General Announcements

The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act Movement:  Operationalizing This Targeted, Bipartisan Tax Credit to Help Communities
The Neighborhood Homes Investment Act Movement: Operationalizing This Targeted, Bipartisan Tax Credit to Help Communities

Closing the appraisal gap (the difference between the cost to acquire and rehab or build a property and its updated market value) could help change the landscape of historically disinvested neighborhoods and provide opportunities for affordable homeownership and wealth-building. But, how would that work? Join Community Progress and the Neighborhood…

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COVID-19 Recovery: Alan Mallach, Smart Growth America, and More Share on the Future of Cities
COVID-19 Recovery: Alan Mallach, Smart Growth America, and More Share on the Future of Cities

COVID-19 is proving to be more than a crisis for America’s cities, towns, and counties. The unexpected synergy of a pandemic, elections, climate change and social unrest is causing many municipalities to reimagine the future. As long-established systems, practices, and populations change, every neighborhood must answer the big question: “What…

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Go “Back to School” With These Post-COVID-19 Trainings – Black Neighborhoods, Future of Cities, and More Community Development Help
Go “Back to School” With These Post-COVID-19 Trainings – Black Neighborhoods, Future of Cities, and More Community Development Help

We know this fall is won’t be “normal.” What we do know is that from back-to-school planning to preparing 2021 budgets, we’ll need real-time data and updates to help communities, residents, and municipalities navigate. To help local and resident leaders, Community Progress will offer a series professional development webinars and…

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FREE “Boot Camp” Helps Fighting Vacancy – Join Us for the 2020 VAD Academy!
FREE “Boot Camp” Helps Fighting Vacancy – Join Us for the 2020 VAD Academy!

Property revitalization has never been more critical need as cities across the country continue to battle vacancy, abandonment, and housing instability resulting from natural disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic. But what does “revitalization” look like for your community? What strategic partnerships can be leveraged to achieve those revitalization goals? And most…

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New Webinars Unlock the Black Middle Neighborhood Challenges and Opportunities
New Webinars Unlock the Black Middle Neighborhood Challenges and Opportunities

In the last twenty years, predominantly African-American ‘middle neighborhoods’ have endured the same challenges as other communities, but with different results. The historic injustices that were thought to be issues of the past show up in modern terms in both challenges and opportunities in the wake of today’s growing social…

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Community Progress Announces Juneteenth Closure
Community Progress Announces Juneteenth Closure

Dear Partners,  This Friday, June 19th, the Center for Community Progress will be closed in celebration of Juneteenth. As our staff and team enjoy the day as a paid holiday, we encourage all who regularly commemorate July 4th that marks the independence of our nation to join in celebrating this important…

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Life Should Not be Determined by a Person’s Race [the Death of George Floyd]
Life Should Not be Determined by a Person’s Race [the Death of George Floyd]

We at the Center for Community Progress are enraged and grief-stricken at the loss of yet another Black life at the hands of police.   Since 1619, the compounding symptoms of a problematic culture have systematically disenfranchised people of color in America. The unjust, preventable murder of George Floyd was one…

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Download Alan Mallach’s “Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst: Addressing the Aftermath Of The COVID-19 Pandemic In America’s Struggling Neighborhoods”
Download Alan Mallach’s “Hope for the Best, Plan for the Worst: Addressing the Aftermath Of The COVID-19 Pandemic In America’s Struggling Neighborhoods”

“We don’t know what will happen – there are far too many unknowns at this point – but we can already anticipate many of the risks, and what to expect after the pandemic is behind us.“ – Alan Mallach As the United States is gripped by the most severe pandemic…

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We Will Need Code Enforcement Now More Than Ever: Three COVID-19 Responses to Protect Neighborhoods
We Will Need Code Enforcement Now More Than Ever: Three COVID-19 Responses to Protect Neighborhoods

