What We Do  

As an alliance, we mobilize support for community development organizations’ work to create stronger, healthier, and more prosperous communities. We believe that a stronger community development field leads to thriving communities across the country. Local community development organizations work in underserved communities to develop affordable housing and commercial space, support small business development, and provide social services.

How we build a stronger field:

  1. We Convene Our Community: With a shared passion for creating opportunity in underserved communities, we convene community development organizations, the associations that serve them, our partners, and other changemakers. Our convenings build knowledge and relationships within the community development field – and with cross-sector partners.

  2. We Nurture the Field’s Identity: Successful community development means hope. From our roots in social justice to the comprehensive approach we use today, our alliance catalyzes hope and energizes our field. We unite those working in neighborhoods with those working at the regional, state, and national levels, and cross-sector partners to fight for opportunity in underserved communities.

  3. We Ground Our Shared Values in Research: We develop and disseminate critical research on the community development field, and we use the results and our national leverage to advocate for funding and support. Community developers and partners across the country use our research to increase funding and support for their work.

  4. We Build the Field’s Capacity: We strengthen community developers’ ability to create real opportunity for the communities they serve. Our methods include: sharing replicable programs and interventions, passing funds from national funders to local, regional, and statewide organizations, providing technical assistance, and increasing access to the training and information.

  5. We Advocate as an Alliance: We represent the community development field  in Washington, D.C. with the federal government and major philanthropic organizations. The relationships we build and fortify anchor our advocacy work, gaining support for community developers and their communities.

  6. We Elevate Community Developer’s Voices: Acting as an alliance makes our voice stronger and more visible to policymakers, funders, and the media. We all do better when we raise our voices collaboratively.  

  7. We Engage Private Funders to Support Community Development: We educate banks, private foundations, and corporations about the value of community development, providing data on its impact and potential. By introducing new funders to our field and bolstering the support of existing funders, we expand resources for community developers across the country.