We are excited to share some historic news in the movement to promote development without displacement:  Dudley Neighbors Inc. (DNI) community land trust has successfully acquired the Citizens Bank building in Upham's Corner, 572 Columbia Road, and placed it into the land trust.  With support from the City of Boston's Acquisition Opportunity Fund, DNI was for the first time able to compete and purchase a large privately-owned property and place it on the land trust.   The DSNI Board authorized the DNI Community Land Trust to acquire the property and work with the community to develop a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a development plan that meets the neighborhood's vision and a development partner willing to implement that vision in partnership with DNI. Citizens Bank was already planning to move out of the building and will relocate to another site in Upham's Corner, leaving the property empty for future development. 

This move is part of DSNI's expanded anti-displacement strategy in response to the increasing housing costs in the neighborhood and the threat of low- and moderate-income families being forced out of the community they have helped to build.  With the designation of Upham's Corner as a Neighborhood Arts Innovation District and City-sponsored planning around the Strand Theatre, we have the opportunity to create a mixed-use project at the Citizens Bank site that will support and complement efforts to strengthen Upham's role as an affordable, vibrant center for arts, culture, and creative economic development.  Over the next several months, DSNI will be working together with the City of Boston, Upham's Corner Main Streets, and numerous neighborhood associations and community organizations to engage the residents, artists, and merchants in planning the future of this site, as part of a larger effort to implement priorities that have emerged from previous planning processes such as the Fairmount Indigo Planning Initiative.  We will also build on the partnerships we have developed through the Fairmount Cultural Corridor initiative and engage with our partners at Design Studio for Social Intervention and the Fairmount Innovation Lab/ArtMorpheus to directly engage artists and creative entrepreneurs in this process.  

What do you want to see in Uphams Corner? Ideas so far include new affordable housing, including artist live/work space, studio and rehearsal space, locally-owned businesses, accessible parking, and community space for local organizing. How can we make sure that the development brings resources and benefits back into the community?   How do we ensure that development in Upham's Corner reflects the priorities of residents and preserves the racial, economic and cultural diversity that makes Upham's such a special place to live, work and visit?

This represents a major step forward in DSNI's strategy to seek out opportunities to expand the DNI community land trust as a vehicle to promote community control of land and resources.  To make sure that this development truly benefits our community, we need to hear your ideas. Keep an eye out for community meetings, and contact Tony at thernandez@dsni.org with any questions. Together, let’s embrace this historic opportunity!

Richard Thal, Executive Director of the Jamaica Plan Neighborhood Development Corporation (JPNDC), joined close to 20 of his colleagues from the Massachuasetts community development field in Arlington, Virginia at the 2017 People and Places Conference.  Below is his letter to "JPNDCers," which is an excellent recap of the conference.

A special thanks to Richard for granting permission for the publishing of his letter.

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Dear JPNDCers:

As we plunge into JPNDC’s celebratory month of June. I am writing to report back on the national People and Places Conference that I attended in DC this past Wednesday through Friday. This conference, the second of its kind, built on the groundwork laid by the inaugural event in March 2015 and was honchoed by the same four groups that came together two years ago to build a grassroots coalition of people working in our field across the country: NACEDA, the National Association of Community Economic Development Associations; NALCAB, the National Association of Latino Community Asset Builders; CAPACD, the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development; and the National Urban League. In an attempt to incorporate a more spiritual element of our work, this year a fifth co-sponsor joined - the Network for Developing Conscious Communities.

As you probably won't be surprised to hear, there was a big swing in moods at different points in our gathering. We learned about the impressive work that groups like JPNDC are doing across the country and also about looming threats to policies and programs that provide resources to low- and moderate-income people and to help create a fairer and more just society.

Some of this good work entails one-on-one efforts that help improve (and sometimes transform) individuals and families' lives.  Like JPNDC, more organizations are focusing on helping people build their financial capability, for example working to help low-income people and recent arrivals understand about credit and build their credit scores. Groups are developing initiatives to provide credit builder loans for people with no (or bad) credit histories. The national Credit Builders Alliance (which we joined in early 2016) has launched a pilot program to help organizations figure out how to count rent payments toward people's credit scores.

As we learned from one of our keynote speakers, Richard Cordray, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, changes in federal policies over the last six to eight years have had a very positive impact. Since it started operations in 2011, CFPB has recouped $12 billion dollars for 29 million consumers and has levied $600 million in fines against financial institutions guilty of deceptive and discriminatory practices. In addition, it is estimated that changes to the laws governing credit card disclosure practices have saved people $16 billion in "gotcha" fees. As they say, that ain't hay!

Unfortunately, even though Director Cordray was too polite to mention it, his agency is under attack. Numerous people in the administration and the Congress have railed against the CFPB and the US House of Representatives will be considering legislation in the coming days that could curtail or eliminate the agency's activities.

