What is Community Development?

 
Community development refers to the process of improving the economic, social, and environmental well-being of communities through collaborative efforts. It involves empowering residents, fostering local leadership, and creating sustainable solutions that enhance quality of life. This approach often includes strategies for affordable housing, job creation, and infrastructure improvement, emphasizing the importance of community participation and partnership among stakeholders. Community development work can fall under any of our five pillars, including Community Engagement, Food Access, Financial Empowerment, Affordable Housing and Community Economic Engagement.

What are Community Development Corporations?

 
Community Development Corporations are non-profit organizations created to support and revitalize communities, especially those that have high concentrations of poverty, disinvestment, or are struggling with other challenges. In this context, ‘community’ is often geographically specific, however since the establishment of the first CDCs decades ago, the concept of ‘community’ has grown. Community could be any group with common identifying factors, or a physical location, also dedicated to improving the quality of life and growing healthy, vibrant places. CDCs are self-identified. There is no specific certification or tax category that distinguishes a CDC from any other non-profit organization. Your organization could be a CDC in practice, and may benefit from membership in the Ohio CDC Association.
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Our Mission

The Ohio CDC Association is a statewide membership organization that fosters vibrant neighborhoods and improves the quality of life in all communities through advocacy and capacity building of our member agencies. 

Our Vision

OCDCA's vision is the creation of a community development environment that comprehensively improves life opportunities for all Ohioans.
The Ohio Community Development Corporation Association (OCDCA) is a statewide membership organization of over 250 locally-based rural and urban nonprofits. OCDCA is dedicated to fostering vibrant neighborhoods and improving the quality of life in all Ohio communities through advocacy and capacity building of its member agencies.

OCDCA continually strives to grow its membership in order to best leverage resources, grow skills, and learn from the experiences of others, across the spectrum of community development work. Community work is hard, and OCDCA is dedicated to creatively finding ways to help each other in this difficult work.

Based on feedback from our membership, Ohio CDC Association currently focuses its efforts in five initiative areas, including: Community Engagement, Food Access, Financial Empowerment, Affordable Housing and Community Economic Engagement.
 

Our History

The Ohio CDC Association was formed in 1984 through the efforts of the National Congress for Community Economic Development, the Neighborhood Development Corporation Association of Cincinnati, and the George Gund Foundation. From 1983-1985, OCDCA was a project of the Neighborhood Development Corporation (NDC) Association of Cincinnati, a local association of CDCs. OCDCA was incorporated in 1984 and received its 501(c)(3) in 1985, separating it from the NDC Association. In 1988, OCDCA moved it’s offices to Columbus in order to more effectively function as a statewide organization.

Throughout our 40-year history, the Ohio CDC Association has been listening to members and responding with resources to help build capacity, advocate, and develop public policy toward a mission of fostering socially and economically healthy communities. We will continue to collaborate with diverse partners at the national, regional, state and local levels to bring an even higher level of service to our members, so they can fulfill their vision of improving life opportunities for every resident.

We are proud to have been part of the development of Ohio CDC's and are looking forward to the future. 

OCDCA Milestones

  • OCDCA Led and staffed the task force that created the Ohio Community Development Finance Fund from 1987-89 and secured its first private sector funding
  • Helped craft HB 339, enabling legislation from Issue 1, which made housing a public purpose in Ohio in the early 1990's.
  • Worked with the Ohio Dept. of Development to create the Microenterprise Business Development Grant Program within item 431 in 1994, providing aprx. $500,000 in grants annually.
  • Previously administered by the state of Ohio, in 2013 OCDCA assumed direction of the OH Microbusiness Development Program.
  • Within the Ohio Credit Union League, established the Ohio IDA Network in 2001, a quarterly forum for IDA practitioners, financial institutions, and others
  • In 2017 and 2018 OCDCA became a leader of Ohioans for Payday Loan Reform, working with Pew Charitable Trusts and coalitions of other industry leaders. In July of 2018 the Ohio Fairness in Lending Act (HB 123) became law.
  • Helped secure state approval for an increase in the recordation fee as a permanent source for the state Housing Trust Fund in 2003 and helped to preserve funding for the CDC Grant Program with the Housing Trust Fund.
  • in 2019 the ongoing advocacy efforts of OCDCA and other statewide advocacy organizations culminated with the legislature approving $4-5 million in additional annual trust fund funding.
  • Placed over nearly 700 AmeriCorps VISTA members with CDC members in the areas of affordable housing, community organizing, CED and asset building since 1995
  • In 2018, through a partnership with the Caresource Foundation, OCDCA launched the Empowering Communities program, which supported innovative, community-driven projects that addressed social determinants of health across Ohio. In 2024 we launched a Lucas Co. version of the program.
  • For over 40 years OCDCA’s annual conference has provided an opportunity for intensive training and networking for out members and aligned organizations.

Transparency

Ohio CDC Association is committed to fiscal stewardship and transparency.
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