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Worcester Common Ground Racial Equity Pledge Profile

November 19th, 2024 by Kavi Neva

It has been four years since MACDC launched the Racial Equity Pledge, and we feel that now is a good time to reflect on it and the impact it has had on our partner CDCs across the state. To do this, we met with a few representatives from our partner CDCs to ask them how adopting the pledge has affected their work.  

Worcester Common Ground is a community development corporation targeting Worcester’s Greater Piedmont Area. They are focused on providing affordable housing, maintaining urban green spaces, tenant advocacy, and economic development. They were originally established in 1988 in reaction to rising rents, displaced families, and vacant properties.  

Due to the nature of their work, WCG was already involved in racial equity work before MACDC’s Racial Equity Pledge. Annessia Jimenez, WCG’s Community Organizer, explained that even though they were doing the work beforehand, “the Pledge just helped to instigate continuation of that work… it was very, very important to our [Executive] Director,” Yvette Dyson. Since this was the case, signing onto it two and a half years ago was a great opportunity for WCG to show solidarity with our other partner CDCs. 

Annessia Jimenez, WCG’s community organizer, explained that some of WCG’s goals for racial equity work include making less biased decisions related to tenants, working with (minority owned) businesses that reflect WCG’s values, and increasing representation within their staff during a time of turnover and expansion. Right now, about half of WCG’s staff can speak Spanish, and therefore connect with more people in the community they serve. According to Annessia, WCG’s main challenge with racial equity work and upholding our Pledge: 

is being able to dedicate time to our goals and working towards them… we're a small team. Everybody's spread thin. So, it's balancing [between] being able to do our work and dedicating the time and ensuring that we're giving enough time to [commit to racial equity] work. 

Over the last few years, WCG has worked extensively with a DEI consultant to review and evaluate their goals as well as the progress that they have made toward their goals using a system of key performance indicators (KPIs). Some of these KPIs include  

  • watching TV shows in Spanish and practicing on Duolingo to communicate with Spanish-speaking tenants and community members 

  • taking the IAT test twice with a journaling and reflection period between both tests in order to reduce bias in decision making.  

  • creating a list of MWBEs for development projects, establishing actionable and achievable hiring percentages for various trades and services, attending at least one related event per month. 

They used this system to hold themselves accountable and establish a timeline for their goals. Looking forward, WCG plans to continue upholding the Pledge, because according to Annessia, it has “helped keep [WCG] accountable, and helped us move forward in that work, instead of… not really following through with it.” 

Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation Racial Equity Pledge Profile

November 19th, 2024 by Kavi Neva

It has been four years since MACDC launched the Racial Equity Pledge, and we would like to reflect on the impact it has had on our partner CDCs across the state. To do this, we met with a few representatives from our partner CDCs to ask them how adopting the pledge has affected their work.

Codman Square Neighborhood Development Corporation (CSNDC) is “a grassroots community organization committed to developing affordable housing and fighting for racial and economic justice by building community power, especially of low and moderate-income communities of color in Dorchester. Through developing resident leadership, organizing in the community, promoting economic mobility services, and advocating for local environmental justice, [they] build collective resident power to effect systemic change and transform society.”

CSNDC has started explicitly incorporating racial equity into their work since adding a section to their 2016 strategic plan. When we approached them with our Racial Equity Pledge a few years later, they were eager to sign onto it. CSNDC adopted the Pledge because “it was aligned with our racial equity work already” according to Executive Director Gail Latimore. She explains how CSNDC was

pleased when [the Pledge] was first being discussed, since it [was] birthed out of the organizers of the CDCs putting their thoughts together. It was during the time of the George Floyd tragedy, and we really felt it was important to sign on for all those reasons. And we already were very steeped in racial equity… before that.

CSNDC’s goals for racial equity work range from providing learning opportunities for staff and board, to making changes to their hiring practices and business relationships. One of their most prominent programs is their Anti-Racism/Equity Army Academy, which was launched in 2022. The Academy is a series of four two- and a-half-hour classes over about a month. According to Gail, about 100 participants have completed these courses and “graduated” from the Academy.

