The Massachusetts Association of
Community Development Corporations

Community development corporations (CDCs) have aggressively sought to green their community development activities in areas as diverse as developing green affordable housing to creating green parks and playgrounds to fostering green jobs.

CDCs promote environmental sustainability through a wide variety of means. MACDC has identified fifteen green strategies employed by CDCs through their green projects, programs and initiatives and tallied the number of CDCs employing each of these strategies.

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CDC Fiscal Health Study

We engaged the Nonprofit Finance Fund to work with MACDC and LISC and look at the financial strength of community development corporations in Massachusetts. With the support of The Boston Foundation, the New Sector Alliance assisted this project in gathering survey data and in an analysis of preliminary financial data during the spring of 2009. LISC and MACDC believe this study will accelerate efforts within the Community Development Innovation Forum and elsewhere to address the challenges faced by CDCs.

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The Massachusetts Mortgage Industry Report Card

This report surveyed non-profit housing agencies that provide counseling to homeowners facing foreclosure. These counselors are on the front lines of the foreclosure crisis working everyday with hundreds of homeowners across the state.  The purpose of the survey was to learn which of the major servicers were the most and least responsive to the needs of homeowners and to see how the industry as a whole was responding.   Responses to the survey were based on counseling done with over 1,100 Massachusetts homeowners facing foreclosure.  The report found that the Mortgage Lending Industry’s response remains too slow, ad hoc and inconsistent. The report assigns letter grades for 10 major servicers in Massachusetts. Saxon and GMAC received the lowest grades. The report includes recommendations for action by the Federal Government and the industry.

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The members of the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations
(MACDC), comprised of Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and other community
development organizations, strive to build more integrated, healthy, and sustainable communities
across Massachusetts. CDCs provide benefits to tens of thousands of people through the
development of affordable housing and commercial real estate, green space development, small
business lending programs, job training, youth programs, cultural festivals, anti-crime initiatives and
other community activities. As part of their mission, MACDC members promote equal opportunity
and diversity in the workforce. In order to strengthen and reinvigorate the mission of its members,
MACDC has conducted this study to identify the overall track record of its members in the area of
minority, women and union hiring in their real estate projects. This is an important area of study
because CDCs have created 5,031 construction jobs statewide from 2003 to 2007.
 

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(Adapted from the Power Journal's Editors Letter)
The fourth edition of The Journal of Community PowerBuilding is a publication that chronicles power building within the neighborhoods of Massachusetts’s community development corporations(CDCs). With each edition of the Power Journal, we are collecting stories about community development “from the field.” They are written by CDC staff, board members, leaders and program participants and they document successes, reflections, and frustrations. We hope that over time, the Power Journal will become a critical reservoir of field observations about the community development field. In this issue, we talk about building relationships and revitalizing our communities, and specifically empowerment. We want to empower the communities in which we live and work;we want people to be empowered to effect change in their lives. We use empower so frequently that we can take its meaning for granted,and never fully understand the relationships that we have created when we empower others, become empowered ourselves, or build power together. But these relationships can be fragile, as we bring into them our own needs, expectations, and abilities and must mediate these with the needs, expectations, and abilities of others. Some of the questions we posed in this year’s call for papers:

• How do we build relationships in a healthy community?
• How does your position as a staff member or an activist affect your role in the power-building relationships you develop in your community?
• How do you feel community empowerment benefits you, either materially or spiritually?
  We hope you enjoy the Power Journal! Please contact shirrondaa@macdc.org for a complimentary copy.

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In the third edition of The Journal of Community Power Building, the writers explore the definitions of community and community boundaries: who are the people with whom CDCs work? When a CDC carries out leadership development or speaks of pursuing justice, who does it involve in its action plans? Who perhaps is excluded from its outreach?

The Editorial Board, a volunteer committee of CDC staff, leadership and allies, felt that this was a theme that could cross many communities and experiences. In the articles that we received, it became clear that the term community carried a deep emotional resonance with the writers. Although the questions posed have an analytical tone, many of the articles discussed community in terms of belonging and a sense of family. The importance of personal relationships is almost a cliche in the community development field. Nevertheless, these essays reiterate this point on a visceral level and remind us that, for all ages, personal relationships and a stake in a community is the power that drives community change.

The Journal is writen by local CDC staff and leadership, community leaders, board members, and youth organizers.

The Journal is on sale for $5 each (group discount available). Please contact Shirronda Almeida@ shirrondaa@macdc.org to purchase your copy.

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While the lack of affordable housing in Boston has been a chronic problem, recent years have proved critical to a workforce that has struggled to find homes that it can afford. In 2004, nearly half (47%) of Boston tenants spent more than 30% of their incomes on rent. Many families are paying beyond their means to stay in Boston, while others, especially young professionals, are leaving the city in search of cheaper housing. Between 2000 and 2004, Boston lost 18% of its population aged 20 to 34 and 11% of its overall population.

The City of Boston has employed its Inclusionary Development Policy to combat this problem. The policy requires developers to set aside 13% of each residential project as affordable housing in exchange for increased density allowances and other negotiated cost-offsetting bonuses. The City targets these affordable units to moderate-income and middle-income families, those earning up to $99,000.

