Our Trip to Philly: Learning in Community, with Community

In May, I had the opportunity to lead a 26-person delegation from Newark that Victoria Foundation took on a learning trip to Philadelphia. Together with leaders from eight Community Development Corporations (CDCs), three intermediaries and three other Newark funders, we spent two days in Philadelphia visiting organizations doing innovative work to fight neighborhood displacement and build community wealth.

I was especially excited that we had so many organizational leaders with us, ready to learn together about collective advocacy and shared ownership models. This trip was an opportunity to bring back practical inspiration on real estate development of, by and for neighborhood residents and on ways that CDCs can collaborate to secure more resources and improve the regulatory environment for all Newark neighborhoods.

"It was great to host an amazing group of folks from Newark back in May to share KCT's work and to share more about our model of community ownership and its potential in Newark," said Adriana Abizadeh, Executive Director of the Kensington Corridor Trust. "We're looking forward to staying in touch as Newark-based groups take next steps in our shared fight to own our neighborhoods to ensure neighbors can self-determine their futures."

The delegation met with the Kensington Corridor Trust (KCT), a unique community ownership model that now holds 32 properties along four blocks of Kensington Avenue stewarded on behalf of about 32,000 residents. The KCT, using a Perpetual Purpose Trust, holds property in perpetuity for community benefit and leverages that ownership to generate deeply affordable rental housing and support local businesses. It has a community-led governance structure that maintains accountability and a staff focused on organizing, high-performance building development, property management, and narrative work. Our delegation took a tour of the corridor and came away with much food for thought about opportunities along some of Newark's commercial corridors.

The group was especially inspired by the thoughtful and hands-on support KCT offered small business owners along the corridor, accompanying them on their journeys as entrepreneurs. At Sherri's Diner, a long-standing establishment now owned by a Kensington resident who started at the cash register, Newark participants heard how much preserving the restaurant meant not just to her as a small business owner, but to the multi-generational, multi-ethnic clientele who came over many years to enjoy good food and each other's company. Things really opened up when we found out that the owner was originally from Newark! Anyone reading this blog is encouraged to stop by Sherri's for lunch next time they are in Philadelphia and then to go home and support their own small local businesses.

"Watching the city of Philly from the rooftop of Esperanza Health Center makes us dream of how our multi-service housing development project could also have a rooftop like this with a 360 view of our city and New York skyline at the same time," shared Maritza Aráuz, executive director of FOCUS Hispanic Center for Community Development, Inc.

After a great local lunch, thanks to connections made by our peers at the Regional Foundation, the team heard from a panel of four neighborhood groups about their efforts to maintain cultural vibrancy and affordability in their neighborhoods. HACE, Impact Services, Strawberry Mansion CDC, and Olney Community Collaborative staff shared insights and took questions about building and maintaining truly affordable housing in a competitive real estate market. They discussed capital stacks and regulatory context for housing development, building relationships across language and cultural groups, and supporting small businesses as key anchors of community life.

"The visit to Philadelphia's Kensington corridor challenged my expectations. Beyond the stories often centered on addiction, I saw a community focused on revitalization and long-term investment. Learning how the organization is purchasing and owning properties to strengthen the neighborhood was especially inspiring and is an aspiration for the South Ward Special Improvement District as we continue investing in the future of our Newark South Ward community," reflected Ronice Bruce, executive director of the South Ward special improvement district.

The team spent the following morning with the Philadelphia Association of CDCs hearing about substantial wins for community development achieved through collective advocacy as well as robust technical assistance and leadership development offerings for members. Participants came away inspired by the millions in public funds PACDC has unlocked for affordable housing, the nonprofit set-aside in Pennsylvania's Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program, and the range of supports and networking platforms available to Philly CDCs.

"Philadelphia and Newark share many of the same issues when it comes to community development. It was a pleasure to be with peers from Newark and to share some of what we've been able to achieve by bringing CDCs together and supporting their goals," said Rick Sauer, Executive Director of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations. "We're excited to hear that the Newark Community Development Network is taking next steps toward formalization and glad to offer our lessons learned as they proceed."

Newark's own Richard Cammarieri of New Community Corporation, who for years has coordinated the Newark Community Development Network (NCDN), shared that the group was taking steps toward formalizing to deepen the work of that coalition.

Victoria Foundation is a long-time supporter of Newark's CDCs, and in many cases provided seed funding along with decades of general operating support. So it was a special pleasure to have the chance to travel and learn with eight of them, along with intermediaries and peer foundations. We're inspired to plan more learning trips and to keep expanding our collective thinking about what's possible in Newark. Participants in the Philly learning trip included: FOCUS, BRICK, La Casa de Don Pedro, New Community Corporation, Lincoln Park Coast Cultural District, Ironbound Community Corporation, Urban League of Essex County, United Community Corporation, Clinton Hill Community Action; LISC NJ, Invest Newark and the South Ward Special Improvement District; and staff from peer funders: Prudential Foundation, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and the Regional Foundation. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation generously supported the trip.

Now that we're back, we've gathered participant survey responses and held a debrief over zoom. The group is excited to take next steps on working together to unlock more resources for affordable housing development via a stronger Newark Community Development Network. There's also enthusiasm for working collaboratively across neighborhoods to explore new shared ownership structures and financing models. Finally, there was consensus that small businesses and commercial corridors deserve a bigger place in Newark's community development conversations.

While the CDCs continue their conversation about formalizing and staffing NCDN, the participating funders will also meet to discuss possibilities for mobilizing philanthropic resources to support promising next steps especially with regard to community ownership.