Our Pledge has also inspired CSNDC to revise some of their hiring practices. They have started posting salaries for their open jobs and making degree requirements for some open positions “a little bit more flexible as a result of the MACDC racial equity pledge.” Not only that, but they have also raised salaries for their employees. Gail explains that “at this point in time, nobody in the agency earns under $63,000 or so a year, whereas before that we had some positions that were in the 40s and 50s.” Additionally, CSNDC is taking a step back and being more intentional about what kinds of companies they are doing business with and procuring products and services from for their projects. Gail said that she and her team have been focused on working with real estate, IT, and printing companies who reflect their target “community in terms of their racial equity [and] ethnic composition.”

Looking forward, CSNDC plans to expand their Anti-Racism/Equity Army Academy to continue their racial equity work now that it is “truly starting to take form. We're trying to add more classes to this academy to [provide] different informational modules that people can take.” To begin this expansion, CSNDC recently offered “Coming to Terms With Race,” a fundamental introductory class offered by the Academy to their board. Gail partially credits CSNDC’s establishment of the Academy to our Pledge, “but also to just the work that we've been doing for a while, trying to develop a body of work… We're still learning.”

Community Teamwork Racial Equity Pledge Profile

November 19th, 2024 by Kavi Neva

It has been four years since the MACDC Racial Equity Pledge was launched, and we feel that now is a good time to reflect on it and the impact it has had on our partner CDCs across the state. To do this, we met with a few representatives from our partner CDCs to ask them how adopting the pledge has affected their work.

Community Teamwork is a community development corporation, regional housing agency and community action agency based in Lowell, but they serve residents in 74 cities and towns throughout the Middlesex and Essex Counties. Their primary mission is to be a catalyst for change by mobilizing resources for low-income people, providing opportunities for them to achieve stability, self-sufficiency and have an active voice and participation in the decisions that affect their lives.

“Racial equity work has always been an important part of Community Teamwork’s mission and its work, even before we developed our pledge,” Saadia Ahmad, Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging, explains. “I think there was a lot of alignment between the Racial Equity Pledge and what we were already doing at Community Teamwork.” Since this was the case, Community Teamwork was eager to sign the pledge. Saadia elaborates, “for us, it is important to be doing the work internally, but also to make a public proclamation. Signing on to the Racial Equity Pledge was something we wanted to sign to hold ourselves accountable, and also to be part of this larger community of other organizations that are also doing this work.”

One of Community Teamwork’s main goals with racial equity work is to make sure that their staff members are informed and educated, to ensure that the work they do is also equitable. They have increased the number of trainings, conversations, and other DEI activities for their staff.  which have covered everything from identity, including sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, religion, family status, and neurodivergence.

Voluntary staff conversations include “JEDI Talks,” (justice, equity, diversity and inclusion) and staff-led employee resource groups which facilitate conversations about components of identity and create learning opportunities and activities for the agency as a whole. In addition, Community Teamwork established their own racial equity pledge and hosted several community screenings and facilitated conversations of Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America, by lawyer, Jeffery Robinson, a documentary film about the anti-black racism in this country, beginning from the country's origins.

Looking forward, Community Teamwork plans to continue their racial equity work to make sure that their 600 plus staff members feel safe and included in their place of work.  Saadia explains that, “people’s lived experiences, and their identities are very much part of who they are. At CTI, we want to create more spaces and opportunities where people can be present in who they are, and more importantly feel comfortable sharing themselves with colleagues to build more of those personal relationships and have more of those personal conversations.”

 

IBA Racial Equity Pledge Profile

November 19th, 2024 by Kavi Neva

It has been four years since MACDC launched the Racial Equity Pledge, and we feel that now is a good time to reflect on it and the impact it has had on our partner CDCs across the state. To do this, we met with a few representatives from our partner CDCs to ask them how adopting the pledge has affected their work. Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción (IBA) is a community development corporation based in Boston’s South End. IBA’s history is rooted in Boston’s Puerto Rican community and in organizing to protest displacement from Parcel 19 in 1968. Today, their main goal is to empower “individuals and families to improve their lives and achieve socio-economic mobility through high-quality affordable housing, education, financial and resident empowerment and arts programs” (ibaboston.org).

