JULY 2012 

The Community Development Partnership Act (CDPA) was included in the House economic development bill (H.4119) which unanimously passed the House in May.  The bill was heard on July 2nd by the Senate Committee on Bonding, Capital Expenditures and State Assets and currently awaits the committee's vote before it can move on to the full Senate for a vote.  State House News reported that the committee chair, Senator Brian Joyce, noted that he has been hearing from CDCs in support of CDPA. 

The full Senate has to pass the economic development bill and the House and Senate have to reconcile any differences between the two before the end of the Legislative session on July 31. MACDC, its members and its allies are working to secure its passage before the end of the session.   State House observers expect the Senate to act on the Economic Development bill before July 31st. 

CDPA, which is sponsored by Representative Linda Dorcena Forry and Senator Sal DiDomenico along with 46 co-sponsors, will support community led economic development initiatives through a strategic, market-based approach that leverages private contributions and builds strong local partnerships.

For more information about CDPA and please contact Allison Staton.      

In 1982, a group of visionary community developers recognized that to achieve their goals they would need an organization that could advocate at the state level, coordinate networking and professional development across the sector, and help to build a sustainable community development system. Thirty years later, MACDC continues to fulfill the vision of its founders, stewarding decades of achievements, while adapting to new challenges and opportunities.  Hundreds of thousands of people and dozens of neighborhoods and communities have benefitted from these efforts - and we believe the best days of MACDC are yet to come.

To honor these past achievements and to kick off our fourth decade, MACDC will be hosting our 30th Anniversary Celebration on November 16, 2012 from 8:00 to 10:00 AM in the State Room at 60 State St in Boston.  At this event we will honor several leaders in our field, including two individuals who have made extraordinary contributions to community economic development - Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick and the President of the Boston Foundation, Paul Grogan.

We have assembled an impressive group to serve on our Leadership Committee and we are actively seeking sponsors that can help make this event a big success. For more information about MACDC's 30th Anniversary Celebration, please contact Joe Kriesberg.  If you or your organization are interested in sponsoring the event please complete this form and send it to Joe. 

The MACDC GOALs Initiative - Growing Opportunities, Assets, and Leaders across the Commonwealth - sets specific numeric targets that MACDC members aim to achieve in six areas of community development and then measures our annual progress toward those goals.  

MACDC's GOALs Appendix published in June 2012.

The GOALs Appendix shows the accomplishments of each MACDC Member in Calendar Year 2011 and includes a list of every real estate project completed in 2011 and all of the projects in the pipeline. It includes specific data for each CDC in the areas of small business development, job creation, leadership development and many others. It offers the most detailed accounting ever of CDC activity in Massachusetts.

Each year, MACDC conducts a detailed online survey of its members to learn precisely what they have accomplished. Over the nine years of the GOALs Initiative, our members have helped to create or preserve almost 12,000 homes and generated $2.2 billion in economic investment in our communities.

This report supplements a shorter report issued in May, 2012, which highlighted the aggregate impact of our members' efforts and highlighted some stories that go beyond the numbers. Taken together, the reports highlight the terrific progress that MACDC Members have made over the past year.

During 2011:

• 2,095 volunteer community leaders were engaged in CDC activities;
• 1,379 homes were built or preserved;
• 1,910 job opportunities were created or preserved;
• 1,976 locally-owned businesses received technical and financial support;
• 38,343 families received housing, jobs, training or other services; and
• $336 million in private and public funding was invested in our communities

If you have questions about these reports, contact Don Bianchi .

MACDC's President and CEO Joe Kriesberg recently reflected that he is starting his second decade as its leader.  "I am pleased at the renewed and growing interest in comprehensive, grassroots community development that I think we [MACDC] helped to foster" he notes.   

In addition, Joe recently wrote about the best ways to get to scale and shares his thoughts about representative democracy.  

Join the conversation at MACDC's Blog - Making Connections. 

MACDC Members and others visit the Lynn Museum and Historical Society during the June 13th tour and discussion on retail in affordable housing developments. Photo provided by MassDevelopment.

In June, nine MACDC Members and MACDC staff joined a bus tour to learn about managing mixed use properties with affordable housing and retail space. The tour, sponsored by the Mel King Institute, MassDevelopment, and the New England Affordable Housing Management Association, visited mixed use developments in Boston, Salem and Lynn.  

Participants boarded the bus in Boston and drove past Castle Square Apartments, a mixed use development undergoing a deep energy retrofit. In Salem, despite a light but persistent rain, everyone toured several mixed use buildings, including one under construction by the North Shore CDC. Then it was on to the Lynn Museum and Historical Society, for lunch and presentations by four experienced practitioners, moderated by Marty Jones, President and CEO of MassDevelopment. Finally, attendees broke into small groups to discuss challenges and strategies in leasing retail space with affordable housing. A common theme of the discussions was that too often affordable housing developers lack knowledge of how best to market and lease retail space. 

For more information about mixed use or housing efforts at MACDC, contact Don Bianchi.

MACDC's Calendar - promote your event  

MACDC provides a calendar on our website for members and supporting organizations to publicize their events including Annual Meetings, Ribbon Cuttings and fundraisers.  Please tell us about your events by sending an email to Rosa Nin.

MACDC's Job Postings