The Revolution Will Not Be Grant Funded By Michael H. Shuman and Merrian Fuller
CDCs have become too reliant on foundation grants and public dollars to provide affordable housing and jobs in our communities. But now that the era of giving is ending, we should consider the market as a way to support ourselves.

Business Wisdom in the High Country By Jason Stevenson
A Santa Fe CDC responded to skyrocketing housing costs by becoming a lender and broker while it also preserved and built homes. In the process, the organization developed a more retail-oriented approach to ensuring people’s financial security.

Creating Community Realty By Miriam Axel-Lute
In upstate New York, housing groups started a brokerage for low-income residents and neighborhoods poorly served by for-profit real estate agents. While it is a nonprofit, the brokerage is still expected to pay for itself.

The Last Line of Defense By Randy Stoecker
The West Bank Community Development Corporation has remained the last bastion of collective control of housing, working against the tide to prevent it from becoming just another financial asset, rather than a community’s asset.

After Katrina: Fighting to Survive By Trisha Miller
After the storm, our author revisits the Gulf Coast communities she profiled in the last issue of Shelterforce.

It Didn’t Begin with Katrina By Mary Gail Snyder
New Orleans was suffering from an economic and political disaster long before Hurricane Katrina hit.