Nonprofits can strengthen their missions and protect themselves by making smart decisions about the spaces they lease. Here are four practical strategies for making mission-aligned, cost-effective real estate choices.

1. Focus on Mission and Stability

Real estate decisions – like leasing vs. buying, or short-term vs. long-term leasing – must align with your strategic plan and growth forecast. If your programs are expanding, look for flexibility. It may help to have a shorter lease, or the option to expand into adjacent space. (For example, a right of first refusal (ROFR) or offer (ROFO) reserves you first dibs on a new space when it becomes available.)

Location is critical. Choose a site that’s accessible to clients and staff, and close to public transportation, parking, and community resources like schools or health centers.

Finally, ensure the space supports your mission. A youth organization may need open, flexible areas. A food bank needs storage and distribution space. The right space should enhance your work, not limit it.

2. Understand the True Cost of Occupancy

Base rent is only part of the picture. The total cost of occupancy includes all monthly costs and one-time expenses.

• Lease Type: Understand whether you’re signing a “full-service gross” lease (with taxes, maintenance, and insurance included in your rent) or a “triple net” (NNN) lease, where those costs are additional and may fluctuate. Triple net leases require careful budgeting and forecasting.
• Tenant Improvements: Negotiate a landlord-funded tenant improvement (or “TI”) allowance to offset the cost of customizing your space.
• Other Costs: Budget for your utilities, janitorial services, parking fees and moving expenses.

3. Negotiate for Flexibility and Protection

Nonprofits should negotiate lease terms that protect against unexpected challenges.

• Lease Term and Rent: Ask for predictable rent-review clauses like capped increases, which would set limits on rent increases each year. Also, ask for “break clauses” that allow early termination if circumstances change or you lose funding. 
• Repairs: Define who is responsible for repairs. Avoid taking on excessive maintenance like major structural or mechanical repairs.
• Permitted Use and Signage: Make sure your intended activities – programs or community gatherings – are allowed by the owner and by zoning, and that you can display your organization’s name visibly if you are serving clients on site.

4. Leverage Experts and Local Resources

Work with professionals who understand nonprofit real estate. Involve your organization’s decision-makers early to keep approvals on track.

• Tenant Broker: Tenant brokers who specialize in nonprofit real estate are indispensable. They act as your advocate in any transaction, and they understand the nonprofit sector. They can market-test your deal to make it competitive, and often their fee is paid by the landlord.

• Legal Counsel: Have a commercial real estate attorney review and approve the lease. Put the lease in the nonprofit’s name – not an individual’s name – to avoid personal liability.
• Specialized Firms: Look for firms or brokers with a nonprofit or community real estate practice. They’re likely to have a strong understanding of the sector. Likewise, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) may be able to offer special financing or grants. Colorado Legal Services is a nonprofit that may be able to answer questions about commercial leases. 

Finally, Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) is a Denver nonprofit that preserves, develops, and manages permanently affordable real estate for community benefit. ULC provides low-cost leasing to more than 50 nonprofits, and has supportive lease terms that allow a lessee to terminate without penalty if critical grant funding disappears. ULC is a proud partner and member of the Colorado Nonprofit Association. Learn more about ULC’s leasing opportunities. 

This article is from Colorado Nonprofit Association’s resource library. The resource library is a learning repository with a variety of how-to and educational videos, templates, articles and best practices exclusively for Colorado Nonprofit Association members.

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On a quiet afternoon inside Denver’s Tramway Nonprofit Center, Reverend Leon Kelly leans back in an old office chair and remembers a simpler time. “My mom made potted meat sandwiches and Kool-Aid, and we had a party because my father got a job here at the Tramway Bus Company,” he says. “Innocent times.”

It’s in this same building that Kelly spent much of his four decades mentoring thousands of young people, turning a former bus maintenance facility into a safe, social space for inspiring Cole neighborhood youth.

Today, Rev. Kelly runs his nonprofit, Open Door Youth Gang Alternatives, mainly from a downtown location. He still keeps office space in Denver’s Cole neighborhood at the Tramway Nonprofit Center alongside a dozen other local nonprofits. He speaks plainly about Open Door’s mission.

