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Community Development Field
Shelterforce considers “community development” to be an extremely broad term. But there are still many conversations about the ways in which that broad work happens. Comprehensively or in coalitions of specialized organizations? Locally or regionally? Place or people? While the answers to all of these are usually “both,” there are many conversations to be had about “how.”
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Affordable Housing Finance 101
The financial intricacies involved in building affordable housing can be difficult to understand. This explainer breaks down the foundational concepts.
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To Make Schools Better for Everyone, Connect Them to Community Development
Schools affect their neighborhoods—if community developers don’t harness that connection for equitable change, someone else will.
Education and Housing Advocates: Better Together, But Too Often Apart
The pandemic reminded us how education and housing affect each other. Now some advocates are fighting to make sure no one forgets it.
States Are Using This Tool to Keep LIHTC Housing Affordable for Longer
Some state finance agencies are using qualified allocation plans, or QAPs, to extend affordability of LIHTC housing beyond 30 years and increase tenant protections. Here’s a look at where it’s happening.
Standing Up for Small CDCs
Neighborhood-scale community development organizations have community connections and trust that can’t be replicated by larger organizations, and they should be valued as the foundation of the field.
Affordable Housers Face Deepening Rental Arrears and Ballooning Expenses
Four years after the pandemic first wrought havoc on the American economy, nonprofit housers are being overwhelmed by rental arrears. Can they balance their social mission against their operational realities?
Rising Property Insurance Costs: The Threat to Affordable Housing
This video and related articles explore a ballooning crisis endangering affordable housing, even as the need for it keeps growing.
Nonprofit Housing Developers Deserve Better LIHTC Terms
When it comes to LIHTC deals, nonprofit developers don’t get the same advantages big, for-profit developers do. A new fund is setting out to change that.
Reining in Rising Property Insurance Rates
There are many proposed ways to mitigate the property insurance cost crisis. They all require federal or state government to act.
Community Development: Between a Rock and a Hard Place?
One of the major questions for the affordable housing world in the next couple of years will be how well its various segments come together.
Defining Community Development in Order to Fund It
What is a community development corporation? A few state and local governments have created formal definitions or guidelines to help target special tax credit funding to the field.
Want Leaders in Community Development? Develop a New Hiring Strategy
It’s easy to stick to the tried-and-true pipeline when hiring for community development roles. But forming connections with people from different industries and generations can make our teams stronger.
Lessons from Detroit: Joining Forces with Resident-Led Groups
It’s been 14 years since the Community Development Advocates of Detroit opened its membership to resident-led groups. Here’s a look at what they’ve learned about working together and navigating the transition.