Westchester Residential Opportunities

What Westchester Residential Opportunities does

Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1968 in White Plains, NY that delivers HUD-approved housing counseling, fair housing enforcement, fair lending advocacy, first-time homebuyer education, senior housing assistance, and supported independent living services for individuals with mental illness across the Lower Hudson Valley (Westchester, Rockland, Putnam, and Dutchess counties). The organization operates from a single headquarters with approximately 25-35 staff members and serves roughly 6,000 people annually, with most services offered free of charge (the Home Buying Educational Program charges a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee per household). WRO does not develop proprietary technology; it relies on standard nonprofit case management, email, and web platforms, and operates the AffordableWestchester.org affordable housing listing portal and a bilingual fair housing video training curriculum.

WRO's business model is dominated by government grants and contracts. The largest disclosed revenue item is a $2.2 million New York State contract awarded in February 2023 as part of Governor Hochul's expansion of the NY Fair Housing Testing Program. Additional funding flows from HUD (federal), Westchester County (Department of Planning, DSS, Community Mental Health), NYS Homes and Community Renewal, foundation grants (TD Charitable Foundation $200,000 in April 2025, Enterprise Community Partners, PCSB Community Foundation), and individual/corporate donations managed through a "Ways to Give" program. WRO's go-to-market is community-led and event-driven: it acquires clients through county referral networks, HomeSeeker platform participation, free orientation workshops (English and Spanish), an annual Fair & Affordable Housing Expo (600+ attendees in 2023), and direct phone/email intake (914-428-4507). Its customer base is composed of low- and moderate-income households, seniors age 60+, first-time home buyers, victims of housing discrimination, and individuals with mental illness, with government agencies serving as referral partners and funders rather than end customers.

WRO operates as the default housing counseling and fair housing enforcement partner for Westchester County, co-hosts the HomeSeeker platform, and is a member of the NYS Fair Housing Network (six organizations covering 94% of New York's population). Recent enforcement actions include a $95,000 settlement with 20 affordable units set aside in the Platzner Organization case (October 2023) and an ongoing NYS DHR lawsuit against Dawn Homes Management (filed August 2024). The organization is led by Executive Director Kacy Brady (joined 2026), Deputy Executive Director Andrew Smith (former Simpson Thacher partner), and a board of directors including Laurence Beilenson (founder's family). The Nick Beilenson Legacy Fund, established with a foundational family donation, supports operations for the next 10-15 years.

Name

Westchester Residential Opportunities

Legal name

Westchester Residential Opportunities, Inc.

Website

https://wroinc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1968

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Westchester Residential Opportunities is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1968 in White Plains, NY, providing HUD-approved housing counseling, fair housing enforcement, and independent living services to approximately 6,000 low- and moderate-income residents annually across the Lower Hudson Valley.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Housing Counseling & Fair Housing Services

NAICS

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

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

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

Keywords

• Fair housing enforcement
• Housing counseling services
• Nonprofit housing advocacy
• Affordable housing access
• Independent living support

Headquarters

HQ city

White Plains

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

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 Contracts: WRO receives federal funding (HUD), New York State grants, and Westchester County contracts to operate its housing counseling, fair housing testing, and advocacy programs. Examples include NYS Homes and Community Renewal fair housing testing contracts and TD Charitable Foundation grants.
2. Individual and Corporate Donations: WRO accepts one-time and recurring donations, legacy gifts, securities transfers, IRA disbursements, employer matching gifts, and life insurance gifts. Donations are managed through its Ways to Give program.
3. Program Fees: WRO charges a $100 nonrefundable enrollment fee per household for its Home Buying Educational Program, plus $20 for Home Buying Manuals. Most other programs are provided free of charge.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Westchester Residential Opportunities (WRO) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit HUD-approved housing counseling agency that provides fair housing enforcement (investigation, testing, mediation, and litigation of discrimination complaints), free housing counseling (eviction prevention, mortgage default prevention, first-time home buying education, and senior housing assistance including HECM reverse mortgage counseling), and supported independent living services for individuals with mental illness. The organization also operates an affordable housing listings portal (AffordableWestchester.org) and distributes weekly vacancy listings throughout Westchester County.

Product overview

Westchester Residential Opportunities is a nonprofit housing counseling agency offering a comprehensive suite of housing-related services. Their core offerings include HUD-approved housing counseling programs (Eviction Prevention, Mortgage Default Prevention Counseling), homeownership programs (First-Time Home Buying, Home Buying Educational Workshops, Home Buying Grants), and specialized housing assistance (Senior Housing with reverse mortgage counseling, Independent Living for individuals with mental illness, Rental Assistance). Fair housing enforcement services (Fair Housing and Fair Lending) address discrimination through investigation, testing, and legal action. The organization also maintains housing opportunity listings including a weekly vacancy listing and manages the AffordableWestchester.org portal for affordable housing inventory. Educational programs include Fair Housing Training Video Curriculum and Financial Literacy Workshops available in multiple languages.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Eviction Prevention

