Tools
Local Tenant Organization Success Stories Webinar, August 2021
Carol Roberts, Public Housing ResidentFor residents of public housing What makes for a successful Local Tenant Organization? In this webinar we talk about how to connect with residents in your development to build a powerful network that can make changes to benefit everyone. Residents are often held back by “The Big 4” -- fear, hopelessness, confusion, and division. But through building trusted relationships we can overcome these barriers and improve the quality of life. What follows is an interview with Carol Roberts, a long time board member of the local tenants organization in Caffrey Towers in Brockton, MA and also serves as a board member of the Brockton Housing Authority.
COVID-19 Reopening Guide for Small Businesses
Chamber of CommerceThis guide will cover all that business owners need to know about reopening and navigating current government requirements.
Mass Law Reform Institute Annual Plan Webinar, Recorded June 2021
Molly Broderick. MLRIEvery Local Housing Authority (LHA) is required to prepare and post an Annual Plan. This Plan includes the LHA's budget, capital improvement plan, maintenance information, a list of policies, a list of waivers, and more. Residents have the right to weigh in, especially Local Tenant Organizations!
DHCD Annual Plan Webinar, Recorded June 2021
Paul McPartland, DHCDEvery Local Housing Authority (LHA) is required to prepare and post an Annual Plan. This Plan includes the LHA's budget, capital improvement plan, maintenance information, a list of policies, a list of waivers, and more. Residents have the right to weigh in, especially Local Tenant Organizations!
Mixed-Finance Redevelopment of State-Aided Public Housing Webinar, Recorded December 2020
Robert Muollo, DHCDRedeveloping state public housing is a complex, multi-faceted and inclusionary process involving many stakeholders that takes vision and coordination to achieve the best outcome. By improving one’s understanding of the redevelopment process, residents can become better empowered to participate, distinguish fact from myth, and drive community priorities.
Local Housing Authority Capital Improvement Plans, Recorded May 2020
Fatima Razzaq, DHCDEvery Housing Authority has a Capital Improvement Plan which lays out the major improvements the authority will make to its properties in the next five years. These plans have a huge impact on residents’ quality of life and all residents have the right to weigh in. Resident Board Members especially need to understand the details of a Capital Improvement Plan so they can make their perspectives known to the Board.
Public Housing Rent Policies during COVID-19, Recorded May 2020
Judith Liben, Mass Law Reform Institute (MLRI)Watch Judith Liben of Mass Law Reform Institute review Public Housing Rents during the COVID-19 Emergency.
Local Housing Authority Annual Plans, Recorded May 2020
Annette Duke, Mass Law Reform Institute (MLRI)Every Local Housing Authority (LHA) is required to prepare and post an Annual Plan. This Plan includes the LHA's budget, capital improvement plan, maintenance information, a list of policies, a list of waivers, and more. Residents have the right to weigh in, especially Local Tenant Organizations! Watch this video to learn more.
Delivering Credit to Entrepreneurs of Color Impacted by COVID-19: Why Community Financial Institutions Are Essential
The Aspen InstitutePrior to the global pandemic, the relatively high small business start and ownership rates among entrepreneurs of color were a bright spot in a period of declining US entrepreneurship. But small businesses have endured some of the hardest stresses of the pandemic, as forced closures and physical distancing have decimated earnings for restaurants, salons, childcare centers, and other services we all rely on. Businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color have been particularly impacted by declining revenues, and despite government efforts to get money into people’s hands, many small businesses have not received the support they need. This is partly a problem with the delivery systems used: programs that flow through banks miss those that have historically been underserved. Fortunately, there are lenders who serve these businesses and communities: Community Development Financial Institutions. CDFIs are mission-driven lenders that serve the parts of America that too often get left behind, inc
Cambridge College Resource Library for Business Development Program
Cambridge CollegeThe Business Resource Library connects Consultants, Technical Assistance Providers and students to a variety of learning tools, including sample documents and industry trend topics. This library can quickly provide comprehensive information you may need to assist small businesses during their start-up, stabilization and growth phases. These materials can be downloaded from the links below. This library was built with the collaboration of Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC), Mel King Institute, Lawyers for Civil Rights, and Technical Assistance providers.
Opportunity360 Community Dashboard
EnterpriseOpportunity360 Community Dashboards provide the information necessary to determine where action is most needed and where established programs and policies have been most successful in any neighborhood in the country. These dashboards now allow data comparison for up to three census tracts, anywhere in the US. In the free Opportunity360 Community Dashboards, you will find over 150 indicators from 27 sources.