Boston's policy has brought about measured success, having produced more than 600 affordable units and raised $11 million toward affordable housing production since 2000. However, cities across the Commonwealth and across the nation have generated higher production rates and stronger earnings, demonstrating that there is room for improvement here in Boston.

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Many of Massachusetts' smaller cities offer an interesting opportunity to apply the best current thinking about smart growth development to the pressing need for more housing of all types. Yet, these very cities have often been overlooked in policy formulations geared toward the thriving Boston metropolitan market and expanding suburban market. Often bypassed by the economic boom of the 1990s, many smaller cities are still struggling to make the shift from a manufacturing economy to one that is more diversified.

This project begins an effort by Citizens' Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA) and the Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC) to examine the policies and practices that support small cities as they make the necessary transition to a more diverse economy. Some communities have begun to turn the corner, and we believe that targeted policies and resources can assist struggling communities to rebound without displacing current residents. This report examines recent demographic and economic trends among these cities, and shares lessons and best practices for economic revitalization from six cities in particular: Fitchburg, Lynn, New Bedford, Salem, Springfield, and Waltham.

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The Journal of Community Power Building is an exploration of power building among community development corporations (CDCs) and their leaders, working to achieve significant change in urban and rural communities throughout Massachusetts. In the first volume of the Power Journal, contributors were asked to explore fears and ambivalence about power in the move toward community change. In this second volume, we ask people from the community development field - leaders, organizers, as well as other staff members - to define justice, and describe how it informs the work they do.

Note: for proper printing, select "print two pages per sheet" under your print options menu.

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In February 2005, the Romney Administration decided to withhold state and federal funding for the construction of new state-assisted homes being developed for sale to first time homebuyers. This decision has put a freeze on the development of such homes by the state's community development corporations (CDCs) and other developers of affordable housing in the state. In total, 19 CDC projects in 10 communities totaling 286 units are now at risk as a result of the Administration's actions. The State and federal housing funds being withheld by the Romney Administration are used to make the homes affordable to moderate income families. Most of these homes would be affordable to working families making approximately $40,000 to $60,000 per year.

Authors: Don Bianchi, Kelley Whitmore

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This report explores what Community Development Corporations (CDCs) contribute to the workforce development system in Massachusetts' neighborhoods, towns, and regions. This report argues that CDCs are assets in the state workforce development system because CDCs create and administer programs for low- and moderate-income workers to build individual skills, to connect people to job and social networks, and to expand working people's assets and opportunities.

Author: James Stevens

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Our partners in the Green CDC Initiative, New Ecology, Inc. and the Tellus Institute, have completed and released a study entitled The Costs and Benefits of Green Affordable Housing. The study contains 16 case studies of affordable housing projects from around the country. This 200+ page report includes in-depth analysis of the long-run financial implications of greening each project and Net Present Value projections for each project. In addition to case findings, we have included sections on recommendations for advancing the green agenda in affordable housing as well as areas for further research. This is the first study of its kind looking at green affordable housing from a costs and benefits perspective. The Study can be accessed through the New Ecology website at www.newecology.org.

The Costs and Benefits of Green Affordable Housing study, undertaken by New Ecology and the Tellus Institute, is comprised of 16 case studies of affordable housing projects from around the country. This 200 page report includes in-depth analysis of the long-run financial implications of greening each project and Net Present Value projections for each project. In addition to case findings, we have included sections on recommendations for advancing the green agenda in affordable housing as well as areas for further research. This is the first study of its kind looking at green affordable housing from a costs and benefits perspective. We hope that with this study, a robust, national conversation can begin about how to promote greening affordable housing while taking into account the various costs and benefits associated with the decisions to green developments.

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The Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC) began 2003 with the excitement of having set ambitious goals for ourselves, through the GOALs Campaign – Growing Opportunities, Assets & Leaders. The campaign was publicly endorsed by 600 community development activists at the November 2002 statewide convention. At the heart of the GOALs campaign is the view that, by acting together, individual CDCs are more powerful and achieve a higher community impact. The campaign unites our 68 member CDCs across the state in a joint effort to actively engage 2,000 community leaders in sharing a vision; to create 3,000 affordable homes and support 18,000 low and moderate income families in stabilizing their lives; to preserve and develop 5,000 jobs and grow 1,500 locally owned small businesses. Accomplishing GOALs means directing $400 million in investments to revitalize communities in economic distress. All to be done by the end of 2004.

Within the first six months of the GOALs Campaign, we felt the shock of a worsening state economy, a stingy political climate and the elimination of the only dedicated source of state funding, CEED, that provided flexible core support for CDCs. To members, the elimination of CEED by the state government meant more than simply a loss of money – it raised the worry that after more than 25 years of explicit state support for the community development field, MACDC and the CDC movement might now by facing even greater battles in the future.
 

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This paper outlines the challenges in our current small business assistance delivery system and recommends solutions to streamline the system and reach more entrepreneurs across the state. The paper won an honorable mention in the Pioneer Institute's 2003 Better Government Competition.

Authors: Joe Kriesberg, DeAnna Green and Chris Sikes

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