In May, 2015, the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation’s Division of Banks (DOB) awarded $1.3 Million in grants to 11 regional foreclosure prevention centers and 10 individual first-time homeownership education centers across Massachusetts. For a list of the grantees and the awards, see the Office of Consumer Affairs website.

The awards are made under Chapter 206 of the Acts of 2007, a law enacted as the foreclosure crisis was gaining steam, with MACDC and its members instrumental in drafting and passing the legislation. Among other things, it regulates non-bank mortgage lenders for the first time, and uses the licensing fees from mortgage originators to fund the foreclosure prevention counseling awards. Over the past three years, DOB has provided more than $4 Million for foreclosure prevention counseling and homebuyer education.

MACDC Members are so effective at providing these services that 13 of the 21 awards were made to MACDC Members or to coalitions including MACDC Members. In fact, over a three year period ending in December 2014, MACDC members provided foreclosure prevention counseling to almost 12,000 households, and close to 4,600 of these households achieved a positive outcome.

MACDC continues to engage the Division of Banks, on behalf of our members and their low- and moderate-income constituents who still face challenges in buying and preserving their homes.  We met with DOB in November 2014 to talk about the need for ongoing support for both foreclosure prevention and homebuyer education. Clearly, DOB listened to the concerns of MACDC and other stakeholders as they developed the specifics of the program.

Unfortunately, the foreclosure crisis is not abating as fast as many had hoped.  Foreclosure petitions in the Bay State, the first step in the foreclosure process, continued to climb in March, posting a 68 percent increase compared with March 2014, according to a new report from The Warren Group, publisher of Banker & Tradesman. This marked the 13th consecutive month of increases in petition filings.

MACDC will continue to support our members, as they strive to help current homeowners preserve their homes and provide future homeowners with the tools for enjoying sustainable homeownership. MACDC is currently advocating with the Legislature to make sure the program is fully funded again in Fiscal Year 2016.

For more information on this, please contact Don Bianchi at donb@macdc.org.

Steve Britton was surprised and pleased when he found out he was named a Community Bank Hero, but he says he's still trying to figure out just what he did to deserve the honor.That's just like Steve, said Jackie Giordano, the director of external affairs at the North Shore Community Development Coalition (CDC). Giordano, who has known Britton since he joined the organization's board of directors in 2012, nominated him for the distinction. READ MORE

On May 4th, Tom Callahan, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (an MACDC associate member) testified at a Federal Reserve hearing discussing unnecessary or burdensome regulations for insured depository institutions. The focus of his presentation was on the importance of the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) and how its rules should be strengthened in response to changes in the financial services industry. In order to keep pace with changes in the banking industry, Tom testified that a bank’s CRA service area should be based on where it does business – not just on where it has branches. A pointed example highlighted in the presentation was Wells Fargo, which is the third largest mortgage lender in Massachusetts, even though they do not have any branches in the Commonwealth – and therefore no CRA obligations in the Commonwealth. Tom also noted that CRA grade inflation has also weakened the impact of this important law.

MACDC held its first Office Manager Peer Group on May 13. It was an exciting meeting with all in attendance noting how wonderful it was to meet in person. During the course of the meeting, we realized that not everyone who works in an administrative role at a CDC has the opportunity to get out of the office and dedicate time to developing their skills and networking with their counterparts. It is critical that our field’s administrative staff have the same opportunities to develop new skills and connections as any other professional. This is why I have come up with the top three reasons you should encourage your office administrator to attend the office manager peer group.

1. Professional Development: Because this is a working group, we identified critical areas for growth. Each peer group meeting will consist of a mini training. Over the course of the next year, we will be learning about new feature sets in Microsoft Office, with particular focus on Excel and PowerPoint, along with other tools and resources that will further strengthen and broaden the skills of each participant.
2. Building Connections: Networking at annual meetings and other events is not always easy when there aren’t many people in your role in the room. Building your professional network is just as important for administrative staff as it is for executive leadership. It provides a critical resource when feedback or ideas are needed to solve a problem, in addition to developing and expanding an organization’s administrative role and further providing value to a nonprofit’s bottom line and mission.
3. Improved Office Culture: Let’s face it, not every office is an easy place to work. Sometimes having certain issues heard by others who may have similar experiences can be a game changer. It can improve the way we manage the office by taking what was shared and applying it. Having a fresh perspective can also help detach oneself from a situation and gain a new perspective. It’s not uncommon for administrative staff to be a part-time office therapist, so finding better ways to deal with conflict and help bring staff together can dramatically increase the productivity of the organization.