Quantifiable outcome

• Serving ~6,000 people per year with housing services
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Westchester County Department of PlanningcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 30 May 2025WRO collaborated with the Westchester County Department of Planning and Department of Information Technology to design and launch the new HomeSeeker affordable housing platform. WRO's input shaped the platform's user-friendly design and application functionality.
• New York State Fair Housing Network (NYS FHN)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 February 2025WRO is a member of the NYS Fair Housing Network, a coalition of six full-service fair housing organizations serving 94% of NY's population. NYS FHN conducts thousands of tests, trains thousands of individuals, and files enforcement actions against discriminatory actors. WRO co-signed the joint statement applauding the state disparate impact protections bill S4067/A4040.
• NY State Division of Human Rights (NYS DHR)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 August 2024WRO's multi-year testing investigation of Dawn Homes Management led to NYS DHR filing a housing discrimination lawsuit. WRO's Deputy Executive Director Andrew Smith stated WRO expected to intervene alongside DHR. WRO is represented by Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, LLP.
• New York State Office of the Attorney General (OAG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 October 2023WRO and the NYS Attorney General jointly resolved housing discrimination allegations against the Platzner Organization. The OAG partnership enabled coordinated enforcement, with WRO receiving $95,000 in damages and attorneys' fees and the Platzner organization committing to set aside 20 units for voucher holders.
• Westchester County Department of Community Mental HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPlacement in WRO's Supported Housing apartments and SRO program is made exclusively through the Westchester County Department of Community Mental Health's Single Point of Access (SPOA) process.
• Nonprofit WestchesterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRO is a proud member of Nonprofit Westchester, a membership organization supporting and advocating for nonprofits in Westchester County.
• Assemblywoman Dana Levenberg's OfficeminorGTM or Marketing PartnerWRO's senior housing services (Tracey Butler and Maria Jimenez) participated as panelists at Assemblywoman Levenberg's 2nd Annual Senior Forum titled 'Sustaining Our Seniors: Aging in Place' in Cortlandt, NY.
• Fair Housing Justice CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRO co-signed a joint statement with the Fair Housing Justice Center (policy contact: Britny McKenzie) applauding NY State's disparate impact protections bill. Both organizations are members of the NYS Fair Housing Network.
• CNY Fair HousingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWRO co-signed a joint statement with CNY Fair Housing (policy contact: Alex Lawson) applauding NY State's disparate impact protections bill S4067/A4040. Both organizations are members of the NYS Fair Housing Network.
• Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors (HGAR)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHGAR was a sponsor of WRO's 2023 Fair & Affordable Housing Expo and WRO's Fair Housing Department co-hosts educational webinars with HGAR's Fair Housing Committee on topics including source of income discrimination and Section 8/voucher strategies.
• Cuti Hecker Wang LLPcoreOthersWRO was represented by Mariann Wang and Daniel Mullkoff of Cuti Hecker Wang LLP in resolving housing discrimination allegations against the Platzner Organization.
• Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, LLP (ECBAWM)coreOthersWRO is represented by Diane L. Houk of ECBAWM in the Dawn Homes Management housing discrimination case.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity International: National nonprofit housing organization with affiliates focused on affordable homeownership and housing counseling. Adjacent mission and broader scope than WRO's regional fair housing and counseling focus.
• New York State Homes and Community Renewal: State agency that funds WRO's fair housing testing and administers state housing programs including SONYMA Down Payment Assistance Loans. Operates at significantly larger scale than WRO and is both funder and partial substitute for WRO's services.
• Enterprise Community Partners: National nonprofit affordable housing developer and funder that has funded WRO's enforcement work via the Eliminating Barriers to Housing in New York program. Operates at much broader national scale across development, lending, and policy.

Regional players

• Westchester County Department of Social Services: County government agency that funds WRO and coordinates on eviction prevention, mortgage default counseling, and housing intake via DSS satellite offices. Provides overlapping housing assistance services directly and through contracted partners.

Direct peers

• Fair Housing Justice Center: NYC-area nonprofit providing fair housing testing, investigation, mediation, and litigation support. Co-member with WRO in the NYS Fair Housing Network and co-signed policy advocacy, offering a near-identical service portfolio in a different NYC metro geography.
• CNY Fair Housing: Syracuse/Central New York fair housing organization providing testing, investigation, and enforcement. NYS Fair Housing Network co-member with WRO, serving a parallel role in a different region of New York State.
• Long Island Housing Services: Long Island-based nonprofit providing HUD-approved housing counseling, fair housing enforcement, and tenant advocacy. Highly comparable mission and service mix to WRO, focused on a different New York metro geography.

Others

• Hudson Gateway Association of Realtors: Local Realtor trade association that co-hosts fair housing training webinars with WRO and sponsors WRO's annual housing expo. Industry partner rather than direct service competitor.
• Nonprofit Westchester: Westchester County nonprofit membership organization of which WRO is a member. Provides advocacy, networking, and visibility rather than direct service delivery.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/WROHousing
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCjJWPhAoYR40lZbnVfYUu6Q
• Facebookfacebook.com/WROInc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/westchester-residential-opportunities-inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/wrohousing

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Westchester Residential Opportunities