Center for Community Investment’s Post

In depth article 🗞️on a new blueprint for financing community development. I tested out the app "Speechify" and used Snoop Doggs 🐕🦺 voice to read the article 😝. For some reason this seemed most appropriate. 💃🏽😃 --- Patient, flexible leadership and funding will be needed for the field of community development finance to evolve from the principles of market, scale, and self-sufficiency and fulfill its promise of increasing equity and opportunity in historically disadvantaged communities. Philanthropy will be essential for this move, but so will public and private developers, other public- and private-sector partners, and, most important, the empowered community residents and organizations who will be in the driver’s seat. --- Leaders in community development across sectors will need to help the field change deep-seated ways of acting and attitudes, test new approaches, make appropriate incentive and policy changes, and move from a narrow problem-oriented point of view to a systems-change perspective. The technical and political barriers to this shift are indeed substantial, but they can be overcome, as the innovative projects discussed here, from Appalachia to Southern California, demonstrate. --- #realestatedevelopment #communitydevelopment

Revitalizing neighborhoods takes more than just a spark—it requires a bold, innovative approach. That’s where Intend Indiana comes in. Founded in 1987 and born from the merger of Renew Indianapolis and King Park Development Corporation in 2020, Intend Indiana combines the strengths of two successful organizations to advance comprehensive community development. With a mission to create and preserve affordable housing, support neighborhood revitalization, and foster small business growth, Intend is making a significant impact across the state of Indiana. We’re thrilled to collaborate with Intend on their ambitious 10-year strategic framework. This forward-thinking project is setting a new standard in community development by outlining visionary goals, defining core values, and aligning priorities to build a sustainable and thriving future. #CommunitySolutions #NeighborhoodRevitalization #SustainableGrowth #Indiana

The racial wealth gap in America remains one of the most persistent and devastating legacies of systemic inequities. Addressing it requires transformative approaches that not only tackle immediate economic disparities but also empower historically marginalized communities to build generational wealth. One essential piece of this puzzle is rethinking community development finance. For decades, the field has relied on market-driven models prioritizing scale and self-sufficiency, often overlooking the structural barriers that have excluded Black, Indigenous, and other communities of color from wealth-building opportunities. As highlighted in this Stanford Social Innovation Review, inspiring initiatives like Boyle Heights’ CORE program - Inclusive Action for the City, Lift to Rise in Coachella Valley, and Invest Appalachia are leading the way in showing how community-led solutions can begin to close the racial wealth gap: 🔑 From Markets to Mission: These initiatives prioritize community voice over profit-driven goals, ensuring that investments directly benefit residents rather than perpetuating extractive systems. Programs like CORE empower tenants to become property owners—a critical pathway to generational wealth. 🔑 From Scale to Systems Change: Racial inequity is rooted in deeply entrenched systems, from redlining to predatory lending. By addressing these systemic barriers with tailored, place-based strategies, these initiatives build solutions that foster equity and resilience. 🔑 From Self-Sustainability to Long-Term Generativity: Communities cannot undo centuries of exclusion with short-term funding. Trust-based, patient capital—like that seen in the Regional Housing Alliance's Housing Catalyst Fund and Invest Appalachia—ensures that investments build enduring opportunities for wealth creation and community ownership. Bridging the racial wealth gap requires bold action, deep collaboration, and a commitment to shifting power dynamics. It demands moving beyond the idea that markets alone can solve systemic inequities. Instead, we must support community-driven solutions that prioritize racial equity, dismantle structural barriers, and provide the resources necessary for communities to thrive. This is more than finance—it’s justice. Let’s invest in models that empower communities to build wealth and equity for generations to come. I can't wait to share how United Way of King County will be part of this solution - coming soon. Thank you for sharing, Lisa Chin! #RacialWealthGap #CommunityDevelopment #Equity #SocialImpact #Philanthropy

from an article in the most recent Planning Magazine about the benefits of Complete Streets: (full article behind paywall) "The research also shows that complete streets are an effective community development strategy. While all central counties saw growth, complete streets grew in population by 17 percent compared to 9 percent for central counties. Notably, they added proportionately more minorities and households with children than in the rest of the counties, adding to neighborhood diversity. In all, 35,000 new residents moved to the studied areas." and: "Although the complete streets in the sample cost about $600 million to build—much of which would have been spent anyway in the normal course of street upgrading—our research shows that they leveraged about $6 billion in total economic and community development investments."

I highly recommend this article in Stanford Social Innovation Review to anyone interested in #communitydevelopment. Co-authors David Fukuzawa (my former boss at The Kresge Foundation), Nancy Andrews and Rebecca Steinitz call for traditional community development finance to shift from an emphasis on scale and market-driven replicability to flexibility that centers community voice. This issue is especially timely as $27 billion in Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund #climatefinance begins to flow through CDFIs and green banks to local communities. The authors include three case studies of community development practitioners who are already implementing this model, with local residents in determining how capital is deployed rather than the technical experts (including Rudy Espinoza at Inclusive Action for the City). They also suggest recommendations for how #philanthropy can support this shift.

The traditional model of community development finance is limited by market conservatism and a focus on scale, rather than local control. We need a new paradigm that prioritizes impact over scale, emphasizes flexible and creative financing strategies, and empowers community voice.

An excellent new piece in the Stanford Social Innovation Review from David Fukuzawa, Nancy Andrews and Rebecca Steinitz: The traditional model of community development finance is limited by market conservatism and a focus on scale, rather than local control. We need a new paradigm that prioritizes impact over scale, emphasizes flexible and creative financing strategies, and empowers community voice. https://lnkd.in/eaYGbpgk

Check out this article from Stanford Social Innovation Review, highlighting the work we've done with Genesis LA, East LA Community Corporation, and Little Tokyo Service Center! 💫

Let’s dive into traditional community development financing. In 2022, Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) deployed a staggering $10 billion into underinvested communities. Incredible, right? But here’s the catch: much of this was done without engaging residents or exploring creative, community-driven solutions to local challenges.  Now, there’s a chance to shift the balance of power. Imagine systems change and community voice working together—at the same time—without trade-offs.  Did you double-gasp? David Fukuzawa, Nancy Andrews, and Rebecca Steinitz are shining a light on those advocating for this shift, the innovative models being used, and the transformative impact already happening. Spoiler: social capital plays a role. Stanford Social Innovation Review

I've been thinking about CDC scale, resources and expertise more and more over the years. The talent has always been there but is it just a minor leagues on the way to big league success? How do we fund the CDCs without bending them 20 different ways outside of their mission and focus on true impact? How can they become more self-sustaining? CDCs hate talking about money but need it to accomplish any and everything in there organization. Partnerships such as those in the article should come with unrestricted administrative $$$s and capacity grants. Tracking program efficacy is getting more complex and requires more tools and expertise. The people who balance expertise and community awareness are in high demand and require salaries that match those skillsets. The value of local CDCs is more pressing today and as the article mentioned these locally ingrained institutions can be the gatekeepers for large institutions trying to make targeted impact for disenfranchised populations. This eases a huge "hurdle" for banks in particular.