The legacy of historical practices that disadvantaged communities of color such as redlining, restrictive covenants, and exclusionary zoning persists to this day, deterring investment dollars from historically overlooked communities. Tools that quantify social return on investment can help make the business case for social equity by demonstrating the existence of untapped markets, quantifying the amount of spending that goes out of the community, and showing that affordable housing options stabilize households and generate positive investment leading to improved values of the projects placed in those communities. Many projects that successfully invest in advancing social equity in underserved communities are reliant on inconsistent government subsidies, due to a lack of market-based mechanisms that favor socially equitable outcomes. Financial institutions and real estate development companies should revisit narrow and outdated approaches to market research, risk management, and financial modeling that further such inequities. There is compelling data to support the case for equity, and this panel will focus on best practices to support the industry and those we hope to impact.