Pulling the Rug From Under Community Development?
Investments and funding motivated by the Community Reinvestment Act are more foundational to the work of community developers than is often discussed. But if regulations change the incentives for banks, the effects on communities will be dramatic.
Telling Our Stories: New Economy Gets Noticed
In the world of community wealth building, most of us (most of the time) operate in relative obscurity. As a result, “telling our stories” has become a routine conference topic.
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Nun Funds: The Original Impact Investors
Rising out of a practice of shareholder activism that began in the 1970s, Women Religious made the leap from monitoring their investments on Wall Street to becoming pioneers in investing directly in the communities and social justice causes for which they cared.
A Sense of Place: Mind + Body in Community Development
How can we practice effective community development and engage a community that suffers from a dwindling stock of physical historical references and is in the process of healing from the wounds of decades of urban decay? In the Bronx, community members are coming together, taking pieces of the past and making history.
Land Trust Conference Models Better Ways to Get People’s Attention
Folks who present on and moderate panels: We can no longer claim that a meaningful presentation can’t be done in three minutes and that
you need longer.
Industry versus Movement – Redux
Three years ago, I posted a blog in which I wrestled with the question of whether community development is an “industry” or a “movement.” That was the sort of insiders’ game that could be...
A Balance of Discipline and Flexibility Is Key To CDC Efficacy
We must define the community development field in terms of impact and organizational structure and look at CDCs as facilitators of development, not just developers.
More Than a Mural: How Arts and Culture Advance the Mission of the Seattle...
Arts programs at one public housing development in Seattle have eased the challenges of redevelopment by helping residents define what the community means to them.
New Writings Suggest Incremental Change Is Best Path for CRA Reform
These writings suggest that careful reform of CRA regulations can build upon the progress in lending and investing if the reforms are incremental instead of “transformational."
When a Person’s Character Trumps Their Credit Score
Some CDFIs approve loans based on a person’s character instead of their credit score. But they only recommend
doing so when you know the applicant.
Shifting the Affordable Housing Narrative Through Arts and Culture
Housing activists want to use this political moment to shift long-standing narratives surrounding housing. From film to theater, here are some arts strategies that might work.
Residents of Nonprofit Housing Have Lower Rates of COVID
Affordable housing providers have touted the connections between health and the places where people live for years. In a small city outside of Boston, the evidence is incontrovertible.
Interview with Michael Bodaken, retiring director of the National Housing Trust
Shelterforce took the occasion of Michael Bodaken's retiring from the National Housing Trust to speak with him about how he got into housing, some of his favorite projects, and his recommendations for the field going forward.
Marketing the Farmers’ Market
After making only our second visit to the farmers' market in our county this summer, my wife and I got into a spirited discussion about why anyone should bother...
Social Impact Investment and the Failure of Imagination
Domestic social impact investment is stuck. Each year a few deals trickle through, but despite the potential and promise, impact investments in the United States are rare, complex, and entirely one-off. To be sure,...
Shelter Shorts—The Week in Community Development, April 27
Climate Gentrification | A Marijuana Tax for Housing? | Homeownership Alone Can't Close the Wealth Gap | Illegal ICE Raids on Farms | Keeping An Eye on Opportunity Zones | More...
Using Theater to Envision Racial Equity Solutions
Techniques from the arts world can help us envision and re-envision relationships and systems to spot stress points and opportunities within communities.
9 Tips for Overcoming NIMBY Opposition
Lessons for affordable housing developers from the trenches.
Fighting for Responsible Corporate Partnerships
As with the Community Reinvestment Act in 1977, we need a new mechanism for the next 36 years that forces corporations to anchor themselves in our neighborhoods.