Sydney's Summer Success with the Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth

Sydney’s Internship with the Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth: Supporting Housing Affordability for First-Time Homebuyers

My name is Sydney Williams - I am a junior majoring in Finance with a minor in Real Estate Development. I come from a military family and moved out West during high school. Since being out here, I have fallen in love with skiing, hiking, backpacking, and everything outdoors! 

A Journey into Real Estate Development and Housing Affordability

This summer I had the pleasure to work with the Dearfield Fund for Black Wealth, an organization providing down payment assistance to first-time African American homebuyers. Dearfield gives families up to $40,000 for a down payment on their first home - provided that families repay their down payment as well as give Dearfield 5% of the appreciation on their home.

Supporting Affordable Housing Solutions for Marginalized Communities

Interning for Dearfield has been an amazing opportunity for me, as it has allowed me to harness my skills in finance and real estate, while also helping a team with a mission to help a marginalized population. My role for Dearfield is primarily to help them with their investor relations, fund operations, and organizational management. I’ve assisted them in building out their fundraising pipeline, updating their financial model, helping compile investor data for due diligence, and enhancing Dearfield’s organizational structure. 

Gaining Real-World Experience in Housing Affordability

I have learned so much working with Dearfield this summer. Working with such a new organization has shown me the importance of taking initiative - my two superiors are doing the job of a workforce of ten, meaning they don’t have time to tell me exactly what to do. I needed to examine what they were struggling with, and take the initiative to help them. Working at a start-up also means I had the ability to bounce around and work in multiple areas. While my emphasis was in finance and investing, I also worked with our external affairs team, helped build out our client success, and worked alongside our strategic management team to find a better way to organize Dearfield. Working for Dearfield has not only helped me develop technical skills for my career, but has also led to many professional contacts that I hope to stay in touch with post-graduation. All in all, Dearfield has been an amazing opportunity, and I feel my summer has been a success because of it.