“The actions of the few have the reflections of the many,” he says. “And the many we’ve dealt with have gone on to make good choices.”

Founded in the early 1980s, Open Door has touched the lives of tens of thousands of Denver youth. Rev. Kelly estimates that between 75,000 and 100,000 young people have passed through the program, which mentors and guides young people away from the dangers of gang involvement. Several have gone on to become civic leaders, including former Denver Mayor Michael Hancock and current Denver Sheriff Elias Diggins.

Rev. Kelly’s connection to Tramway is also personal and rooted in family. As a child in the 1950s, he watched his father celebrate landing a job at the Tramway Bus Company, housed in the same building. So, for him, staying put has been a deliberate choice.

“This place here,” he recalls. “My father worked here, and my uncle. I’ve been all over the place, but I’ve always favored being home—where my beginnings began.”

Now, at Open Door’s modest space at the Tramway Nonprofit Center, kids from the neighborhood Wyatt Academy, across the street, gather to play games, do homework, and talk. “We are one of the oldest nonprofits in this building. We got what we call a little hub here,” Rev. Kelly says.

These days, Rev. Kelly finds himself reflecting more and more on Open Door’s legacy and the timeline of his life in the Cole neighborhood. Always direct and never one to mince words, Rev. Kelly keeps in the front of his mind a message from Reverend Jesse Jackson that has shaped his life and shaped his view of the community where he serves to this day.

“In all the time I’ve been doing this here,” Rev. Kelly says, “I’d like to think about hope. When the Reverend Jessie Jackson says ‘Keep hope alive,’ I like to think I’m helping to keep hope alive and keep a vision alive, because without hope, we ain’t got nothing to live for.”

The post In Denver’s Cole neighborhood, Reverend Leon Kelly has spent four decades guiding youth appeared first on Urban Land Conservancy.

About a third of nonprofits in the United States receive federal grants, including many essential service providers in the Denver area. Now, new federal funding cuts and clawbacks are affecting nonprofit programs – like food banks, housing, early childhood education, the arts, and more. 

Meanwhile, local families are relying on nonprofit services more than ever, as they experience their own economic challenges like layoffs, a continued shortage of affordable housing, and potential changes to Medicaid and food stamps, to name a few. 

These cuts “threaten nonprofits’ ability to serve their missions by terminating contracts and eliminating critical federal funding,” according to the Colorado Nonprofit Association, and some are struggling just to keep their doors open.

As a nonprofit itself, ULC’s role includes offering long-term stability and support to about 50 nonprofits by managing low-cost, collaborative office spaces where they can operate. ULC continues to offer about 30% below-market lease rates at offices, warehouses, commercial kitchens and schools. Lessees also benefit from ULC’s supportive terms that allow a nonprofit to terminate its lease without penalty if critical grant funding disappears.

“The nonprofits we work with are forces for good throughout the metro area. They provide fresh food, counseling, health care, after-school programming, and so much more,” ULC Chief Operating Officer Aaron Martinez said. “ULC is dedicated to supporting these mission-minded organizations through affordable real estate, so they can continue to be there for our communities.”

Do you know a nonprofit looking to relocate, consolidate or downsize? View leasing options at urbanlandc.org/office-leasing or contact us at leasing@urbanlandc.org.

Photo: A student and her daughter in a classroom at New Legacy Charter School in Aurora, a ULC community land trust property.

Early childhood education nationwide has seen reductions in federal funding tied to Head Start and other programs.

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The site of the South Platte Crossing Apartments will be held in ULC’s community land trust for at least 99 years, preserving long-term affordability and community benefits. The development is adjacent to the Commerce City Community Campus, a vibrant hub of nonprofits and municipal service providers, which offers residents convenient proximity to health care, behavioral health, early childhood education, and other vital services.