At different workshops and through conversations with our compatriots from around the country, we learned about several examples of groups building strong grassroots coalitions to win impressive policy victories at the local and state levels. The Center for Community Change tracked 39 referendum campaigns across the US last fall where voters were asked to raise revenue to increase spending on affordable housing. Our side emerged victorious in 32 of the 39 campaigns, including in different venues in California that require 2/3 of the voters to vote in favor. In the largest campaign in the country, in Santa Clara County where $950 million was at stake, the engagement of residents of affordable housing spelled the difference between success and failure in reaching the 2/3 mark.  Hundreds of residents were trained as speakers at public events and as organizers to mobilize thousands of their neighbors to go to the polls. The number of resident voters pushed the campaign over the top.
 
Over the last several years, people in our field have been trying to think more critically and creatively about how we can build public support for efforts to improve the lives of the people we serve. At workshops, meetings with legislative aides, and informal conversations the same theme was sounded repeatedly- while it’s important to know the facts and figures, what matters most are the stories of individual human beings. For instance, when discussing changes to immigration policy, nothing is more powerful than hearing how those changes will affect the lives of individuals and families. When advocating for more funding for creating and preserving affordable housing, it’s far better to focus on the need and the people involved than the amount of money or the number of “units”. 
 
Last Thursday afternoon about 15 conference attendees from Massachusetts met on Capitol Hill with staffers representing 9 of the 11 members of the Mass. Congressional delegation, all of whom are generally supportive of the work of groups like JPNDC. While they had some specific suggestions about legislative issues that we need to emphasize more, they stressed that it is particularly helpful to their bosses if we can share individual stories. Not surprisingly, the legislators have found that showing the human impact of public policies is a more effective way of persuading some of their colleagues who are not as supportive than more abstract policy arguments.
 
For many of us, this is not a new point, but I always find it helpful to get regrounded in remembering what our work is about. And, at a time in our nation’s capital when the value of our work is under attack, it is more important than ever to celebrate the dedicated and determined people working all over the country to create what Martin Luther King, Jr. referred to as “the beloved community”.

On May 31, the Baker-Polito Administration awarded $1.05 Million in grants to fund first-time homeownership counseling programs and foreclosure prevention education centers throughout the Commonwealth.  Twenty awards were made to eleven regional foreclosure prevention centers and nine consumer counseling organizations. (link to award announcement)

MACDC Members play a prominent role in providing this counseling.  Of the twenty grants, thirteen were made to MACDC Members or to coalitions which include MACDC Members.  From Boston to Springfield, and from Merrimack Valley to Cape Cod, CDCs are helping homebuyers acquire their first home, and assisting homeowners at risk of foreclosure in keeping their homes.

The counseling awards were created through Chapter 206 of the Acts of 2007.  Since the inception of the grant program in 2008, the MA Division of Banks (DOB) has awarded more than $10 million to organizations that have assisted over 37,000 families.  From data compiled by DOB, approximately 80% of households receiving foreclosure prevention counseling under the Chapter 206 awards have been able to successfully stay in their homes.

The funding made available this year is lower than the $1.3 million awarded each of the last couple of years, which creates challenges for the organizations which must maintain the effectiveness of their programs with reduced funding.  However, the continued funding for this program in the face of the Commonwealth’s recent revenue challenges is testament to the effectiveness of this program and the Administration’s commitment to it.  MACDC is grateful to the Administration and to the DOB for their longstanding support for this program.

On May 22, CHAPA held a breakfast forum on “Doing Business in Times of Uncertainty.” The forum featured remarks by Chrystal Kornegay from DHCD and Tim Sullivan from MassHousing on their collaborative efforts to provide funding for an array of affordable housing projects, from the current tax credit rental round; to the Community Scale Housing Initiative for projects of 5-20 units; to MassHousing’s commitment of $100 million for workforce housing, for families whose incomes are too high for subsidized housing, but are priced out of market rents.  A roundtable of public and private housing leaders discussed how the political context for affordable housing is different than in prior years, and provided insights into the legislative machinations in Washington, D.C.

The federal Fiscal Year 2017 Omnibus Bill maintained funding for housing programs in the HUD budget.  Given the demonstrated support for programs like CDBG and HOME, there is some hope that the deep cuts proposed by President Trump in the FY18 budget will not be adopted, but some cuts are likely.  The fate of tax legislation is uncertain.  While a reduction in corporate tax rates, if enacted, will impact the pricing on the low-income housing tax credit (LIHTC) program, the sense of the presenters is that the rate will get nowhere near the 15% tax rate proposed by Trump.  They noted that the LIHTC, along with the New Market Tax Credit and Historic Tax Credit, have strong bipartisan support.

