Our work
Mercy Housing works to address the shortage of affordable housing across the country, guided by our core values of respect, justice, and mercy. Every day, we strive to achieve more because we are constructing more than just buildings — we are building communities.
Founded by the Catholic sisters in 1981, strong leadership and a clear vision has taken Mercy Housing from a small Nebraska nonprofit with 310 units of affordable housing to having a presence in 45 states and Puerto Rico, and being named the nation’s top nonprofit affordable housing developer and owner by Affordable Housing Finance.
Playing pool at Colma Veterans Village, an affordable community for formerly homeless veterans
Message from leadership
This report offers a glimpse into our daily efforts and highlights the profound impact your generosity has had on families, seniors, veterans, and individuals who have faced homelessness. Your unwavering dedication in 2023 has been instrumental in enabling us to mark many accomplishments including the opening of seven new affordable housing communities equipped with essential onsite services across the country. We were surprised and grateful to be one of the recipients of a gift from author and philanthropist MacKenzie Scott at the end of the year. She donated $2.1 Billion to high performing organizations to support economic security, equity and health helping the most vulnerable persons in communities. We were humbled to receive $25 Million. This gift does not replace annual campaign dollars, but instead provides new funding to advance our most pressing priorities for long-term organizational resiliency and greater impact. I am excited to share that we are launching a new strategic business plan in 2024. Through an in-depth discovery and planning process, this plan will encompass four specific objectives that will allow us to continue to provide affordable, service-enriched housing for those most in need. From accolades and funding to resident-centric programming and collaborations, and the dedicated efforts of our 1,700-strong workforce, we acknowledge that our success is thanks to your invaluable partnership. We cannot do what we do without the generosity of your time, talent, and treasure. On behalf of the staff, board of trustees of Mercy Housing, and those we serve, thank you for supporting this important work. To provide a place to call home to over 45,000 people across the country, you need strong partnerships. We hope that you are impressed and humbled about all the work we’ve accomplished together.
Ismael Guererro
President & CEO
Patricia Cochran
Board Chair
Our Offices
California
1256 Market Street
San Francisco, California 94102
Board of Trustees
Patricia Cochran (Chair)
VSP Vision Care (Retired)
Katherine Aguilar Perez
Cities Leader — Arup
JoAnn Bertges
Wells Fargo (Retired)
Barbara Busch, SC
Sisters of Charity of Cincinnati
Tom Byers
Cedar River Group
Yvonne Camacho Simpson Housing (Retired)
Patricia Eck, CBS
Sisters of Bon Secours
Jane Gerety, RSM, PhD
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Charlie Francis
CommonSpirit Health (Retired)
Diane Hejna, CSJ
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange
David Jackson
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Douglas Jutte, MD, MPH
Build Healthy Places Network
Barbara Kelley
Retired
Paul Neumann
Retired, Trinity Health
John Powell
Retired, Bellwether Enterprise Real Estate Capital, LLC
Sam Ross, M.D.
Retired, Bon Secours Mercy Health
Founding Communities
Daughters of Charity, Province of St. Louise
Daughters of Charity, Province of the West
Sisters of Bon Secours, USA
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas
Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange
Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace