The Aspen Institute

http://www.aspeninst.org/

The Aspen Institute is a global forum that convenes leaders from diverse disciplines to address critical issues that confront societies, organizations, and individuals. Utilizing the rigorous discipline of informed dialogue and inquiry, the Institute's seminar and policy programs enhance the participants' ability to think clearly about such issues, mindful of the primacy of the moral perspective and the importance of differing viewpoints.

The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy

http://www.brook.edu/es/urban/urban.htm

The Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy seeks to shape a new generation of urban policies that will help build strong neighborhoods, cities, and metropolitan regions. In partnership with academics, private and public sector leaders, and locally-elected officials, the Center will inform the national debate on the impact of government policies, private sector actions, and national trends on cities and their metropolitan areas. By connecting expert knowledge and practical experience to the deliberations of state and federal policymakers, the Center aims to help develop integrated approaches and practical solutions to the challenges confronting these communities.

The Building Better Communities Network

http://www.bettercommunities.org/

The Building Better Communities Network (the "Network") is a product of the Campaign for New Community (CNC) and its November 1998 National Dialogue, "Collaborating for Successful Siting of Housing and Service Programs."

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

http://www.cbpp.org/

Founded in 1981, the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities has emerged over the past two decades as one of the leading organizations in the country working on fiscal policy issues and issues affecting low- and moderate-income families and individuals. The Center specializes in research and analysis oriented toward policy decisions that policymakers face at both federal and state levels. The Center examines data and research findings and produces analyses designed to be accessible to public officials, other non-profit organizations, and the media.

Center for Law and Social Policy

http://www.clasp.org/

CLASP is a national non-profit organization with expertise in both law and policy affecting the poor. Through education, policy research and advocacy, CLASP seeks to improve the economic security of low-income families with children and secure access for low-income persons to our civil justice system.

The Center for Policy Alternatives

http://www.cfpa.org/

The Center for Policy Alternatives (CPA) engages a new generation of leaders across the states to envision and realize progressive solutions for America's future.

Our Goals: find and promote progressive ideas that work; identify progressive leaders; create, develop and nurture alliances; connect & empower people across the fifty states for: secure and healthy families; thriving, energized communities; sustainable development to preserve resources; fair and flourishing economy; inclusive and participatory democracy

The Center for Poverty Solutions

http://www.ctrforpovertysolutions.org/

The Center for Poverty Solutions, formed in 1998 by a merger of the Maryland Food Committee and Action for the Homeless, is a nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to eliminating the root causes of poverty through public policy, education, research, direct service programs and community mobilization.

Community Development Society

http://comm-dev.org/

The international Community Development Society (CDS), founded in 1969, is a professional association for community development practitioners and citizen leaders around the world. CDS members represent a variety of fields: education, health care, social services, government, utilities, economic development practitioners, citizen groups, and more.

Community and Rural Development Institute

http://www.cardi.cornell.edu/

Cornell's Community and Rural Development Institute works to enhance life quality and social and personal well-being for the people of New York State. CaRDI links professionals and elected officials who share a concern for community development and policymaking, especially in rural communities. We bring together Cornell University departments and programs, Cornell Cooperative Extension Associations, local governments and community organizations to cultivate creative collaborations that bridge traditional institutional boundaries.

Council of State Community Development Agencies

http://www.coscda.org/

COSCDA members are the executive branch agencies that have primary responsibility for providing community development, housing, or local economic development assistance to localities and communities.

The Enterprise Foundation

http://www.enterprisefoundation.org/

The Enterprise Foundation is dedicated to bringing lasting improvements to distressed communities. Enterprise is a national, nonprofit housing and community development organization. It was launched in 1982 by Jim and Patty Rouse. Since then, Enterprise and its related organizations have raised and leveraged $3.4 billion and helped to create more than 107,000 homes affordable to low-income Americans and to place more than 31,000 people in jobs. The Foundation’s mission is to see that all low-income people in the United States have the opportunity for fit and affordable housing and to move up and out of poverty into the mainstream of American life. In order to achieve that mission, we strive to: build a national community development movement; demonstrate what is possible in low-income communities; and communicate and advocate for what works in community development.

http://www.equaljustice.org/

Fannie Mae Foundation

http://www.fanniemaefoundation.org/home.htm

The Fannie Mae Foundation uses a combination of grantmaking, national awards, scholarly research, and publications to promote innovations in affordable housing. The Foundation is the publisher of Housing Policy Debate.

The Institute on Race & Poverty

http://www1.umn.edu/irp/

The Institute on Race & Poverty (IRP), established in 1993 by john a. powell, is a strategic research center located at the University of Minnesota Law School. It is one of few national organizations that directly address the underlying causes of the problems created at the intersection of racial injustice and poverty. In the relatively short time since its inception, IRP has gained a national reputation for pro-active work through leading-edge thinking, relevant research, coalition building, public policy influence, and effective consultation and technical assistance

The Institute for Research on Poverty

http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/irp/

The Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) is a national, university-based center for research into the causes and consequences of poverty and social inequality in the United States. It is nonprofit and nonpartisan. The Institute was established in 1966 at the University of Wisconsin-Madison by the U.S. Office of Economic Opportunity, the organization given responsibility for reducing poverty in America. In the years since then, the Institute's multidisciplinary affiliates have formulated and tested basic theories of poverty and inequality, developed and evaluated social policy alternatives, and analyzed trends in poverty and economic well-being.

