Governor Charlie Baker has tapped two long standing CDC leaders to fill high level positions in his Administration.  Chrystal Kornegay, until recently the Executive Director of Urban Edge in Boston will serve as Undersecretary for Housing and Community Development and be responsible for running the Department of Housing and Community Development. Nam Pham, past Executive Director of Viet-AID in Dorchester and MACDC Board Member, has been named Assistant Secretary for Economic Development and will oversee the Massachusetts Office of Business Development and other economic development programs.

“We are very proud of what Chrystal and Nam achieved during their years leading CDCs in the City of Boston and excited about what they will achieve in their new positions,” said MACDC President, Joseph Kriesberg.  “At the MACDC Convention last October, then-candidate Charlie Baker spoke eloquently about the importance of community development and promised to work collaboratively with our sector to help create and sustain great neighborhoods across the state.  With these appointments, the Governor is off to a great start.”

MACDC is thrilled to join Governor Patrick and the Commonwealth's Department of Housing and Community Development in announcing the 2nd round of Community Investment Tax Credits awarded to 44 nonprofits. With over $5 million in credits awarded today, Community Development Corporations in Massachusetts are well positioned to increase and diversify their overall foundation of support.

The Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) provides a 50% refundable state tax credit for donations of $1,000 or greater to participating organizations. In addition to individuals, businesses and other tax paying entities, organizations, such as nonprofits or donor advised funds, that have limited or no Massachusetts tax obligation can participate because the tax credit is refundable.

• Learn more about the CITC program
• Watch the CITC video, featuring Governor Patrick
• Take advantage of the CITC program for 2014! Donate directly to a CDC or through the Community Partnership Fund.

The newly-named Revitalize CDC celebrated its membership in MACDC and its status as a newly-certified CDC by the MA Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) in an event at Springfield City Hall on January 6th. Formerly Rebuilding Together Springfield, Revitalize CDC has worked in Springfield since 1992, enabling homeowners to stay in their homes by repairing and making them energy efficient. In the last year alone, Revitalize CDC rebuilt 48 homes and utilized 2,500 volunteers.

At the event, CDC Executive Director Colleen Loveless welcomed the more than 40 attendees, while CDC Board Members, clad in matching Revitalize CDC t-shirts, stood alongside. She introduced Springfield Mayor Dominic Sarno, who praised the work of Revitalize CDC and its partnership with community and institutional supporters, including Mass Mutual and local lenders. Don Bianchi of MACDC spoke about the significance of achieving CDC certification, as Revitalize CDC was able to demonstrate to DHCD its community development success in Springfield, and that its constituency, including low-and moderate-income people, are meaningfully represented on its Board of Directors.

Leslie Belay of the Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) then presented Colleen with a check to help seed Revitalize CDC’s initial foray into providing small business technical assistance. As Colleen noted, these new services will be available to the entire City of Springfield, with a focus on the City’s underserved Latino community.  Everyone present helped launch a new direction, and name, for an organization that has long served its community.

On December 19^th, Governor Patrick’s administration announced $15 million in funding to develop 235 supportive housing units across the Commonwealth. These 235 units are part of Governor Patrick’s larger housing initiative to bring over 1,000 housing units to the Commonwealth, a number he has already tripled. Over half of these 235 homes will be built by the following MACDC members:​ 

• Harborlight Community Partners
• Inquilinos Boricuas En Accion
• Father Bill’s Mainspring
• Twin Cities Community Development Corporation
• North Shore Community Development Corporation
• South Middlesex Opportunity Council
• HAP Housing in Springfield
• HAP Housing

"NEW BEDFORD — When her grandparents immigrated to the U.S. from Poland at the turn of the 19th century, it would have a profound effect on the life of one of their descendants. Well into her career as a community organizer, 56-year-old Corinn Williams has dedicated her life to helping immigrants and the North End, where they have historically congregated."

Read more of Simon Rios' great article published by SouthCoastTODAY.

MACDC joined ninety leaders from rural communities across the Commonwealth at the Massachusetts Housing Partnership’s Rural Housing Summit on December 18 in Worcester. MHP convened the Summit as the culmination of a year-long effort to examine rural housing challenges, and explore policy and program options for addressing them.

The Summit was highlighted by opening remarks from DHCD Undersecretary Aaron Gornstein, who cited numerous examples of successful rural housing developments, whose sponsors persevered despite the challenges associated with limited resources and high infrastructure costs. A panel led by Representative Steve Kulik and Senator Dan Wolf spoke about some of the broader economic challenges faced by rural areas in employment, transportation, education and health care.

The Summit featured the release of a white paper that included six policy recommendations to help rural communities with their housing and economic challenges; the paper’s creation was spearheaded by a 19-person steering committee representing rural communities from Cape Cod to Western Massachusetts. The key legislative recommendation is to create a State Office of Rural Policy, to function as a research and policy clearinghouse for rural issues. The paper also includes program recommendations, including the recommendation to create a small-scale rental production program for projects of less than 20 units, with a set-aside for rural areas.

www.mhp.net/uploads/resources/rural.white.paper.final.pdf

Don Bianchi of MACDC, as well as the Directors of several rural CDCs, served on the steering committee, and MACDC will continue to work with MHP to implement the recommendations in the white paper, and to advocate for our rural members.