IBA adopted the MACDC Racial Equity Pledge since they “wanted to be a much more educated organization” according to Xavier Chavarria, IBA’s Chief Human Resource Officer. He goes on to explain that they wanted their “staff to be fully aware of what we have committed to and also to reinforce the equity and inclusion in our organization.” To adopt the pledge, IBA added it to their Strategic Plan, a dynamic document that serves as pillars to help guide them in the direction that they want to go.

IBA’s main goal for racial equity work is making sure that their staff is educated and trained. During one meeting with IBA’s internal DEI Committee (which also serves as their implementation team for MACDC’s Racial Equity Pledge), Xavier suggested finding IBA’s staff’s baseline knowledge on racial equity topics. He explains, “We wanted to know if people have heard about [DEI]. So we did a survey, for all of our staff. What we found was that a lot of our staff, while they were informed, didn't necessarily know the tenants, or principals of DEI.”

To accomplish this, IBA recently invested in professional development platform Udemy for their staff. Alongside professional development courses, Udemy also offers courses on racial equity topics. IBA plans to make a selection of these racial equity courses mandatory for staff, and if there are any gaps that they find, they plan to have racial equity consultants work with their staff to discuss these certain topics. Xavier

states that IBA made this investment to cover “all the avenues to ensure that we have a well-informed workforce to promote a more inclusive, empathic, and equitable organization environment. This is something that is going to be an ongoing process, since it doesn't just end with one presentation or one course. We feel that this is going to help us a lot.”

Alongside making this investment into their staff’s education, IBA has also made it clear that they are an equal opportunity employer and has also started to post salary ranges for their open positions. Xavier explains that they have also “added DEI questions into our performance reviews to make sure that all staff are doing their trainings and implement what they’ve been learning in the workplace. and then also to make sure that they're able to work well with our residents, because we serve a very diverse, multicultural community here at IBA in the South End, so we want to make sure that all of our staff are able to work very well with our community.”

Looking forward, IBA plans to keep their commitment to racial equity by ensuring that their implementation plans have longevity. Xavier states that racial equity at IBA

“is not something that's going to end. It's something that's going to [continue] for years to come, because it's important and the world is changing. You know, there's stuff happening every day, and IBA is committed to this pledge, that serves as a beacon for the organization.”

Worcester Common Ground Reflects on the Racial Equity Pledge

September 17th, 2024 by

By Kavi Neva:

It has been four years since MACDC launched the Racial Equity Pledge, and we feel that now is a good time to reflect on it and the impact it has had on our partner CDCs across the state. To do this, we met with a few representatives from our partner CDCs to ask them how adopting the pledge has affected their work.  

Worcester Common Ground is a community development corporation targeting Worcester’s Greater Piedmont Area. They are focused on providing affordable housing, maintaining urban green spaces, tenant advocacy, and economic development. They were originally established in 1988 in reaction to rising rents, displaced families, and vacant properties.  

Due to the nature of their work, WCG was already involved in racial equity work before MACDC’s Racial Equity Pledge. Annessia Jimenez, WCG’s Community Organizer, explained that even though they were doing the work beforehand, “the Pledge just helped to instigate continuation of that work… it was very, very important to our [Executive] Director,” Yvette Dyson. Since this was the case, signing onto it two and a half years ago was a great opportunity for WCG to show solidarity with our other partner CDCs. 

Annessia Jimenez, WCG’s community organizer, explained that some of WCG’s goals for racial equity work include making less biased decisions related to tenants, working with (minority owned) businesses that reflect WCG’s values, and increasing representation within their staff during a time of turnover and expansion. Right now, about half of WCG’s staff can speak Spanish, and therefore connect with more people in the community they serve. According to Annessia, WCG’s main challenge with racial equity work and upholding our Pledge: 

is being able to dedicate time to our goals and working towards them… we're a small team. Everybody's spread thin. So, it's balancing [between] being able to do our work and dedicating the time and ensuring that we're giving enough time to [commit to racial equity] work. 

Over the last few years, WCG has worked extensively with a DEI consultant to review and evaluate their goals as well as the progress that they have made toward their goals using a system of key performance indicators (KPIs). They used KPIs to hold themselves accountable and establish a timeline for their goals. Looking forward, WCG plans to continue upholding the Pledge, because according to Annessia, it has “helped keep [WCG] accountable, and helped us move forward in that work, instead of… not really following through with it.” 

 

CITC: Program Impact 2023

August 29th, 2024 by Don Bianchi

The Community Investment Tax Credit:

A Report on Impact in 2023

 

Since its inception in 2014, the Massachusetts Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program has been an integral and reliable source of funding for Community Development Corporations (CDCs) across the state. In 2023, CDCs raised over $23 million to support their activities through this unique program. CITC provides an avenue of fundraising for CDCs that allows for the growth and adaptation of programs across the state in response to the most pressing needs of their communities.

 

Every year CDCs commit themselves to gathering data and reporting on the six main aspects of their work: community leader engagement; families supported; homes built or preserved; job opportunities created or preserved; small business entrepreneurs assisted; and funds invested by CDCs in local communities. This invaluable data, gathered via the GOALs survey administered by MACDC, provides a unique window on the multiple ways in which CDCs respond to the needs of their constituents.

 

In 2023, CDCs across Massachusetts:

 

  • Engaged 1,610 community leaders
  • Created or preserved 1,233 homes
  • Created or preserved 4,566 job opportunities
  • Provided technical or financial assistance to 2,064 entrepreneurs
  • Assisted 75,937 families with housing, jobs, or other services
  • Invested almost $1.29 billion in the communities they serve

 

CDCs also measure their impact by tracking increases in their capacity in three main areas: staff growth; program expansion; and investment in infrastructure improvements. CITC has contributed to increased CDC impact by making possible impressive growth in each of these areas.

 

Expanding Staff Capacity:

The ever-growing demand for CDC services stretches the capacity of CDC staff teams. New investments made possible by CITC have allowed many CDCs to expand staff capacity in response. In 2023, 83% of CDCs reported that they were able to expand their staffing. Because of the lack of restrictions on funding provided through CITC, CDCs are able to add staff in areas of highest need.

 

 

 

Expanding or Adding Programs:

CITC also allowed many CDCs to expand existing programs and, in some cases, add new programs. According to data collected for 2023, 78% of CDCs were able to either add programs to their repertoire or expand upon their existing programs in the face of growing needs in their communities. During the same period, more than 80% of CDCs provided affordable housing in one manner or another, speaking to the ever-growing housing affordability crisis across the state.

 


 

 

Improving Technological, Physical, and Human Infrastructure:

In 2023 CDC's were able to make critical improvements in their technological, physical, and human infrastructure. It is this infrastructure that allows agencies to meet the needs of their community members. Post-pandemic, the need for virtual counseling/coaching remains high, meaning that CDCs still need to be thinking about online security and related technical issues. In 2023, 41% of CDCs were able to invest in communications system upgrades to better serve their clients and community members. These upgrades have also supported the continuing professional development of their teams by allowing staff to take advantage of a wide range of training opportunities.

 


 

 

In addition, 38 CDCs expanded or added new community engagement activities in 2023, ranging from increased Board of Directors engagement and diversity to increased volunteerism and community outreach. When the legislation creating CITC was adopted in 2012, CDCs across the state knew that this program would open new opportunities to them and those they serve. The actual results of this unique initiative have, however, exceeded even their most optimistic expectations. As a program leveraging public and private support to address critical community needs, CITC strengthens a set of dynamic bedrock institutions whose collective mission is to ensure that all Massachusetts residents have an opportunity to thrive.

MassINC and P2 Advisors Publish "Community Capital for Small Businesses"

July 11th, 2024 by Yari DeJesus

We're pleased to share the publication of MassINC and P2 Advisors' Community Capital: A Study of the CDFI and CDC Ecosystem in Massachusetts. This new study explores small business lending services provided by federally certified Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs) and state certified Community Development Corporations (CDCs). It outlines the rich history of community finance institutions in the Commonwealth, as well as the opportunities for (and barriers to) their expansion. The report offers a cross-sector strategy to capitalize the community finance sector and grow the impact of CDFIs and CDCs in Massachusetts.

