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CDCs Go Green by Developing and Preserving Sustainable Buildings

July 30th, 2018 by Don Bianchi

CDCs throughout the Commonwealth are leaders in the green economy according to two new reports by MACDC detailing these efforts. The first report, "CDCs Go Green Part I: A Snapshot of the Environmental Initiatives of MACDC’s Members," released in March of this year, describes a wide range of sustainability programming, ranging from activism and advocacy, to supporting the local food economy, to open space preservation and stewardship. The report also describes CDC involvement in restoration and environmental clean-ups, recycling and waste initiatives, and resiliency and climate change preparation. All these initiatives reflect community-driven priorities to promote sustainable development.

MACDC is now releasing CDCs Go Green Part II: Developing and Preserving Sustainable Buildings. Part II, like the first report, was authored by Allison Curtis, MACDC’s Graduate Student Research Intern. This report focuses on buildings, which, according to the Environmental and Energy Study Institute (EESI), account for 39% of CO2 emissions in the United States. It covers the housing and other real estate developed by CDCs, energy retrofits for existing buildings, clean energy technologies, and healthy housing.

Here are some highlights from the report, obtained from the MACDC GOALs Survey:

Eighty- three percent of new developments in 2017 included some sort of environmental strategy including efficient building systems, healthy indoor air quality, exterior insulation, and more;
Over 5,500 of the rental units in CDC portfolios have been retrofitted to be more energy efficient in the last five years, with more than 1,100 units receiving retrofits in 2017 alone, representing a value of more than $9.7 million;
Fifty-seven percent of CDCs surveyed utilize clean energy technologies, with solar photo-voltaic technology being the most prevalent;
The rental portfolios of 92% of CDCs surveyed are either fully or partially smoke-free.

MACDC is committed to supporting and enhancing CDC environmental sustainability initiatives, through our advocacy for policies and resources, and through our training and peer learning efforts. We hope that these reports will shine a light on the comprehensive approach that so many CDCs have adopted to preserving the finite resources entrusted to us.

CDCs Go Green Part II: Developing and Preserving Sustainable Buildings

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Island Housing Trust Produces Documentary Film Short

July 27th, 2018 by Breeze Tonnesen

A special thanks to Breeze Tonnesen, Island Housing Trust's Communications Director and the film's Executive Producer, for providing an introduction to the documentary short about their work.

We started working on the idea of producing a documentary short about our work here at IHT and the state of affordable housing on the island of Martha’s Vineyard in September 2017. We partnered with The Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival, another island non-profit, to tell a story in three parts: what happens to our families and friends when they don't have secure housing, how life transforms when they do and how our community can work together to solve this problem.

In our first story meeting we decided to make our beautiful island one of the main characters in the film. The talented filmmakers we worked with, Danielle Mulcahy and Ollie Becker, shot many, many hours of footage all over (and above) the island. We interviewed more than 21 participants including homeowners, renters, seasonal and year-round donors, workforce housing partners, housing experts, members of our board, community housing advocates, artists, builders and IHT staff.

Interestingly, everyone asked me for a script and in response I explained…"we want you to tell your story, in your words, from your heart”. In the end, we found ourselves with over 37 hours of footage! As it turned out, people couldn’t wait to tell us their stories! The idea of simply allowing people to tell us why this issue matters to them resulted in a film that is genuinely the story of our community now and what will happen to it if we don’t take action. The housing lottery footage at the end is at once joyful, heart breaking and very, very real. I was there that evening…I cried then and I still cry every time I watch the film.

We premiered the film at our 7th Annual Summer Benefit Brunch on July 8th. The film touched everyone who saw it that day and has since been shared all over the island and beyond. It helped us to raise over $400,000, making this year’s brunch our most successful fund raiser to date.

Breeze Tonnesen is the Communications Director at Island Housing Trust and "It Takes an Island" Executive Producer

It Takes an Island - A Martha's Vineyard Story from Island Housing Trust on Vimeo.

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Saturday, October 20 is going to be the best day of the year!
July 12th, 2018 by Joe Kriesberg

What’s your favorite day of the year? Your birthday? Christmas? Thanksgiving?

For me, this year, it will be Saturday, October 20.

No, it is not my birthday (which is October 7th – thanks for asking). October 20 is the date of the MACDC Convention - by far my favorite event of the year.

Since 2002, MACDC has hosted six Conventions, with the last one held in 2014. The Convention is unlike any other event in the community development field – it is a conference, a celebration, and a political action all rolled into one exciting, fun, inspiring day. Everyone and anyone associated with community development and community building is going to want to be there. We expect 700, or more people from across the state.

MACDC is committed to removing any and every obstacle to your participation. Thanks to our donors and sponsors, THE CONVENTION IS FREE. We provide free breakfast and lunch, free child care, transportation assistance, language interpretation, and whatever else is needed, so we can welcome everyone in our movement.

The MACDC Convention is special because the event is designed for and attracts hundreds of CDC board members, residents, community leaders, youth leaders, and others who are a part of the community development field. Community development professionals will be there too because this is the one event where everyone in the field – volunteers, paid staff, funders, investors, allies, friends, teachers, students – comes together.

We are still finalizing the agenda, but we already know it is going to be fun, educational, inspiring, and impactful. Some of the highlights include:

Workshops on key community development priorities such as affordable housing, economic development, racial equity, community health, and community organizing;

Awards to CDCs that have leveraged the Community Investment Tax Credit program to launch, or expand a program that is making a difference in the lives of people and communities;

Music and poetry that express our core values and inspire us to work for an inclusive and equitable society;

The “CDC Roll Call,” where every CDC in attendance shares an exciting achievement from the past year, thereby demonstrating the diversity and scale of our collective impact;

Testimonials from CDC community leaders that will remind us why we do this work; and

Networking opportunities throughout the day that enable you to meet your colleagues from across the state.

Of course, MACDC is not going to bring 700 people together without using the opportunity to help shape the future of community development policy. We have invited all the major party candidates for Governor to join us on October 20th to field our questions about their policy agenda.

Deval Patrick came to our conventions in 2006 and 2010; made specific and meaningful commitments to our members; and he kept those commitments. Charlie Baker came in 2014 and did the same, including a commitment to fund small business development and support the Community Investment Tax Credit. I am 100% certain the Community Investment Tax Credit would not exist – and would not have been recently increased - without the MACDC Convention. When these candidates see hundreds of diverse and united community leaders from every corner of the state, learn about the tangible ways we are improving the Commonwealth, are asked specific questions about important policy issues, they come to understand that we are a movement to be taken seriously.

Join us! I’m confident you’ll be glad you came and it may turn out to be your favorite day of 2018 too!

Governor Baker speaks at MACDC's 2014 Convention

Governor Patrick speaks at MACDC's 2010 Convention

Governor Patrick speaks at MACDC's 2006 Convention

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We Have Lift Off: MA Food Trust Is Launched!
July 6th, 2018 by David Bryant
Governor Baker was first exposed to the MA Food Trust program at a briefing with the MACDC Board, May 2016.

After more than 6 years of advocacy to establish, fund and launch this program, the Baker-Polito Administration has fulfilled its quest by providing over $1 Million in funding to increase access to healthy, local food options and by selecting co-administrators for the Massachusetts Food Trust Program. The MA Food Trust Program, a recommendation from a study by the Massachusetts Grocery Access Task Force, was established in law in 2014. Since then, the Massachusetts Public Health Association (MPHA) has led a statewide coalition of nearly 100 organizations to build legislative and administration support to develop, fund and implement a program, which fulfills our shared values: good for jobs, good for communities and good for health. MACDC has been proud to partner with MPHA and the Healthy Food Financing Working Group in pursuit of this vision. Congratulations to MPHA, and the organizations that have been selected to administer this statewide program, the Local Enterprise Assistance Fund (LEAF) and Franklin County CDC.