Administrative support staff are critical members of an organization’s team that help connect all the moving parts, programs and departments. If administrative staff learn best practices, they spend less time on trial and error and are better able to save the organization time and money.  We help make all the various components of an organization better. 

Help us spread the word about this new peer group. Please share with your Office Manager or Admin Person.

Our next office manager peer group will be held on June 11, 9:30 AM, at Boston LISC.

On Wednesday, May 6^th, 200 community leaders, state legislators and officials came together at the State House for MACDC’s Annual Lobby Day. The morning kicked off with MACDC’s members meeting with their elected officials to highlight critical programs that need renewed and increased funding, such as the Small Business Technical Assistance program, the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Community Preservation Act. For many, the highlight of the day came when Amy Curran shared her story. Amy, a leader within the Urban Edge community who found herself both pregnant and homeless six years ago, is now increasingly financially stable thanks, in part, to the Earned Income Tax Credit. Another highlight came when John Waite, Franklin County CDC’s Executive Director and Katie Reed, owner of Chequessett Chocolate, presented awards to Rep. Sarah Peake and Rep. Stephen Kulik for their continued leadership on behalf of the Small Business Technical Assistance program. John and Katie tried to “one up” each other concerning whose State Representative was a better champion of small business. Of course, both Rep. Peake and Rep. Kulik are incredible champions for small business. CDC leaders spent much of the rest of the day meeting with dozens of legislators and legislative aides to make their case for investments in community development.

Check out photos from the day on Facebook.

On Wednesday, May 13^th, The Alliance (Advancing Community Development by Confronting Racism), operated by the Mel King Institute and CHAPA, held a lunch to close the 5^th cycle, and ten years, of the Community Development Mentoring Program. The event was hosted by TSNE and included program participants, leaders in the field and mentoring program Alumni.

The featured speaker, Dani Monroe, presented her book Untapped Talent: Unleashing the Power of the Hidden Workforce. The presentation and discussion was deeply engaging and insightful. How are we bringing our community development values into staff advancement and leadership development? As a result, many of the leaders in the room expressed interest in exploring how we – as a field- can support organizational leaders to be more intentional about developing leaders in the workplace. 

150 Roxbury neighbors and stakeholders filled Palladio Hall's spacious ballroom in Dudley Square on April 22nd to discuss the growing challenge of displacement due to gentrification.  In framing the discussion, Byron Rushing gave a keynote on the South End experience, noting that Roxbury is attractive today for many of the same reasons the South End was in the 70s and 80s. Nuestra Executive Director  Price cited census data showing that 1,100 fewer African-Americans lived in Roxbury in 2010 compared to 2000, while the number of whites increased by 2,700.

Small table discussions focused on Roxbury's specific gentrification issues.   A "mapping gentrification" table collected reports from over two dozen neighbors on rising rent and home price levels across Roxbury, with many of the examples clustered along the Orange Line.  New construction single family home prices in Fort Hill are over $550,000, requiring an income of over $120,000 in order to buy.  Average Roxbury 2BR rents are now $1,654, requiring an income of $60,000 to afford.  Many participants referenced the Baystate Banner article published that same day showing prices of triple deckers on Circuit Street and Rockville Park approaching $1 million.  There was agreement that the 20% of Roxbury households with incomes from $50,000 to $75,000 are being squeezed out of the market.  The table identified large projects driving this escalation and displacement, including a planned 300-unit market-rate tower planned for Parcel 3.  There is a risk that dense luxury development could be planned for the old B2 station, the Blair Lot, Parcel 8 and the Crescent parcel.

Other event sponsors included Alternatives for Community Environment, Future Boston Alliance, Boston Tenant Coalition and Teen Empowerment.

Photo by Michael Hailey

AAFCPAs, a leading accounting firm in Massachusetts, released an excellent article on the value of the Community Investment Tax Credit as a way to have a significant philanthropic impact in one's community, while substantially reducing or eliminating one's Massachusetts tax obligation.

Below is an excerpt with a link to the full article.

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The Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) was established as a way to incentivize Commonwealth residents to invest in community development corporations (CDCs). The CITC program allows taxpayers to realize considerable tax savings when they make a qualified investment (cash contribution) in a CDC’s community development plan. For the individual or corporation who is charitably inclined, they are able to combine their desire to do good with their desire to save on taxes.

