Cape Fear Collective

What Cape Fear Collective does

Cape Fear Collective is a Wilmington, North Carolina-based nonprofit founded in 2019 that operates a hybrid community-development and data-science platform serving organizations and communities across the state. Its mission centers on aligning housing preservation, capital deployment, and data insight to address affordable-housing shortages, health disparities, and displacement risk in North Carolina.

The organization is structured around three integrated lines of activity. Its data business centers on two proprietary platforms — CommunityDataNC.org, which aggregates 1,500+ hyper-localized community metrics, and HealthyCommunitiesNC.org, which aligns local data with statewide Healthy NC 2030 goals across housing, education, public health, and economic opportunity — supported by a stack built on Python, R, ArcGIS, SQL, and AWS, plus a research-and-insights practice producing data journalism, original reports, and a published research agenda. Its housing business preserves affordable stock by purchasing at-risk homes, renovating them, and providing housing counseling and case management in partnership with nonprofit co-developers (Brick Capital Community Development Corporation in Sanford, Building Shalom in Rocky Mount) and a property management channel partner (Real Property Management Champion). Its social-impact-investing function channels Community Reinvestment Act dollars from five partner banks (First National, North State, First Bank, Live Oak, First Citizens) alongside public grants and private philanthropy into these initiatives.

Commercially, Cape Fear Collective does not sell products in the traditional sense; it is grant-, CRA-, and philanthropy-funded, distributing its data and convening services through direct consultative engagements with nonprofits, financial institutions, statewide funders, and public-sector partners. It does not charge end users for the public data platforms and reports revenue solely through partnerships, grants, and philanthropy. Leadership includes CEO Cara Stretch (prior roles at St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center and Feast Down East), Director of Data Science Dante Haywood (Carnegie Mellon; former Deloitte and Accenture federal-agency engagements), and Director of Housing Suzanne Rogers (30+ years in nonprofit and local-government community development). The organization is governed by a ten-person board of directors.

Name

Cape Fear Collective

Legal name

Cape Fear Collective

Website

https://capefearcollective.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cape Fear Collective is a Wilmington, North Carolina-based nonprofit that uses a proprietary community data platform and CRA-bank partnerships to fund affordable housing preservation, support nonprofits, and address health and displacement disparities across North Carolina.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Civic and Social Organizations (81341)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization (CDBG, Place-Based Initiatives) (BPAIANAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC), Public & Affordable Housing Programs (Subsidies, Vouchers, Public Housing) (BPAIANAA), Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization Housing Programs (FSALAKAO)

Keywords

• Community data platform
• Affordable housing services
• Social impact investing
• Community development data
• Data-driven research

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Investment: Funding from financial institutions through Community Reinvestment Act dollars, which encourages banks to support credit and economic needs of communities in low- and moderate-income areas.
2. Public Grants: Government funding through public grants supporting community development initiatives.
3. Private Philanthropy: Contributions from private foundations and individual donors supporting the organization's mission.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cape Fear Collective delivers data-driven community development solutions across North Carolina through three integrated pillars: (1) community data platforms (CommunityDataNC.org and HealthyCommunitiesNC.org) providing hyper-localized metrics and statewide goal alignment, (2) affordable housing programs that preserve homes at risk of market conversion through purchase, renovation, and resale paired with housing counseling, and (3) social impact investing that channels Community Reinvestment Act dollars, public grants, and philanthropy through peer nonprofits to fund community development initiatives.

Product overview

Cape Fear Collective operates as a nonprofit offering a unified suite of data-driven solutions centered around two core platforms: CommunityDataNC.org (CDP), which aggregates 1,500+ hyper-localized metrics in a standardized dashboard, and HealthyCommunitiesNC.org, which aligns local data with statewide Healthy NC 2030 goals. Supporting these platforms are Research & Insights services (including Data Journalism, Reports & Research, and a Research Agenda) and Data Services (covering collection, cleaning, analysis, visualization, predictive analytics, governance, and training). The organization also delivers Housing services focused on affordable housing preservation and property management, and Social Impact Investing that channels capital from financial institutions and philanthropy into community development. Together, these offerings enable organizations across North Carolina to access actionable data insights for decision-making in housing, health, and community development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CommunityDataNC.org (CDP): A community data platform with 1,500+ hyper-localized metrics for North Carolina communities.
• HealthyCommunitiesNC.org

