale.

Emerging players

• Hope Credit Union / Enterprise Community Partners (HOPE): Mississippi-active community development organization providing financial counseling and affordable housing services to underserved populations across the Deep South. Shares HEED's regional mission focus and target demographics.
• Center for Responsible Lending (CRL): Research and advocacy nonprofit focused on fair lending and predatory lending prevention — a focus area of HEED's mission. Adjacent mission with shared policy agenda but different delivery model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/housing-education-and-economic-development-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 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 Housing Education and Economic Development