Affordable Homeownership Foundation received Community Development Corporation (CDC) certification in 2015.
Community Development Corporations (CDCs) are nonprofit, community-based organizations focused on revitalizing the areas in which they are located, typically low-income, underserved neighborhoods that have experienced significant disinvestment. While they are most commonly celebrated for developing affordable housing, they are usually involved in a range of initiatives critical to community health such as economic development, sanitation, streetscaping, and neighborhood planning projects, and oftentimes even provide education and social services to neighborhood residents.
CDCs play a critical role in building community wealth for several key reasons:
- They anchor capital in communities by developing residential and commercial property, ranging from affordable housing to shopping centers and even businesses.
- At least one-third of a CDC’s board is typically composed of community residents, allowing for the possibility of direct, grass-roots participation in decision-making.
- CDCs work to enhance community conditions oftentimes involves neighborhood organizing, a process critical for empowering residents and gaining political power.
