The Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC) is committed to an aggressive and multi-faceted effort to help our members build, preserve and rehabilitate more affordable housing to meet the need in their local communities.  These efforts focus on implementing recently established public and private housing initiatives, advocating for new resources and policy reforms, and taking action to defend against likely attempts to reduce or eliminate key housing programs. MACDC also conducts research to support our housing agenda and provide learning and technical assistance opportunities designed to build CDC capacity and to help increase the productivity of our members within this challenging housing marketplace.

CDCs have been involved in affordable housing since their inception more than 30 years ago. Since that time, CDCs in Massachusetts have created or preserved over 20,000 homes, including rental units, condominiums, cooperatives, and single family homes. In 2003 and 2004, despite increasing difficulty in accessing affordable housing funding and rapidly rising development costs, CDCs succeeding in meeting 90% of their goal to produce another 3,000 homes during this period, as part of the MACDC GOALs Campaign, Growing Opportunities, Assets and Leaders, across the Commonwealth. CDCs not only build housing, but help low and moderate income homeowners to maintain their properties and provide classes and counseling to hundreds of first time homebuyers each year. CDC-sponsored housing serves people across a range of incomes from extremely low-income families that used to be homeless, to moderate-income households that are struggling to afford housing in today's super-heated housing market. CDCs also build supportive housing for those with disabilities, seniors and others with special needs. CDC-sponsored housing not only serves the residents, but also helps to revitalize the entire community. CDCs often convert vacant, underutilized or distressed properties, as well as previously contaminated “brownfields sites”, into beautiful homes that add vitality, hope and wealth to the community.

MACDC supports its members by advocating on their behalf with a wide range of key decision makers and organizations. We lobby for key housing legislation and budget items. We work with state, local, and federal agencies to ensure that programs are effectively implemented. We partner with banks, insurance companies, financial intermediaries, and foundations to increase CDC access to private sector resources. We facilitate partnerships between CDCs and a variety of allied organizations. We help CDC staff members to network with one another and learn from each other. And we track CDC activities and production closely to measure our progress and document our impact.

MACDC also sponsors several programs that support CDC housing production. The Ricanne Hadrian Initiative for Community Organizing (RHICO) helps CDCs to fully engage local residents in the process of designing, advocating and implementing housing projects. The Green CDC Initiative is helping CDCs to building housing that is more environmentally sustainable and less expensive to operate (through reduced energy costs). Our group sponsored insurance program provides CDCs with higher quality, lower cost property insurance.  MACDC’s role as a founding member of the Massachusetts Smart Growth Alliance ensures that the joint advocacy around sustainable development conducted by housing and environmental advocates and planners reflects the needs and perspectives of CDCs and their communities.