The Mel King Institute for Community Building

Mission and Vision

The Mel King Institute for Community Building fosters vibrant and thriving Massachusetts communities by advancing the skills, knowledge and leadership ability of professional practitioners and volunteer leaders in the community development field. We leverage collaborative educational partnerships that increase access, encourage innovation, and promote and institutionalize systemic success.

The Institute enables Community Development Corporations and their partners to build more homes, create more jobs, grow more businesses, nurture more community leaders, and pursue more comprehensive community building strategies that also address issues such as transportation, public safety, green space development, workforce development and youth development.

The Program

We have designed the Mel King Institute to bring community development professionals and volunteers the skills they need to be effective in their positions in the community. We focus both on individual skill and organizational capacity building in order to strengthen the field of community development.

The Mel King Institute:

  • Sponsors Trainings – by expanding access to high quality training opportunities, including national programs, and creating additional programs to meet specific needs here in Massachusetts. (Professional Education Scholarship Information);
  • Serves as a Clearing House – The Institute helps CDCs pursue such programs and projects themselves as well as help them forge the strategic partnerships and collaborations that will be essential to long term success;
  • Operates the Alliance for Racial Equity - a coalition of community development organizations and practitioners dedicated to increasing racial equity with the leadership of the professionals in the field;
  • Conducts the Innovation Forum - Forums are held throuhout the year for members of the community development field in Massachusetts to hear from experts on new challenges, or opportunities in the field, as well as to discuss adaptive solutions.  The Innovation Forum also provides a safe space to discuss sometimes contentious topics in community development;
  • Provides Technical Assistance – The Mel King Institute is organized as a collaborative enterprise that leverages the resources of many institutions.

Learn more at the Mel King Institute for Community Building website.