Views

Analysis and points of view on research, trends, issues, ideas and opportunities.

Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group’s innovative approach towards tackling the local affordable housing crisis

By / / Field Notes, Views / 3 minutes of reading

Through an inclusive, community-centered approach, NCRC member Pittsburgh Community Reinvestment Group (PCRG) is working to revitalize Allegheny County’s single family housing market and put homeownership back in the hands of families through their policy advocacy and financial education efforts.  PCRG began in 1988 as a coalition of local nonprofits dedicated to addressing racially discriminatory practices […]

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New Jersey Citizen Action Fights Economic Injustice Through Direct Services and Coalition Power

By / / Field Notes, Views / 3 minutes of reading

For 43 years, New Jersey Citizen Action (NJCA) has been a cornerstone for economic justice in the Garden State, serving more than 15,000 families annually through programs ranging from free tax preparation to foreclosure prevention.  NJCA emerged from broader citizen action movements in response to the Reagan Administration’s cuts to social programs and deregulation efforts.

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Job Gains Slow as Young Workers Struggle in the Labor Market: June 2025 Race, Jobs and the Economy Update

By / / Research, Views / 4 minutes of reading

The economy added 139,000 jobs in May while the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 4.2%. While one-month job gains were solid, gains for March were revised down by almost 48%. The BLS revised its numbers twice in the past two months, meaning March’s numbers were revised in April, then again in May. These downward revisions

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Covenant Community Capital’s Work Making Homeownership Attainable for Working Class Buyers

By / / Field Notes, Research, Views / 4 minutes of reading

NCRC member organizations pursue a range of missions that fit broadly under the umbrella of promoting economic equity for all Americans. The research team at NCRC supports those members in many ways, including providing assistance in quantifying the impact of our members’ efforts in their communities. One Houston, TX-based community development financial institution (CDFI) offers

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Business Ownership and Its Role in Maintaining the Racial Wealth Gap

By / / Research, Views / 6 minutes of reading

The racial wealth gap remains one of the biggest economic inequity problems facing the United States today. With its origins in chattel enslavement of Black Americans, the gap remains a stark reminder of the societal costs of these insidious practices. Long after abolition, neighborhood redlining and instances of racial terror, such as the 1921 Tulsa

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A Place to Call Home: How NCRC Tools Help Denver Nonprofit Advocate for Equitable Housing

By / / Field Notes, Views / 3 minutes of reading

Housing nonprofits in Colorado had their hands full following the Great Recession of 2007. Fewer homes were being built, with unemployment causing housing insecurity rates to rise exponentially. Local and state governments also had fewer resources to help those in need. “After the Great Recession, there was a desire to co-advocate in a way that

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Reclaiming Tribal Lands Through Innovative Economic Development Efforts

By / / Field Notes, Views / 4 minutes of reading

The lack of affordable housing and other structural barriers to homeownership are a nationwide problem. Yet, for Native communities living on tribal lands, those dynamics become an even more complicated challenge to overcome. They are often overlooked by traditional state, local, regional and federal housing assistance programs and minimized as constituents given their unique sovereign

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Obstructing The American Dream: Federal Policies Pose Existential Threat to Immigrant-Owned Small Businesses

By / / Policy, Views / 3 minutes of reading

There is nothing like getting off at your Metro stop and being greeted by the urban and international metropolis that is Washington, D.C. Everywhere you turn you see the influence of immigrants from countries all across the world– from the aroma of a warm Ethiopian coffee to the mellow taste of a bowl of Vietnamese

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Utah Housing Coalition Fosters Community Collaborations Towards Increase Housing Stability

By / / Field Notes, Views / 3 minutes of reading

Small but mighty – that’s the self-described motto of the two-person team leading the Utah Housing Coalition (UHC), a nonprofit organization that promotes equitable and sustainable communities by ensuring all Utahns have a safe and affordable place to call home. “We always say we take on the role of a low-income voice because those are

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Baltimore Community Lending Celebrates Grand Opening of Business Development & Resource Center

By / / Field Notes, Views / 3 minutes of reading

Aspiring small business owners in Baltimore are gaining a powerful new ally, right in the heart of downtown.  Baltimore Community Lending (BCL) will launch its new headquarters and Business Development & Resource Center (BD&RC) on June 18, 2025. The new facilities at 301 N Calvert St. reflect BCL’s recent expansion of its mission to revitalize

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United South Broadway Corporation: A Holistic Model of Community Development

By / / Field Notes, Views / 3 minutes of reading

NCRC member organization United South Broadway Corporation (USBC) is a shining example of what it looks like when an organization tackles a problem holistically. The community development corporation was created to help low-income community members purchase homes in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Since then, it has grown statewide, establishing community programs that have changed the outcomes

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“Opportunity Zones” for Whom? Lack of Equitable Development Outcomes Highlights Need for Reforms to Key Program

By / / Policy, Research, Views / 7 minutes of reading

In most American communities, one will see sleek, newly constructed luxury apartments, a variety of trendy eateries, carefully manicured shrubbery and the new well-to-do residents seemingly without a care in the world on one block. Then, one will see the bleak, dilapidated buildings, gaudy fast-food restaurants, tree-barren landscapes and the established residents that are struggling

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NCRC Member Advances Housing Accessibility And Sustainability In Rural New Mexico

By / / Field Notes, Views / 3 minutes of reading

For over half a century, Tierra del Sol Housing Corporation has been a trailblazer in the community development sphere, providing single and multi-family housing to farmworkers, seniors and lower-income individuals across rural New Mexico. For most of those years, executive director Rose Garcia has been at the heart and helm of the organization. A Latina

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Empty Shelves and the Possibility of a Recession: May 2025 Race, Jobs and the Economy Update

By / / Research, Views / 6 minutes of reading

Analysis of Topline Figures in the May BLS Report The economy added 177,000 jobs in April while the unemployment rate remained at 4.2%. The February and March job gains were revised down by 15,000 and 43,000, respectively.  The April job gains came primarily in the healthcare and education (+58,000), transportation and warehousing (+29,000), and leisure

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