Feb. 26, 2013 - Community economic development organizations from across North Carolina convened in Raleigh Feb. 26 to explore effective strategies for organizational and economic growth to strengthen the state’s low-income communities.
Tracey Dorsett, program officer for community economic development at Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, recognized that North Carolina’s community economic development organizations have been among the strongest in the nation at innovating to meet the changing demands of the new economy.
“In North Carolina, instead of being paralyzed, [community development organizations] are experimenting and trying new models,” Dorsett said. “They’re trying to reach out to the business community, they’re looking at their work in a different way and they’re trying to adapt and respond to the need.”
Dorsett and Gene Nichol, professor of law at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law and director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, kicked off the winter training retreat for the 35 recipients of the Initiative’s 2012-2013 grant programs with a panel on the state of community economic development in North Carolina.
The Initiative makes strategic financial investments in community organizations that promote economic growth in low-income and distressed N.C. communities and provides leadership development and technical assistance to support them. The retreat was the first event held as part of the Initiative’s 2013 technical assistance program, which will include a range of new resources and services for partner organizations as well as public webinars and an online resource center.
“The training retreat is an opportunity for recipients of our grants to gain greater knowledge about issues that are important to them, in this case business plan execution, board engagement and financial and data reporting,” said Millie Brobston, the Initiative’s program officer for grant investments. “It’s also a chance for them to come together to network, discuss the broader context for their work and gain insight into effective trends in the sector.”
Sessions at the retreat complemented the Initiative’s financial investment strategy, which promotes entrepreneurial and innovative approaches to strengthening low-income communities. Session topics and presenters were:
- Take Your Board from Bored to Blazing : Gail Perry, president of Gail Perry Associates
- Nonprofit Planning: Don’t Stop Now! : Valerie Fields, CEO of V.K. Fields & Company
- Show Me the Money: Financial and Data Reporting 101 : Meena Ahuja and Angela Poole, the Initiative
- Racial Equity and Community Engagement : Cynthia Brown and Tema Okun, Dismantling Racism Works
- The State of Community Economic Development in N.C. : Tracey Dorsett, program officer for community economic development for Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, and Gene Nichol, professor of law at UNC-Chapel Hill School of Law and director of the Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity
The Initiative’s 2012-2013 grant recipients are:
- ADLA Inc., Mt. Olive and Goldsboro
- Appalachian Sustainable Agriculture Project, Asheville
- Brick Capital Community Development Corp., Sanford
- Cape Fear Regional Community Development Corp., Wilmington
- The Center for Applied Leadership and Community Development at Johnson C. Smith University, Charlotte
- The Center for Participatory Change, Asheville
- Cleveland County Community Development Corp., Shelby
- Community Housing Development Corporation of Mooresville/South Iredell, Mooresville
- Davidson Housing Coalition, Davidson
- Durham Community Land Trustees Inc., Durham
- Eagle Market Streets Development Corp., Asheville
- East Carolina Community Development Inc., Beaufort
- EmPOWERment Inc., Chapel Hill
- Goler Community Development Corp., Winston-Salem
- Green Opportunities, Asheville
- HandMade in America, Asheville
- Housing Assistance Corporation, Hendersonville
- Housing Greensboro, Greensboro
- Kingdom Community Development Corp., Fayetteville
- Lexington Housing Community Development Corp., Lexington
- Liberty Community Development Corp., Winston-Salem
- Monroe-Union County Community Development Corp., Monroe
- Mountain Housing Opportunities, Asheville
- N.C. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Raleigh
- Northeastern Community Development Corp., Camden
- Olive Hill Community Economic Development Corp., Morganton
- Outer Banks Community Development Corp., Kill Devil Hills
- Passage Home Inc., Raleigh
- Prosperity Unlimited Inc., Kannapolis
- Rebuilding Broken Places Community Development Corp., Goldsboro
- Robeson County Community Development Corp. Inc., Rowland
- Rocky Mount/Edgecombe Community Development Corp., Rocky Mount
- Southeastern N.C. Food Systems Program (Feast Down East), Wilmington
- StepUp Ministry, Raleigh
- UDI Community Development Corp., Durham
For more information on the Initiative’s grant programs, contact Brobston at (919) 835-6000 or mbrobston@ncinitiative.org. For more information on the technical assistance program, contact LaVett Saddler, program officer for innovations, at (919) 835-6015 or lsaddler@ncinitiative.org.
The N.C. Community Development Initiative leads North Carolina’s collaborative community economic development effort, driving innovation, investment and action to create prosperous, sustainable communities. For more information, visit www.ncinitiative.org.