Please click here to read the full report.

Massachusetts’ FY25 Housing Capital Budget Sees Significant Increases

July 9th, 2024 by Don Bianchi

On June 13th, the Healey-Driscoll Administration released its Fiscal Year 2025-2029 Capital Investment Plan, along with its Fiscal Year 2025 Capital Budget. The Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) FY25 budget of just under $400 billion is an increase of 30% from FY24.  MACDC created this spreadsheet, which highlights the key line items in the FY25 Housing Budget, along with selected economic development programs.

In reviewing the spreadsheet, you can focus on columns b, c, and d- which compares the budget from Fiscal Years 2023 through 2025. Row 48 shows the totals for the private housing programs used by CDCs and other developers, while Row 49 pertains to the budget for public housing. For the private housing bond-funded programs, the FY25 amounts are 26% higher than the FY24 amounts, and almost a 59% increase from just two years ago! We appreciate the increase in capital spending on affordable housing by the Administration.

The one major disappointment was that, under the FY25 Economic Development Capital Budget, there is only $2.5 million to recapitalize the Brownfields Development Fund, despite the letter we sent in early April to the Governor requesting $10 million in FY25. Furthermore, the increased amounts for affordable housing occur in an environment of rising construction costs and increased demand for limited funding resources.

Nonetheless, the capital budget increases reflect the success of our collective and sustained advocacy. A significant reason is the access we have to Secretary Augustus, through quarterly meetings of the MACDC Board with the Secretary. We also advocate, on our own and in coalition with others, for increased funding levels for the bond-financed housing programs reflected in the capital budget to address the state’s affordable housing crisis. This advocacy has many manifestations: on Lobby Day, through CDC Donuts with Delegates meetings, through MACDC’s presence on Beacon Hill, and through mobilizing MACDC Members to contact their legislators in support of bills and budget items.

For questions about the FY25 Housing Capital Budget, feel free to reach out to Don Bianchi, MACDC’s Director of Housing, at donb@macdc.org.

 

Housing Quality and Health Equity Initiative

November 13th, 2023 by Elana Brochin

On October 26th, MACDC hosted a Statewide Kickoff event for our Housing Quality and Health Equity Initiative (“The Equity Initiative”). Close to 100 participants joined us at the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation of Massachusetts to learn about the Equity Initiative and to strategize together about future directions. The Kickoff event centered around a report that we recently published in partnership with the Green and Healthy Initiative (GHHI) which explores housing quality and health challenges and opportunities throughout Massachusetts with a focus on Gateway Cities. 

 

The Equity Initiative is a five-year project funded by the Massachusetts Community Health and Healthy Aging Fund and, in addition to the research component the Equity Initiative centers around:  

  • Community Engagement: MACDC is currently working with community members, municipal officials, and grassroots organizations in three Gateway Cities (Brockton, Holyoke and Springfield) to identify local problems and developing solutions that will work on the local level.  
  • Policy Advocacy: Through the Equity Initiative, MACDC is conducting ongoing policy advocacy, for programs, resources and policies to improve housing quality and the resultant health outcomes of community residents. These efforts are currently focused on advancing the Massachusetts Healthy Homes Program (MHHP) legislation, which will build on current programs and create a whole-homes approach to improve housing quality, and thereby improve resident health. 
  • Addressing Racial Inequities: Poor housing quality and the associated health outcomes disproportionately impact individuals, families, and communities of color throughout Massachusetts. It is for this reason that a racial equity lens guides the Equity Initiative, focusing on Gateway Cities, where people of color are more likely to live, and these households suffer disproportionately from the health consequences of substandard housing. 

 

At the Statewide Kickoff, State Representative Shirley Arriaga of Chicopee spoke passionately about the need to pass MHHP, and GHHI CEO Ruth Ann Norton spoke persuasively about the national imperative to confront the devastating impact that lead paint, poor indoor air quality, and other housing quality problems have on our communities. A panel of Springfield leaders, consisting of a Revitalize CDC Board member, the City’s Housing Director, and a local resident who focuses on the health of seniors, described their local efforts. We continued with an interactive discussion among the event participants, and concluded with a networking lunch. 