“South Platte Crossing shows how we can create lasting affordability while ensuring families live close to transit, services and opportunity,” said Sarah Harman, senior vice president of real estate for ULC. “This partnership is a model for thoughtful, accessible, transit-oriented development in Colorado.”

The development includes studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments, with 70% of homes reserved for residents earning 50% or less of the area median income.

Designed by Carvell Architects, and built by Alliance Construction Solutions, South Platte Crossing aims to foster a sense of community. Amenities include a community room with kitchen, fitness center, conference room, interior courtyard with a children’s playground, second-floor terrace, and secure bike storage on every level. Nesbitt Development is providing transit cards to all residents, giving them greater access to jobs and cultural resources in downtown Denver and the northern metro area.

“South Platte Crossing reflects my belief that everyone deserves the opportunity to live in a safe, affordable home connected to transit, services, and community,” said Eric Nesbitt, principal of Nesbitt Development. “This project supports families who want to remain rooted in Commerce City, and it’s an example of how thoughtful development can make a real difference.”

The development of South Platte Crossing created $28 million of economic activity in Commerce City and an estimated 200 new jobs via construction. The entire design and construction team was based locally in the Denver metro area.

“This is what community-focused development looks like — working with local partners to create affordable homes with access to transit, services and long-term stability, and we’re thrilled to provide this housing solution to the Commerce City community,” said David Brint, co-founding principal of Brinshore Development.

The post ULC and partners celebrate 60 new, transit-oriented, affordable apartments in Commerce City appeared first on Urban Land Conservancy.

This “Hogwarts” campus in Denver offers affordable housing just steps from free job training

Denver resident Marina Benavides once stood at a crossroads, uncertain about her future. She sought stability, purpose, and a place to belong. Her path led her to the Mosaic Community Campus in east Denver.

The Denver nonprofit Work Options is at the heart of this diverse place. It is a program that equips individuals with essential culinary-job skills, and confidence. Through Work Options, Marina discovered Helping Hen Café, Work Options’ welcoming campus eatery, where she began her hands-on training. Here, she learned the intricacies of food service skills, from preparing meals to engaging with customers, while earning a wage and building her self-esteem.

But the changes for Marina weren’t limited to her professional life. In 2024, Marina secured an affordable apartment right on the campus, as the nonprofit housing developer Archway Communities opened 154 new homes for households earning 30-60% of the area median income (AMI). This safe and stable environment allowed her to focus on her growth, free from the stresses of housing insecurity.

“We saw pictures, and … we were like, ‘Yes, we’re going to start living here, we want to live there.’ It’s like Hogwarts, you know, Harry Potter,” Marina said of the historic campus buildings.

“It looks amazing. I love it.”

The synergy between the free job training programs at Work Options and the affordable housing provided by Archway Communities exemplifies the holistic role that the Mosaic Community Campus has assumed since 2021, when Urban Land Conservancy (ULC), Denver Public Schools, and the Denver Housing Authority purchased what was then the Johnson and Wales University campus. Urban Land Conservancy (ULC) and its partners work to ensure that spaces at Mosaic are occupied by organizations that are of, by and for the East Colfax and South Park Hill communities, and beyond.

Other on-campus opportunities for those living in affordable housing at Mosaic include: free and low-cost English language acquisition classes through Emily Griffith Technical College, employment at Dirt Coffee Bar, K-8 education at St. Elizabeth’s School, and middle school and high school at Denver School of the Arts.

Marina has since graduated from the Work Options program and is pursuing a career in culinary service. After she graduated, her wife enrolled in the program.

Be Part of the Change

Today, you can contribute to the diverse and multifaceted missions of the Mosaic Community Campus:

• Dine with purpose: Visit Helping Hen Café and enjoy a meal that supports job training initiatives.
• Support Work Options: Consider donating or volunteering to help more individuals gain valuable skills.
• Learn about Archway Communities: Discover how affordable housing transforms lives.
• Explore ULC’s impact in action: Understand how strategic real estate stewardship fosters community development.

The post How a job training program and affordable housing made a difference for one Denverite appeared first on Urban Land Conservancy.