Massachusetts Small Business Loan Data Project
Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC)The Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (the MCBC) has sponsored an annual report on small business lending trends in Massachusetts since 1998. In the Spring of 2019, MCBC launched a new online platform – the Massachusetts Small Business Loan Data Project – that serves as a companion to the most recent report, Small Business Lending in Massachusetts 2008-2017, authored by BankMaps. The Massachusetts Small Business Loan Data Project provides an online data service with interactive access to maps and charts from six (6) national databases related to the subject of small business lending in Massachusetts.
DataTown
Massachusetts Housing Partnership's Center for Housing DataThe site compiles community-level information from various data sources for all 351 Massachusetts cities and towns, and visualizes that data in graphics and charts so it's easy to understand, print out and bring to a community discussion.
The National Equity Research Database, Boston Edition
Brandeis Institute for Child, Youth and Family PolicyThis is a database of 286 socio-economic indicators on a wide range of subjects, including demography, education, employment, health, housing, earnings and ancestry covering the Boston metropolitan area.
Building Blocks: Connecting People, Places and Policies
Enterprise Community PartnersA podcast for thought-provoking conversations about the current issues, trends, ideas and big questions facing the affordable housing and community development field in the United States.
MASSCAP Trainings: Recorded Webinars
MASSCAPThis resource contains all the past recorded webinars from MASSCAP (Understanding Immigrant Rights, Community Action Impact, Succession Planning, and More!)
Access: A Community Development Podcast
Federal Reserve SystemAccess is a new podcast from the Community Development departments of the Federal Reserve System. Each episode highlights a successful model or program within the four focus areas of our work: people, place, policy and practice, and small business.
Budget Resources
Mass BudgetShortly after each major state budget release, MassBudget produce a written Budget Monitor that analyzes major proposals across a range of key areas (e.g. education, transportation, health care, revenue).
Inclusive, Local Sourcing: Purchasing for People and Place
Democracy CollaborativeThis toolkit provides hospital and health system leaders with the tools they need to harness their everyday business operations to improve community health through procurement and purchasing focused on locally-owned businesses.
Jargon Buster- Build Healthy Places Network
Build Healthy Places NetworkTool demystifies community development and public health jargon terms for those working with peers in other sectors
Pedestrian Infrastructure: Strategies for improving pedestrian safety through low-cost traffic calming
WalkBostonTool provides examples of low-cost measures to calm traffic and enhance safety on municipal streets and state roads
Shared Ownership Toolkit
Business Alliance for Local Living Economies (BALLE)Explore case studies, videos and resources on how to create a shared ownership business enterprise
Resources from the Massachusetts Community and Banking Council
Massachusetts Community and Banking CouncilExplore MCBC's compendium of resources on their new website intended for boosting the availability of credit and financial services in low-income communities
All in Cities Initiative
PolicyLinkToolkit includes policy ideas, data and assistance to advance racial economic inclusion and equitable growth
Assets & Opportunity Scorecard
Corporation for Enterprise DevelopmentCFED created an interactive state by state ranking of household financial security and policy solutions
The Poverty Primer
Tamarack- An Institute of Community EngagementThis booklet covers the essential elements of developing and sustaining a long-term, local effort to reduce poverty
The Sustainable Community Indicator Catalog
Partnership for Sustainable CommunitiesOnline resource to help communities measure progress toward their sustainability goals
Ask Co-op Cathy
Cooperative Development InitiativeResource for answering any questions you may have on starting a co-op
Opportunity Index
Opportunity NationInteractive map of the United States showing how states and counties compare in terms of access to opportunity based on economic, education and community indicators
MicroMentor
MicroMentor.orgMicroMentor connects entrepreneurs and mentors to build small businesses together.
Open Platform to Build Applications
The GuardianWhether you want to reach wider audiences, engage users more deeply or develop innovative advertising campaigns we have a range of services that can accelerate your digital ambitions.
Interactive Mapping Software
PolicyMapAccess the PolicyMap online mapping application from any Web browser on any OS and immediately begin creating and saving your own custom, interactive maps.
Small Business Guide
CitiThese guides contain a wealth of information on starting and running your business and also include activities, worksheets, self-assessments, glossaries, and valuable additional resources for you to consult along the way.
Best Practice Resources
Field at the Aspen InstituteTo help practitioners - and the microenterprise field - move toward long-term growth and stability, FIELD has engaged in extensive research and developed a variety of resources.
microTracker
Field at the Aspen InstitutemicroTracker helps microenterprise programs, donors, and investors track the performance and client outcomes of microenterprise organizations nationwide.
Advocates’ Guide to Housing and Community Development Policy
National Low Income Housing CoalitionA compendium of all federal housing, community development, and related programs and issues with both current and historical information.