Joint Center for Housing Studies

http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/jcenter/

The Joint Center for Housing Studies, established in 1959, is a collaborative unit affiliated with the Harvard Design School and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. JCHS analyzes the ways in which housing policy and practices are shaped by economic and demographic trends and provides leaders in government, business, and the non-profit sector with knowledge and tools for formulating effective policies and strategies. Among its many publications, JCHS annually publishes The State of the

Nation’s Housing (which can be downloaded free-of-charge from this site).

The Laboratory for Community and Economic Development

http://www.ag.uiuc.edu/~lced/main.html

The Laboratory for Community and Economic Development (LCED) supports community and economic development efforts of local people, their governments and representatives. The Laboratory provides information and educational programs, and conducts research on economic and social issues that are relevant to communities and community leaders.

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy

http://www.lincolninst.edu/main.html

The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is a nonprofit and tax-exempt educational institution established in 1974. Its mission as a school is to study and teach about land policy, including land economics and land taxation. A major portion of the Institute's support comes from the Lincoln Foundation, established in 1947 by Cleveland industrialist John C. Lincoln. He drew inspiration from the ideas of Henry George, the nineteenth-century American political economist, social philosopher and author of the book, Progress and Poverty. The Institute's goals are to integrate the theory and practice of land use and taxation and to understand the multidisciplinary forces that influence them. The Institute explores these issues through three focused program areas: program on the taxation of land and buildings; program on land markets; and program on land as common property.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation

http://www.liscnet.org/

LISC provides grants, loans and equity investments to CDCs for neighborhood redevelopment. When LISC begins a new program, National LISC matches locally-raised funds and gives that much more to the community for renovation. The CDC then designates the funds to a variety of projects that will best suit the neighborhood, and the renovation begins.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation: Rural

http://www.ruralisc.org/index.html

Our mission is to build the capacity of resident led rural community development corporations (CDCs), increase their production and impact, demonstrate the value of investing in and through rural CDCs and make the resource and policy environment more supportive of rural CDCs and their work.

The National Community Building Network

http://www.ncbn.org/

The National Community Building Network (NCBN) is an alliance of individuals and organizations that work to reduce poverty and create social and economic opportunity through comprehensive community building strategies.

National Community Capital Association

http://www.communitycapital.org/

The National Community Capital Association is a national membership organization of community development financial institutions (CDFIs). National Community Capital's Member CDFIs provide capital, technical assistance, and development services to support the revitalization of economically-disadvantaged urban, rural, and reservation-based communities across the United States. National Community Capital also represents more than 200 Associates-organizations and individuals that support NCCA’s mission.

The National Center for the Revitalization of Central Cities

http://www.uno.edu/~cupa/ncrcc/

The National Center was established by Congress in 1990 at the University of New Orleans in its College of Urban and Public Affairs. Over the past several years, the National Center has directed its resources to answer the question: How can we maintain our urban areas as engines of economic growth and prosperity? Providing answers to this question will assist the leglislative and executive branches of government in formulating a national policy for revitalizing central cities. The National Center is a consortium of academic institutions that conducts basic and applied research on the problems plaguing our nation's central cities. We further analyze and evaluate Advances in Urban Revitalization, the unique policies, programs and strategies that address problems such as managing growth, and public investment in central city neighborhoods and their human resources.

National Housing Institute

http://nhi.org

The National Housing Institute is a 24-year old nonprofit organization that examines the issues causing the crisis in housing and community in America. NHI examines the key issues affecting affordable housing and community development practitioners and their supporters. NHI is the publisher of Shelterforce, the only independent, nonacademic "trade" publication for community builders. Now in its 25th year of continuous publication, Shelterforce is a leader in presenting innovations in the field of community development to practitioners, policymakers, and the public.

National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions

http://www.natfed.org/

Community development credit unions are established by people in low-income areas as a way to pool their savings and make loans to each other. Economic self-help and community reinvestment are the heart of the CDCU mission: to help low-income families and communities control their own financial destinies.

The National Law Center

http://www.nlchp.org/

The National Law Center, established in 1989, serves as the legal arm of the national movement to end homelessness in America. During the past year, over two million men, women, and children, or nearly one percent of the US population, were homeless. The Law Center works for long-term, constructive solutions to homelessness. In the past decade, the Law Center's efforts have resulted in: increased access to educational development programs for homeless children; increased funding for the McKinney Homeless Assistance Act and other vital programs providing opportunities to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty; compliance with McKinney Act provisions by state administrators and federal agencies; conversion of closed military bases into shelters, job training, childcare and food program sites; advocacy and promotion of the Earned Income Credit helping homeless people move off the streets into housing and jobs.