DONOR BENEFITS
The CITC is an outstanding tax incentive for both individuals and corporations who are inclined to donate $1,000 or more, with an annual cap of $1 million in credits. Donors are eligible to receive a credit equal to 50% of the total qualified investments for the tax year in which the investment was made. The credit must be taken in the year the qualified investment was made, and any amount in excess of the taxpayer’s tax liability may be either refunded or carried forward to offset future tax liabilities. This credit is available for tax years 2014 – 2019.  READ MORE

With the launch of the Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) last year, Boston LISC committed to expanding the range of their services beyond their traditional focus on greater Boston to the entire Commonwealth.  With just over a year following the initial allocation of tax credits through the CITC program, Boston LISC is actively reaching out to provide new programs and services to Community Development Corporations across Massachusetts.“Boston LISC is working to bring resources to community development corporations across Massachusetts as a Community Support Organization.  We are building on the work we have been doing with MACDC as cofounders of the Mel King Institute.”Some of the highlights from LISC’s expansion of services over the past year:

• Issued first two loans of LISC’s Transit Oriented Development Accelerator fund in Salem, MA
• Provided $120,000 in capacity building grants to eight CDCs outside of Boston, including:
  • North Shore CDC
  • ACT (Lawrence)
  • Twin Cities CDC
  • CEDC
  • HAP
  • Franklin County CDC
  • Hilltown CDC
  • CDC of South Berkshire
• Served CDC affordable housing owners statewide through LISC’s Green Retrofit Initiative
• Expanded LISC AmeriCorps program from 11 members to 16 members, with residents at CDCs such as South Berkshire CDC, CEDC in New Bedford and North Shore CDC.

“This is another excellent way the CITC program is expanding and strengthening the Community Development field in Massachusetts,” noted Joe Kriesberg, MACDC President.  “Boston LISC has an incredible track record providing programs, services and funding to CDCs in communities and neighborhoods in greater Boston.  Now they are expanding this geographical focus and within one year the impact is substantial.”Learn more about Boston LISC.

* - Join us for our training series on health, beginning on June 4^th with an introductory session on Health and Community Development: Leveraging Resources and Opportunity for Impact - *

When I started my role at MACDC back in September, one of the first events I attended was our Innovation Forum “How Can We Better Leverage the Health Impact of Community Development?” With my background in public health, I was excited to connect the dots between my previous work and my current role in community development. I decided to move away from public health, in part, to learn more about economic and structural inequalities, so it was important to be reminded that “A person’s zip code has a greater impact on a person’s health than his or her genetic code.”

With my background and interest in health, I am helping develop training programs on community development and health for The Mel King Institute. As a part of this process, I explored CDC websites to look for health related programs. What I found was somewhat disappointing: while CDCs are doing work that helps improve the health of their communities, very few are talking about it.

Housing, economic development and community building all have a positive health impact and here’s why we should tell the world:

1. It tells a compelling story: In a Rooflines blog post, Jonathan Reckford of Habitat for Humanity writes about how moving into a safe mold-free home helped stop a young boy’s asthmatic seizures. Stories like these can help the general public understand the real importance and urgency of providing safe and affordable housing to save lives.
2. There is plenty of evidence to support your claims- In the recent, “The Health Impact of the Community Investment Tax Credit” report, Health Resource in Action, MAPC and MADPH use evidence from the latest public health research to show how CDC activities are linked to better health outcomes. Using the conclusions from this report, community developers can confidently speak about the health impact of their work and reference research to support their claims.
3. It could lead to new partners- Under a provision of the Affordable Care Act, nonprofit hospitals are now required to conduct Community Health Needs Assessments that "take into account input from persons who represent the broad interests of the community served by the hospital . . . , including those with special knowledge of or expertise in public health, and is made widely available to the public.” Based on their findings, hospitals must adopt an implementation strategy to meet community public health needs at least once every three years. As community organizations, CDCs can play a major role in helping hospitals understand community needs, develop plans to meet those needs and implement solutions. Openly communicating your organization’s commitment to and impact on health can help hospitals see your organization as a potential partner.
4. It could lead to new resources- As health related funding agencies and organizations have become more aware of the social determinants of health, there is movement towards supporting healthy neighborhoods. For instance, Madison Park Community Development Corporation has a grant from the Boston Public Health Commission for programs to reduce youth violence. CDCs all over the state receive donations from hospitals and healthcare centers. Communicating the health impact of your work can help attract these sources of funding and, therefore, leverage your work to meet the mission of health organizations.
5. It helps us move beyond our silos- Ultimately community development and health organizations have a common goal: to promote the overall wellbeing of people and communities.  Poor health leads to poverty and poverty leads to poor health.  Through acknowledging this linkage and working together, we can move the needle on addressing the major health and economic inequalities in our society.

CDCs are already improving people’s health on a daily basis. By articulating the health impact of your organization, you can offer a more compelling story about your organization, access more resources, and ultimately have a bigger impact on the communities and families you serve.

Join us for our training series on health, beginning on June 4^th with an introductory session on Health and Community Development: Leveraging Resources and Opportunity for Impact.