Chapter 5: The Role of Community Based Organizations

LDC vs CDC

1. LDC much less representative of community than boards for CDC 2. LDC not involved with housing, social services, or many of the other activities in which CDCs are. 3. LDC push to promote regional, rather than local, economic development

LDC Provide

1. Provide one-stop shop for business 2. Provide stronger and more long-lasting relationships between local officials and the business sector

Activist organizations

1960's: engaged in housing projects, primary focus was on business and workforce development. community activist founded the first CDCs. Eventually considered a success key element.

Specialization

1970's: DCDs increased to several hundred; focus shifted to housing projects. foundations began investing more in CDCs, like the Grey Areas Program.

Neighborhood Reinvestment Act

1978: by congress; provides direct financial and technical assistance in developing local lender pools or acquiring low-cost financing, and help with initiating revolving loan funds.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation

1979: Ford Foundation; provides financial and technical assistance

Professionalization

1980's-1990's: More than 2,000. increasingly specialized, concentrating on housing activities. Staff more professional and played much less of an activist role. MOST IMPORTAT CHANGE: rise to national financial intermediaries.

Enterprise Foundation

1981: develop affordable housing in low-income neighborhoods.

Problem with CDCs

Board of directors are chosen from the community residents. questions if really constitutes community control. Many board members may feel they do not have the expertise to make independent judgements.

Neighborhood association

Civic organization oriented toward maintaining or improving the quality of life in a geographically delimited residential area.

Local Development Corporations

Could be for-profit or nonprofit but mostly nonprofit. Involved in a variety of economic development activities. Institutionalizing their economic development efforts.

Special Impact Program

First to funs CDCs; established black grants to CBOs that would design and implement their own development strategies.

Grey Areas Program

Fords Foundation; one of the largest and most visible efforts. Sought to coordinate service programs among local bureaucracies to intergrate low-income residents in to urban society.

Community Development Block Grants

Grants given to community based organizations to help fund their projects. From local and federal Government

Community Foundation

More specialized form of CBOs; pool donations into a larger fund to make grants for charitable

Effect of Intermediaries

Positive: effective in providing the financial and technical assistance Negative: built-in tension between these support orgs. and CDCs; CDCs feel they push them to be more concerned with building houses than community capacity.

Community Development Corporations

Principal organizations for carrying out local development activities; intended to be community-controlled organizations; involved in wide variety of projects, affordable housing activities have been most successful.

Home Program

Steady source. Mandates that at least 15% of each participating jurisdictions funds be embarked for nonprofit housing producers.

Nongovernmental organization

play a key role in development assistance from working with multicultural agencies.