MACDC is working hard this week and next to secure key policy and funding priorities for the community development field. The Senate Ways & Means Committee released its FY 2018 budget on May 16 and it contains critical funding for many housing and economic development progarms. We thank Chairperson Karen Spilka for producing a strong budget that includes many of our priorities.  That said, we think there is always room for improvement and we are leading an effort to win passage of three key amendments:

• Amendment #28 filed by Senator Lesser would extend and expand the Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) as an outside section of the Senate Budget. 

This amendment would push the sunset clause back from 2019 to 2025 and slowly increase the statewide cap on credits from $6 million today to $8 million in 2019, $10 million in 2021 and to $12 million in 2023.  This legislation is necessary to fully-scale the impact of a program that has already generated nearly $23 million in private philanthropic investment over the past three years, with a total of nearly 4,500 separate donations to 53 high performing CDCs.

• Amendment #572 filed by Senator Cyr to fund Budget Line Item 7002-0040, the Small Business Technical Assistance Program, at $2,500,000.

The Small Business Technical Assistance program helps entrepreneurs starting or growing their own business who may lack the business education, networks and capital needed to succeed over the long term.  This program would increase funding from the $1,250,000 level included in the Ways & Means Committee budget. Historically, the program has been funded at $2 million per year.

• Amendment #643 filed by Senator Eldridge to Budget Line Item 7006-0011, Homeownership and Foreclosure Prevention Counseling.

This amendment will ensure that the MA Division of Banks provides at least $1.3 million in grants annually to nonprofit organizations that provide homebuyer education and foreclosure prevention counseling. 

MACDC is working with its members and allies to educate senators about these amendments and secure their support.  The full Senate is expected to consider these and other budget amendments starting on May 23. 

The Community Investment Tax Credit is working as intended and should be extended and expanded, according to the ten witnesses who testified before the Joint Committee on Revenue in the Massachusetts Legislature on May 9.

The hearing was a chance for CDCs, donors, MACDC, the United Way and LISC Boston to talk about how the program has helped to improve and expand economic opportunity for communities and families across the Commonwealth. Legislators are considering a bill sponsored by Senators DiDomenico and Forry and Rep. Kulik that would extend the CITC program from its current sunset in 2019 to 2025 and would incrementally raise the statewide cap for the program from $6 million to $12 million in 2023.

MACDC President Joseph Kriesberg began the hearing, which was chaired by Senator Michael Brady and Representative Jay Kaufman, by highlighting CITC’s impact on the field.  He noted that the program has generated nearly $23 million in private philanthropy over the past three years, while attracting hundreds of new donors to the field.  These resources have enabled CDCs to deepen their resident engagement, strengthen existing programs and launch new initiatives.  In short, Kriesberg called the program a “game changer” for community development.

The Committee also heard from nine other witnesses, including:

• Gail Latimore, Executive Director, Codman Square NDC (Dorchester, MA)
• Pamela Feingold, Senior Vice President, Community Development Lending, Eastern Bank
• Sheila Cuddy, Executive Director, Quaboag Valley CDC (Ware, MA)
• Hon. Tracy Opalinski, President, Ware Business and Civic Association, and newly elected Selectperson from Ware, MA
• Colleen Loveless, President & CEO, Revitalize CDC (Springfield, MA)
• Annamarie K.H. Golden, Manager, Public Health & Community Relations, Baystate Health (Springfield)
• Kenneth P. Brier, Esq., Brier & Ganz LLP (Needham)
• Robert A. Fishman, Esq., Partner, Nutter, McClennen & Fish LLP (Boston)
• Bob Van Meter, Executive Director, Boston LISC

The Committee heard about how CITC is supporting an eco-innovation district in Dorchester, healthy housing in Springfield and workforce development in the Quaboag Valley region. The Committee heard from donors who are leveraging CITC to increase the power of their philanthropy and to forge new partnerships. Several speakers noted that the competition for the credits among both CDCs and donors was growing more intense and raising the statewide and organizational caps would enable the program to have more impact in more communities.  The Joint Revenue Committee will be considering the bill in the coming weeks and determining whether to give it a favorable report.  The Legislature has until July 31, 2018 to act on the legislation, although MACDC hopes to see the bill enacted by the end of this year.

To read testimony and review highlights in the proposed legislation, CLICK HERE.

Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker released his capital budget for Fiscal Year 2018, and the affordable housing capital budget increased by $9 million to a total of $221 million.

In just two years, the housing capital budget has increased by almost $25 million.  Most of this increase is in funding for preservation of affordable housing in projects where affordability is at risk of being lost.  The Governor is supplementing state bond funds with additional dollars from MassHousing and the new National Affordable Housing Trust Fund to boost total capital spending for affordable housing.