 

The Equity Initiative is guided by MACDC’s Housing Quality and Health Task Force, a group of experienced practitioners consisting of advocates in the health equity, housing, elder and disability fields, healthcare providers, and data professionals. 

 

The Equity Initiative is staffed by MACDC’s Program Director for Health Equity Elana Brochin, MACDC’s Director of Housing Don Bianchi, and MACDC’s Health Equity Intern Meisui Liu. Contact us if you want more information or would like to join our effort! 

Breaking Ground - Two Verses with a Common Refrain

November 6th, 2023 by Don Bianchi

A groundbreaking on adaptive reuse for a vacant, boarded up former school in Fitchburg- 68 apartments near downtown in this Gateway City.  Another groundbreaking for a new construction project in Pelham, a Rural Town in Western MA with 1,300 residents- for a project half the size of the Fitchburg project.  What do these two CDC events have in common?  More than one might think- in a word (or two)- patience and partnership! 

 

On a brisk early November morning, with a bright sun in a cloudless sky taking the bite out of the 30-something temperature, a large group gathered to celebrate the groundbreaking at the site of the former B.F. Brown School. NewVue Communities acquired the school in 2018, but as NewVue Executive Director Marc Dohan and other speakers noted, it’s taken more than 10 years to get to this point. 

 

It’s also taken many hands. NewVue and the site’s neighbor, the Fitchburg Arts Museum, started talking about this in January 2013. The Mayor’s office has pushed this project forward- initially with former Mayor Lisa Wong, and now with Mayor Stephen DiNatale. Numerous public funders and policymakers were present to celebrate: Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC) Secretary Ed Augustus, senior officials from MassDevelopment, MassHousing, CEDAC, the Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation (MHIC) and NeighborWorks America were among the speakers. Marc also thanked the Health Foundation of Central MA, and UMASS Memorial Health. The big sign with the list of supporters needed small lettering to include all of the organizations who made this happen. 

 

Two things noted by speakers stood out for me. First, Marc Dohan thanked MHIC for working with the CDC to diversify the construction workforce, which will have 15% of the hard (construction) costs paid to Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs), and 25% of the construction jobs will go to workers of color. Second, Dan Rivera, CEO of MassDevelopment, said “CDCs are the most important letters in the development alphabet.” 

 

That afternoon, Home City Development, based in Springfield, broke ground on Amethyst Brook Apartments in Pelham, a small town just east of Amherst. The crowd was a bit smaller than in Fitchburg, but no less happy to share this milestone.  After an enthusiastic welcome from Home City’s Board Chair, Loleta Collins, Executive Director Tom Kegelman described the importance of this project. Tom noted that a recent count showed that there are 224 homeless individuals in Hampshire County, and another 6,000 households who encounter rents so high that they need to cut back on life’s other necessities, such as food. The project, consisting of 34 units in two buildings, will be built to Passive House standards, and will contain charging stations for electric vehicles and roof-mounted solar panels. 

 

As in Fitchburg, the breadth, and depth, of the partnership is impressive. The Town’s Select Board and Zoning Board of Appeals fully supported the project. Tilman Lukas, who chairs the Town’s Housing Committee, provided a history of the site, noting the challenges of finding sites for housing, as a recent study found that only 8% of the land in Pelham is buildable. The Town provided $500,000 in Community Preservation Act funding, and at Town Meeting the vote in favor was overwhelming, with only a handful of residents voting no. On the State level, EOHLC and CEDAC provided critical funding. Bill Brauner from CEDAC noted that he received a call about this project from Tom Kegelman in 2019- so this project has taken more than 4 years to get to construction. MHIC CEO Moddie Turay said that this is the sixth Home City project MHIC has supported, evidence of the high regard they hold for Home City Development. 

 

Patience and partnership were the themes of these two groundbreakings. I’m looking forward to the ribbon-cuttings, when these projects are completed! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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