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??How Community-Based Public Space Can Build Civic Trust: Lessons from Akron

NonProfit Quarterly

That changed when a team from Reimagining the Civic Commons decided to reinvigorate public spaces in Akron’s systemically disinvested neighborhoods, including Summit Lake. Moving at the Speed of Trust Employing deep listening, engaging in meetings, and building one-on-one relationships with neighbors…helped inform public space design.

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Lifting a Powerful Policy Lever for Housing Justice

Stanford Social Innovation Review

By Tiffany Manuel & Dana Bourland What if government, the philanthropic sector, and community advocates could pull a policy lever and advance housing, climate, and racial justice all at once? Why are appraisals of homes in majority Black and brown communities almost always lower than those in majority white communities?

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How Guarantees Can Advance Community Development and Racial Equity

NonProfit Quarterly

While many foundations screen their endowment investments based on environmental, social, and governance factors, only a few optimize their investment strategies for mission impact. Financial guarantees are a powerful tool, yet they are underutilized in the social sector. One confounding challenge is low field awareness.

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How to Align Assets with Mission: Small Steps That Nonprofits Can Take

NonProfit Quarterly

A salient example is of organizations that are focused on community development but invest in mass incarceration. Liquidity policies help organizations understand the resources needed to carry out ongoing operating activities, but even liquid assets can be managed with an eye towards mission.

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From Impact Investing to “Impact-First” Investing—What Is the Field Learning?

NonProfit Quarterly

Image Credit: PeopleImages on iStock What does impact investingthat is, investing with social benefit in minddemand of investors? Many in the field have long held it demands virtually nothing, that an investor can have a social impact without sacrificing a penny of their own.

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How Land Banks and Community Land Trusts Can Partner for Racial Justice

NonProfit Quarterly

The idea that land banks and community land trusts (CLT) might both benefit by working more closely with each other is more than a decade old. Public entities with unique governmental powers, land banks acquire vacant, tax-delinquent properties that are causing harm , improve them, then dispose of the properties to support community goals.

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How do water shutoffs impact low-income communities?

NonProfit Quarterly

The Water Alliance is changing that question to, “How can utilities, communities, and policy makers work together to create an environment in which shutoffs for low-income families are not necessary?”. Guided by the alliance, the teams gathered data that would inform policy changes for water utilities.