For more information on the award announcement, read the Baker Administration’s press release here: https://www.mass.gov/news/baker-polito-administration-awards-over-1-million-in-funding-to-increase-access-to-healthy

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Scallop Lease Lottery... and the Winner is??
July 3rd, 2018 by Britt Beedenbender
Meet Glen LeGeyt Captain of the FV Tricia Lynn, a Cape Cod fisherman, and father of a 16-year-old son. For years, Glen was primarily a groundfisherman. But when the groundfishing regulations changed 10 to 15 years ago, it forced him to diversify his business and fish for other catch. He started with a scalloping license for state waters, but even that has been over-regulated and now the catch has been reduced to 200 pounds a day. According to LeGeyt, “On most days, I catch half that if I’m lucky.”

This spring LeGeyt was lucky – when the CDP held a lottery to sell one of its extra Federal scallop permits and he won.

How did the CDP secure a Federal Scallop permit in the first place? Several years ago federal fishing regulations changed so that scallopers had to own scallop quota, often referred to as shares. In an effort to ensure that the Cape’s day boat fishing fleet would have access to quota, the Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman’s Alliance (CCCFA) and the CDP purchased quota to create a permit bank. With the quota came more permits than were needed, so the CDP decided to sell an extra permit but in a way that would ensure it helped create a new business and would stay on the Cape.

Unlike LeGeyt’s state permit, this federal permit allows scallop fishermen to fish in federal waters— three miles beyond the coastline. Federal permits are highly coveted as the scallops in federal waters are far more bountiful. In order to purchase or lease a quota, however, a permit is required.

When the CDP held the lottery, applicants were required to meet the eligibility requirements which include proof of residence on Cape Cod for five or more years, proof that you own a boat or will purchase one within 12 months of getting the permit. Applicants also had to have previous experience as a scallop fisherman. LeGeyt learned about the lottery through CCCFA. Federal licenses are hard to find and very rarely make it to the open market. When a fisherman gets out of the business their permit is quickly sold or passed on to another fisherman.

Fishing regulations have put a great strain on fishermen and required them to become much more sophisticated business people. Many fishing businesses have not survived due to the decrease in stocks and the complicated regulatory environment.
“I can tell you the names of every single fisherman on Cape Cod - that is how few are left,” says LeGeyt.

This permit, which triples the quota to 600 pounds, would essentially double LeGeyt’s income. “If I fish half as hard as I fish now, my yearly income should double with any luck,” notes LeGeyt. He has a day boat with three guys and says “It’s going to help my family tremendously. I’ll be able to make a profit rather than just survive.”

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MACDC announces Eastern Bank to award $300k in grants for third year through Community Investment Tax Credit Program
July 2nd, 2018 by
Boston, MA – The Massachusetts Association of Community Development Corporations (MACDC) has announced that Eastern Bank will award $300,000 in grants for the third consecutive year to Community Development Corporations (CDCs) in Massachusetts participating in the Community Investment Tax Credit (CITC) program. The announcement was made at the 9^th annual Mel King Institute for Community Building Celebration held on June 21 at the Benjamin Franklin Institute in Boston.

“Eastern Bank’s consistent support of CDCs in Massachusetts is incredible,” noted Joseph Kriesberg, MACDC’s President. “This is an ideal example of how the Community Investment Tax Credit should work with a local business supporting programs that benefit residents in the communities in which they work.”

In 2017, Certified CDCs in Massachusetts, which include all organizations participating in the CITC program, accomplished the following:

Homes Built or Preserved: 1,990

Job Opportunities Created or Preserved: 5,086

Entrepreneurs Provided Technical Assistance: 858

Families Served with Housing, Jobs, or Other Services: 79,218

Investment in Local Communities: $803.8 million

“Eastern Bank’s continued involvement in the CITC program is very much aligned to our purpose of doing good things to help people prosper,” commented Pamela Feingold, Senior Vice President and Director of Community Development Lending at Eastern Bank. “CDCs do so much more than develop affordable housing, by also providing housing counseling services, support to small businesses, and more. At Eastern, we are committed to helping accelerate growth and opportunity in our neighborhoods and communities. Our support of CDCs is helping to do just that.”

The CITC program provides a 50% refundable state tax credit for donations of $1,000 or more to participating CDCs. Because the donation is refundable, organizations, such as foundations and donor advised funds, can support CDCs across Massachusetts through the program as well as individuals and businesses. CDCs can apply for an Eastern Bank grant at www.easternbank.com/foundation.

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