Other MACDC priorities also received support in the capital budget.  The budget includes $2.65 million for the Brownfields Redevelopment Fund, administered by MassDevelopment, for the assessment, remediation, and redevelopment of environmentally contaminated sites.  Unfortunately, this funding level is less than half what MACDC believes is necessary to meet demand.  The Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC) will have $250,000 in new dollars to provide grants to Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) to match federal or private dollars in support of small business development.  Through the Massachusetts Food Trust, CDFIs will also receive $1 million in grants to support loans to ventures that increase access to healthy foods.

CLICK HERE for a spreadsheet with the details of the FY18 housing capital budget, along with a comparison of how the budget has varied over the past five years.

It’s expensive to build housing. And we need more of it. Figuring out ways to reduce costs reasonably is something on everyone’s agenda.

We’ve talked about it recently in our roundtable on zoning and regulation, and in Alan Mallach’s provocative piece “Don’t Build Mixed-Income Communities, Buy Them.” There are ongoing conversations about how green building affects affordability, depending how long term you look.

READ MORE

On March 29, the Massachusetts Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) announced funding for 177 affordable units in seven supportive housing projects, providing project funding coupled with rental assistance and funding for support services for these projects targeted to serving Extremely Low Income and homeless individuals and families.

MACDC Members again figured prominently in the Commonwealth’s efforts to serve the neediest households.  Two projects, including 38 affordable units, were sponsored by MACDC Members: The Neighborhood Developers and Worcester Common Ground.

DHCD has held three prior Supportive Housing Rounds since 2014; through these targeted funding rounds, DHCD has now awarded funding to over 900 homes for low-income individuals and families needing housing and support services.  In this round, DHCD provided almost $17 million in subsidies and low income housing tax credits, along with $3.1 million from the National Housing Trust Fund, a newly authorized federal program that supports the development of affordable housing for individuals and families with the greatest needs.  With funding for this and other federal housing programs at risk, the DHCD awards underscore the need to continue federal support for housing vulnerable populations.

Kathy McGilvray's remarks were originally shared during MACDC's 2017 Lobby Day on May 2nd at the State House.

I was introduced to CITC through MHIC, the non-profit I work for. Though we’re a non-profit, since the CITC is a refundable tax credit, we’ve been active donors, supporting our CDC partners since the beginning of the program. In the 3 years it’s been around, we’ve donated just under $575K to CDC’s throughout the commonwealth. Without CITC we would have given less than ½ that. In fact, in 2013 we gave just over $30,000 to our CDC partners. Many of our partners had never come to us for donations in the past, but CITC has given them a platform upon which to build a donor base.
  
But I’m not here to talk about MHIC. I’m thrilled be Treasurer of the SCC board and happy to talk about my personal experience as a CITC donor, as well as SCC’s achievements under the program. Shout out to staff/Danny.

I grew up in a family of modest means. There was no model for charitable giving because there was no extra money to give. It pretty much ended at school bake sales. At work, I have the pleasure of partnering with lots of amazing non-profits, not just CDC’s but sponsors of our New Markets projects, Girls, Inc., YMCAs, Project Place, Community Servings just to name a few. As my career progressed at MHIC, my charitable contributions over the years were small, $25 here and $50 there. I wasn’t particularly strategic, it was more about the right place at the right time, a silent auction, a friend running the marathon. When I thought about a $1,000 CITC donation for me personally, it seemed, frankly crazy. Then I started thinking that maybe CITC was the model that made sense. I could invest locally, impact my community, get a tax credit, plus a deduction on my federal taxes. Ultimately, I’d be out of pocket for only about a quarter of the money I invested up front. And SCC would have all that money to invest. So, at about 5PM on December 31, 2014, I made my first CITC donation to SCC and have given each year since. I’ve even co-hosted 2 house parties that have raised over $32K for SCC. Just to be clear, without the tax credit, I never would have contemplated a four-figure gift. And definitely wouldn’t have asked friends and neighbors for money.  In the CITC, I have found my model for charitable giving.

Through the CITC program, SCC’s Social Equity Campaign has grown from just over $100,000 in donations from 31 donors in 2014, to over $385,000 from 88 donors in 2016. This has been essential for SCC’s work to ensure that Somerville remains accessible to its diverse and vibrant population. One of the key programs SCC supports with the Social Equity Campaign funds is our First Source Jobs Program. It is a workforce program building a career pathway system for Somerville’s residents and businesses. Launched in 2014, SCC has served close to 400 Somerville residents through employment readiness workshops, one on one coaching, and job placement assistance. We have placed over 40% of First Source participants into jobs. We actually reached out to a number of First Source graduates hoping to bring someone here to talk with you today. Unfortunately, none could come. Fortunately, it’s because they were all working. In my mind, that’s what the CITC is all about. Neighbors helping neighbors succeed.

Thank you.