Products and services

• CommunityDataNC.org (CDP) The foundational Community Data Platform that aggregates 1,500+ hyper-localized metrics in one place, cleaned and standardized for ease of use. The dashboard enables quick data access to meet organizational needs while making data accessible to everyone. Used by nonprofits, funders, and community organizations across North Carolina.
• HealthyCommunitiesNC.org A data platform derived from CDP that aligns local data with statewide Healthy NC 2030 goals across housing, education, public health, and economic opportunity, with downloadable and editable insights for grant writing and impact measurement. Used by nonprofits, funders, and advocates working on community health and equity.
• Research & Insights The organization's engine for generating and disseminating public-facing knowledge, transforming complex data into actionable public insight to equip advocates, leaders, and communities to drive systemic changes. Includes data journalism, resources and tools, original research reports, and a published research agenda guided by community need.
• Data Services Consultative data science services including data collection and infrastructure, data cleaning and preparation, data analysis and insights, predictive and prescriptive analytics, data visualization and communication, measurement and evaluation, data governance and privacy, and capacity building and training. Designed for nonprofits and community organizations needing data science support.
• Affordable Housing Program Works to preserve affordable housing by purchasing homes at risk of being removed from the affordable market, renovating and rehabilitating properties, and providing housing counseling to prepare low-to-moderate income residents for homeownership. Delivered in partnership with peer organizations including Brick Capital CDC and Building Shalom.
• Property Management Manages affordable housing properties and provides case management services connecting tenants to community resources for nutrition, medical care, education, and employment. Property management partner Real Property Management Champion (RPMC) handles tenant placement.
• Social Impact Investing Aligns capital for good by leveraging data to address high-priority community development needs through strategic partnerships, channeling Community Reinvestment Act dollars, public grants, and private philanthropy into impactful initiatives led by peer nonprofit organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• 17.4-year difference in life expectancy between neighborhoods documented through data analysis
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Brick Capital Community Development CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFC collaborates with Brick Capital CDC in Sanford to re-lend capital to peer organizations for buying, renovating, and selling houses while providing housing counseling for low-to-moderate income residents.
• Building ShalomcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCFC partners with Building Shalom in Rocky Mount to enable housing organizations to buy, renovate, and sell houses while providing housing counseling to prepare neighbors for homeownership.
• Real Property Management Champion (RPMC)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorProperty management partner that attracts and places tenants in CFC's houses, expanding affordable housing access.
• Lincoln Community DevelopmentsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing partner organization collaborating on affordable housing initiatives.
• Cape Fear Habitat for HumanitysupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing partner organization working on affordable housing solutions.
• Vigilant HopesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity partner organization.
• Historic Wilmington FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner focused on historic preservation in Wilmington.
• Good Shepherd CentersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerWilmington community partner organization.
• KBRsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization collaborating with CFC on data initiatives.
• Novant HealthsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partner organization working on health data and community wellbeing initiatives.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• NC Housing Coalition: North Carolina statewide advocacy and policy coalition for affordable housing. Comparable state-level peer to CFC's affordable housing mission, focused on North Carolina housing outcomes and policy.
• Self-Help Credit Union / Self-Help Ventures Fund: North Carolina-headquartered CDFI focused on responsible lending, affordable housing, and community development. Directly comparable regional peer to CFC, sharing both geography and mission around housing preservation in NC.

Direct peers

• St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center: Baltimore-based nonprofit providing housing counseling, affordable housing development, and community development services. CFC's CEO previously led St. Ambrose, making it a closely comparable direct peer in housing services and nonprofit housing counseling.
• Center for Community Progress: National nonprofit focused on vacancy, blight, and equitable neighborhood revitalization using data-driven strategies. Comparable to CFC in mission and methodology, especially around gentrification/displacement risk mitigation.
• PolicyMap: Data-as-a-service platform offering hyper-localized community metrics for housing, health, and economic indicators. Closest direct competitor to CommunityDataNC.org, with national scale and established subscriber base among banks and nonprofits.
• Reinvestment Fund: CDFI that combines community development lending with proprietary data analytics (PolicyMap) to direct capital. Directly comparable to CFC's data-plus-capital model and the most analogous peer in terms of integrated analytics and impact investing.

Broad incumbents

• Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): National community development financial institution that channels capital and technical assistance into affordable housing and community development. Like CFC, LISC partners with banks and local nonprofits to drive place-based impact.
• Enterprise Community Partners: National CDFI and affordable housing organization that combines capital deployment with research and data analytics. Highly comparable to CFC's integrated model of housing preservation, data, and impact investing, but at much greater national scale.
• Habitat for Humanity International: Global nonprofit focused on affordable home construction and rehabilitation. Cape Fear Habitat for Humanity is a documented partner of CFC, making the broader Habitat network a comparable affordable-housing ecosystem player.
• Urban Institute: Major policy research organization producing community-level data and analytics on housing, health, and economic opportunity. Comparable to CFC's Research & Insights function but operating nationally with substantially more funding and staff.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cape-fear-collective
• Instagraminstagram.com/capefearcollective

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Cape Fear Collective