National Community Reinvestment Coalition

http://www.ncrc.org/

NCRC was formed in 1990 by 16 national, regional, and local organizations to develop and harness the collective energies of community reinvestment organizations from across the country so as to increase the flow of private capital into traditionally underserved communities.

National Low Income Housing Coalition/Low Income Housing Information Service

http://www.nlihc.org/

Established in 1974, the National Low Income Housing Coalition/LIHIS is the only national organization dedicated solely to ending America's affordable housing crisis. The NLIHC is committed to educating, organizing, and advocating to ensure decent, affordable housing within healthy neighborhoods for everyone. NLIHC provides up-to-date information, formulates policy, and educates the public on housing needs and the strategies for solutions. Through forums, network building, timely and informative publications, and its Web presence, the Coalition continues to sustain a national network dedicated to affordable housing and healthy communities at the state and national levels.

The National Neighborhood Coalition

http://www.comminfoexch.org/nnc.htm

Founded in 1979, the National Neighborhood Coalition (NNC) is an information and educational clearinghouse on national public policies and federal programs that affect inner-city neighborhoods and their low- and moderate-income residents. NNC focuses primarily on place-based issues, such as low-income housing, community-based development, community reinvestment banking, citizen participation, crime, and community organizing.

National Network for Collaboration

http://crs.uvm.edu/nnco/

Our purpose is to expand the knowledge base and skill level of Cooperative Extension System Educators, agency and organizational partners, youth, and citizens by establishing a network that creates environments that foster collaboration and leads to citizen problem solving to improve the lives of children, youth and families.

The National Welfare Monitoring & Advocacy Partnership

http://www.nwmap.org/

The National Welfare Monitoring & Advocacy Partnership (NWMAP) is a collaboration of organizers, advocates, service providers and researchers from across the United States concerned with the well-being of low-income people. NWMAP's activities are threefold: monitoring, advocacy, and organizing. NWMAP supports the monitoring of welfare at the community level to inform both grass roots and national advocacy efforts and to build the capacity of local communities to advocate on their own behalf.

NeighborWorks

http://www.nw.org/

Welcome to the NeighborWorks^® network web site. This site is a function of the neighborhood revitalization and educational services offered by Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation, Neighborhood Housing Services of America and a national network of public and private partnerships, the NeighborWorks^® network. Resources found here provide information relating to a host of community-revitalization efforts from across the country.

The Northwestern University / University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research

http://www.jcpr.org/

The Northwestern University / University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research supports academic research that examines what it means to be poor and live in America.

JCPR concentrates on the causes and consequences of poverty in America and the effectiveness of policies aimed at reducing poverty. Our goal is to advance what is known about the economic, social and behavioral factors that cause poverty, and to establish the actual effects of interventions designed to alleviate poverty. The Center's research agenda focuses on: changing labor markets and the causes of inequality in the current labor market; family functioning and the well-being of children; the impact of concentrated urban poverty; and the effects in these domains - and others - of changing policy and new programs.

Organizing Collaborative

http://www.organizenow.net/index.html

The Sustainable Communities Network

http://www.sustainable.org/

The Sustainable Communities Network is for those who want to help make their communities more livable. Here a broad range of issues are addressed and resources are provided to help make this happen. This web site is being developed to increase the visibility of what has worked for other communities, and to promote a lively exchange of information to help create community sustainability in both urban and rural areas. We welcome your comments and suggestions to make it as useful as possible

The Urban Institute

http://www.urban.org/

The Urban Institute is a nonprofit policy research organization established in Washington, D.C., in 1968. The Institute's goals are to sharpen thinking about society's problems and efforts to solve them, improve government decisions and their implementation, and increase citizens' awareness about important public choices.

Urban Land Institute

http://www.uli.org/indexJS.htm

The mission of the Urban Land Institute is to provide leadership in the responsible use of land to enhance the total environment. ULI’s strategic direction is to extend its industry leadership to: bring together the people able to influence the outcome of important issues related to land use and the built environment; communicate who we are and what we–our members and our Institute–have learned about land use to increase ULI’s influence on land use policy and practice; and continue to provide relevant and current information about land use and real estate development to all our members and stakeholders.

The Welfare Law Center

http://www.welfarelaw.org/

The Welfare Law Center works with and on behalf of low-income people to ensure that adequate income support -- public funding provided on the basis of need -- is available whenever and to the extent necessary to meet basic needs and foster healthy human and family development.

The Welfare Policy Center

http://www.hudson.org/wpc/index.htm

The Welfare Policy Center (WPC) conducts research and provides technical assistance on welfare reform. It is a resource for policy makers, program administrators, the press, and many others who want to know what can be learned from cutting-edge welfare reforms, and what it takes to make reforms effective. WPC works with governments and service providers to help redesign and implement effective new systems of aid intended to help families achieve self-sufficiency and build better lives.