It's Not the Size of Your CDC That Matters; It's How You Use It

Patrick Morrissy discusses his experience with HANDS, a small-scale community development corporation that's made a big impact in Orange, N.J. CDCs can stay relevant, he says, not if they go to scale, but if they take risks in a leadership role.

1 minute read

September 2, 2013, 1:00 PM PDT

By jodi@nhi.org @shelterforce


"If you think what’s wrong with CDCs today is their failure to “go to scale,” you are looking in the fundamentally wrong direction, asking the wrong questions.

While I do believe it’s essential for CDCs to be well capitalized and capable of transacting real estate business to be effective, I also believe that a CDC’s worth lies with: (1) its chosen role within its community, (2) the set of strategies chosen to achieve the desired impact, and (3) the methods it employs on behalf of those strategies. The bottom line is the impact that results from this practice."

Monday, August 26, 2013 in Shelterforce

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

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