Advocacy E-News

Doughnuts with Your Delegation When Valley CDC in Northampton met with their legislative delegation last week the legislators were unaware that the CDC was helping folks who are facing foreclosure and the CDC staff were also unaware that their legislators were getting calls from constituents facing foreclosure. Over breakfast legislators learned where to refer their constituents for more help and the CDC is now able to assist more community members.This is a perfect example of the information sharing MACDC hoped would occur when we asked our members to hold breakfast meetings - “Doughnuts with your Delegation” - with their state legislators during January and February.  Meeting with legislators in the community, in addition to meeting at the State House, is a wonderful opportunity for community economic development organizations to showcase the work they do, talk about MACDC’s LIFT campaign and learn what their legislators are working on. It’s also a unique opportunity for the legislators to learn more about what is happening in their district. Sitting down and having an informal conversation over breakfast is a great way to build a good relationship with legislators.A number of meetings are planned and ten of our member groups have already held meetings. We want to recognize and thank the organizations which are helping to move MACDC’s legislative priorities (the LIFT Campaign) forward by having a doughnut with their delegation.·         Allston Brighton CDC in Boston·         CEDC-SM in new Bedford·         Dorchester Bay EDC in Boston·         Hilltown CDC in Chesterfield·         Jamaica Plain CDC in Boston·         Lawrence Community Works·         Quaboag Valley CDC in Palmer·         Somerville CDC ·         Twin Cities CDC in Fitchburg·         Valley CDC  in Northampton 

January 2008
Advocacy Issue

In this Advocacy Issue

Everyone at MACDC hopes you are having a good
beginning to the New Year.  We have much to report
as advocacy begins following the Legislature's holiday
break.

Doughnuts with Delegates

"Doughnuts with your Delegation" is MACDC's
campaign to have member CDCs host their state
representatives and senators either in their office or
another site to show what you do for the community.  
While we are encouraging members to have the
meetings some time between January 25th and
February 8th, certainly other dates between now and mid-March work as well.

We are thrilled to report that many of you either
already scheduled your local meetings with your
legislators or are in the process of setting up the
meeting.

This is a terrific way to promote both the LIFT
campaign and local issues impacting your work.

Get in touch with either Pam Bender
(pamelab@macdc.org or 617-426-0303 ext 25) or
Allison Staton (allisons@macdc.org or 617-426-0303
ext 24) for the six easy steps to hosting your
delegation.

LIFT Campaign Soars

2007 was a successful year for MACDC's LIFT Campaign.  The Foreclosure Prevention Law was signed by the Governor in early December and the Small Business Technical Assistance Program received funding in the FY08 budget.  Both of these are significant wins for the LIFT Campaign.

Both Housing Committee Chairman Kevin Honan and the Governor's Housing bond Bills (H4472 and H 4374 respectively) have been released from the Housing Committee and await a hearing by the Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets, chaired by Representative David Flynn and Senator Mark Montigny. Both bills would provide over $1 billion in funding for affordable housing. MACDC is hopeful that a good housing bond bill will pass in the spring.

We await the release on Wednesday, January 23rd of the Governor's proposed FY09 budget to see how much he suggests allocating for the Small Business Technical Assistance Grant Program (as well as other key programs like the state IDA program and state housing programs). Once we know the amount we will be able to work with the House and Senate to ensure full funding for this important program.

Finally, MACDC is working with a diverse group of stakeholders to develop a comprehensive state strategy to preserve expiring use properties. The group includes representatives from for-profit owners, tenants, state government, lenders, and advocates like MACDC and CHAPA. We expect the package to include both legislative and non-legislative strategies.

Local Banks Tested on Community Reinvestment Results
Several local banks are currently undergoing exams on their Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) activities, and MACDC encourages its members to be engaged by submitting comments about these banks to their federal regulators (the FDIC or OCC).  Courtesy of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition, we’ve included on MACDC’s website a list of banks in Massachusetts that have CRA exams this quarter, so you can find out if a bank serving your community is having an exam.  Also, please read the attached message to find out how you may send comments to its regulators about the bank’s community reinvestment performance.  For more information on how to participate effectively in the CRA process, contact NCRC's Member Organizing and Advocacy Associates, Lita Dunn Grossman at (202) 464-2728 or by email at lgrossman@ncrc.org, or Sarah Bedy, at (202) 464-2719 or by e-mail at sbedy@ncrc.org.  All MACDC members are encouraged to join NCRC, a national leader on CRA issues. NCRC members receive free technical assistance on working with their local banks on CRA issues.