In the sea of COVID-19 uncertainty, there are a few neighborhood-level realities we know for sure. Our neighbor’s financial constraints may postpone planned repairs – like fixing that damaged roof that’s in danger of collapsing; the tenants in the 3-flat at the corner of the block could face eviction, due…

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New Podcast: Community Progress CEO Shares on Leadership During COVID-19 & the “Existential Threat” to Nonprofits
New Podcast: Community Progress CEO Shares on Leadership During COVID-19 & the “Existential Threat” to Nonprofits

How are nonprofit leaders across the United States “holding it together” during the COVID-19 pandemic? Authors and producers of Nonprofit Quarterly’s TinySpark Podcast, Amy Costello, and Frederica Boswell, recently took on the topic engaging senior-leaders across the country to better understand how the public health crisis is impacting non-profits today….

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Meet Kat Guillaume-Delemar, President & CEO of Community Progress

For Kat Guillaume-Delemar, community revitalization is a deeply personal journey.

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A Message from President and CEO Akilah Watkins

Dear friends and supporters of the Center for Community Progress, With great sadness and great gratitude, I announce that I will be departing from the Center for Community Progress at the end of 2022, to assume the role of President and CEO of Independent Sector. Over these last five years…

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Community Progress Weighs in on $350 Billion ARPA State and Local Recovery Fund

Center for Community Progress recently submitted a public comment letter in response to the Treasury Department’s Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) implementing the American Rescue Plan Act’s (“ARPA”) $350 billion State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (“SLFRF”). The public comment period is open through Friday, July 16, 2021, and public comments…

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Michigan Initiatives Quarterly Update: April – June 2021

This quarterly update from Community Progress’ Michigan Initiatives team highlights important revitalization news and resources from across the state. For specific inquiries or to share how your community is addressing vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties in Michigan, email Payton Heins, Director of Michigan Initiatives at [email protected].

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New Paper by Alan Mallach – Making the Comeback: Reversing the Downward Trajectory of Black Middle Neighborhoods in Legacy Cities

In city after city, the Black middle neighborhoods face the most significant challenges and have seen the sharpest declines across the country when compared to other middle neighborhoods. Black middle neighborhoods lead in the struggle to receive public help, programs, amenities, and more. In a new paper, Making the Comeback:…

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Keith Boykin and Alan Mallach to Lead Discussion on new Black Middle Neighborhood Data, Challenges, and Opportunities

Black urban middle neighborhoods are facing an existential crisis. In city after city, the middle neighborhoods that face the greatest challenges and have seen the sharpest declines are those largely occupied by African-American families. Compared to other middle neighborhoods, these neighborhoods are not only declining more sharply, but are seeing the…

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Land Bank and Land Trust Leaders Express Support for Proposed $5 Billion to Revitalize Communities

Restoring Communities Left Behind Act Receives Support from Community Progress and Grounded Solutions Leaders WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 4, 2021 — Today, the Center for Community Progress (Community Progress) and Grounded Solutions Network (Grounded Solutions) expressed their support of new legislation that would invest $5 billion in flexible federal funding…

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New Webinars Tackle COVID-19, Code Enforcement, Land Banking, and More

The combination of a new year, new leaders, and new challenges mean residents and local governments are positioned for rapid change in 2021. Register for this Spring’s Cornerstone Webinars to ensure you’re up to date on the latest trends and answers to this year’s historic challenges and opportunities.    

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Community Progress Expands Technical Assistance Services

New Senior Advisor, Vice President, and Program Leaders to Lead Local, State, and Neighborhood Assistance    WASHINGTON, D.C. – December 8, 2020 — Today, the Center for Community Progress (Community Progress) announced new infrastructure changes and staff appointments to serve more communities through its technical assistance and place-based programs. “Communities need us…

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Download America’s Vacant Lot Landscape: Insights from the National Survey on Greening

How are vacant lots evolving in the United States? What strategies do professionals consider most effective at returning purpose to these properties? What have practitioners learned in the last several years that other municipalities and organizations can benefit from? And what do organizations still need to do this work effectively? 

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