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Charlotte may have cracked the code on affordable housing. Here's how

Nate Berg

January 25, 2021 |

FastCompany |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

A real estate investor has led the charge in creating a Housing Impact Fund in Charlotte, NC, to preserve affordable housing. The housing it seeks to preserve is not considered public housing but it does serve those who make less than the area’s median income. This type of housing is known as Naturally Occurring Affordable Housing (NOAH) and can be profitable over a longer period of time while simultaneously providing a service for the rapidly growing city.

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The Sausage-Making to Revive a Black-owned Sausage Factory in New Orleans

Oscar Perry Abello

January 14, 2021 |

Next City |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, New Orleans, Louisiana

Community land trusts typically provide affordable housing but now one is responsible for the revival of a family business in New Orleans. Commercial community land trusts are emerging as viable solutions for tenants being displaced by higher rents as well as the revitalization of historically Black centers of commerce. Commercial land trusts are an avenue for the Black community to have “economic self-determination.”

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Halls of game: Bingo centers are unheralded pillars of the Corpus Christi community

Clay Carpenter

December 23, 2020 |

Corpus Christi Caller Times |

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Over 3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Corpus Christi, Texas

In Texas, bingo is considered a charitable operation and can act as a revenue source, offering a significant contribution to the funding of many 501c(3) nonprofits, but it also "nourishes the community in other, less obvious ways." Even before the coronavirus pandemic, the bingo operations around the state often provided scholarships and food distribution and offered a reprieve from social isolation. Although the pandemic has altered how many players can be a in a room together, the bingo halls are still attracting regulars.

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A sustainable refocus helps a historic Chicago community rebuild

Audrey F. Henderson

December 02, 2020 |

Energy News Network |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Chicago, Illinois

Green developement has breathed new life into a once-declining town that suffered from the exodus of manufacturers. A comprehensive 10-year plan revitalized the local economy of Pullman, creating jobs and bringing new manufacturers into its abandoned buildings. Housing, transportation, public safety, and recreation were also part of the plan which was funded by tax increment financing in addition to federal funding and investments from companies located there.

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How College Students Are Helping Each Other Survive

Ezra Marcus

November 23, 2020 |

The New York Times |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States

Students across the country are dealing with food and housing insecurity, and financial loss, conditions that have been exacerbated because since the pandemic. In response, students in some colleges and universities created mutual-aid networks, raising and distribution thousands of dollars to their peers. “Students continue to lead the fight to address their basic needs.”

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Akron wants to help small business owners grow, but officials say they need more help from banks

Abbey Marshall

October 12, 2020 |

The Devil Strip |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Detroit, Michigan

Motor City Match is an entrepreneurial development initiative that provides grants for historically marginalized business owners in Detroit. It also matches minority entrepreneurs with empty retail space in addition to providing business coaching and planning services. The program depends on nontraditional lenders to provide the funding. Motor City Match inspired the formation of Rubber City Match in Akron but that program has faced financing hurdles due to a lack of nontraditional lenders in the city.

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Meet the Bristol collective putting surplus wealth in the hands of people tackling injustice

Alex Turner

October 02, 2020 |

The Bristol Cable |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: England, Bristol

Bristol Redistro is an experiment in wealth redistribution that taps the social-justice consciences of people who pool what they see as their excess money to make grants to small community groups that are "challenging unfair power structures." An initial round made £1,000 grants to such groups as Mandem, an online artistic platform for young men of color, and No More Exclusions, which seeks to reform school discipline. Funding decisions get made by a collective, not Redistro's leaders, with the aim of driving social change and challenging inequality by sharing the wealth with grassroots community groups.

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Jumpstart trains developers to fight gentrification in Philly neighborhoods

Courtney Duchene

September 29, 2020 |

The Philadelphia Citizen |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Jumpstart Germantown and five spinoff programs trained about 1,000 people in the art of locally controlled neighborhood rehabilitation. The Jumpstart programs target particular neighborhoods, mainly mid-range housing stock with vacant and deteriorating conditions, and lend money to newly minted developers to fix and resell the properties. Housing rehabs maintain the character of neighborhoods, rather than gentrifying them or making wholesale redevelopment changes. Beyond the community improvement benefits, the program helps diversify the real estate business and provides employment opportunities.

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Three Approaches to Rural Rejuvenation

Kelly Burch

September 18, 2020 |

Sentinel Source (The Keene Sentinel) |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States

Despite the pandemic-induced economic slowdown, three small cities have managed to thrive due to successful economic development plans that have led to “rural rejuvenation” in an effort to attract young families to live there. The city of Taos, New Mexico has used a regional strategy to increase tourism while Durango, Colorado, chose to diversify the economy by focusing on its other resources such as high education, natural gas, and healthcare. Bozeman, Montana focused on nurturing local business instead of enticing outside businesses.

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How a Charlotte Nonprofit Links Landlords With People Experiencing Homelessness

Jared Brey

September 15, 2020 |

Next City |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

A real estate developer has teamed up with homelessness service organizations to house working families. The Lotus Campaign gives landlords $1,000 a year to rent a unit to a family that is at risk of homelessness or is already experiencing it. Rent is paid by the organization and any damages to the unit are covered. Landlords taking part in the program waive security deposits, credit checks, records of employment, and provide a 30-day window before seeking evictions. The pilot program intends to demonstrate that the private housing sector can alleviate homelessness if given the chance and the incentive.

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