March 23rd Leadership Conference for the faith Based Development Initiative of Enterprise Community Partners

From email:

WHAT: Enterprise Faith Based Development Initiative Affordable Housing Leadership Conference
WHEN: 8:30am - 1:30pm, Thursday, March 23, 2017
WHERE: The Capital City Hall of Distinction, 1251 Saratoga Avenue, NE, Washington, D.C., 20018

ENTERPRISE FAITH BASED DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE TO UNVEIL NEW HOUSING INITIATIVE FOR MID-ATLANTIC REGION & PRESENT HOUSING AFFORDABILITY REPORT

Religious Leaders, Housing Advocates, Developers and City Leaders to Tackle Affordable Housing Solutions at Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.


On Thursday, March 23, The Enterprise Faith Based Development Initiative (FBDI) will host a leadership conference with religious institutions, housing advocates and developers to examine affordable housing solutions and unveil a new initiative to create 1,000 additional affordable housing units by 2020. FBDI will also present an opportunity index report that shows a Mid-Atlantic snapshot on homelessness, poverty, housing affordability, and income.

The leadership conference celebrates 10 years of success that FBDI has achieved in bringing over $45 million invested in grants, loans and tax credit equity supporting 500 new units of affordable housing and community facilities, with over 1,100 more homes in the pipeline.

The theme, "Developing Faith: Houses of Worship as Catalysts for Community Change." explores the roles religious institutions play in communities; how gentrification affects those communities, especially long-term residents; the new generation of millennials; diminishing congregations; and the changing conditions and locations of poverty. Panelists will also examine success stories that show how faith-based organizations have created public and private partnerships that have enabled them to fulfill their vision of improving communities.

SPEAKERS: Pastor Tony Lee, Community of Hope AME; Pastor Kendrick Curry, Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church; Pastor Sarah Harrison McQueen, Central United Methodist Church; Imam Talib Shareef, Masjid Muhammad; Rev. Matthew L. Watley, Reid Temple A.M.E. Church; Former U.S. Congressman Rev. Dr. Floyd Flake, Greater Allen A. M. E. Cathedral of New York; Harold Fisher, WHUR, Daily Drum; Susan Etherton, Arlington​​ Presbyterian Church; Pastor Leonard Hamlin, Macedonia Baptist Church; Pastor Joaquin Willis, Church of the Open Door and Founding National VP, Collective Empowerment Group; Panelist/Moderator: Rev. Donald Isaac, SE Tabernacle Panelists: Pastor Joseph Daniels, Emory United Methodist Church; Pastor Donte Hickman, Southern Baptist Church; Pastor Patrice Sheppard, Living Word Church/Far SW/SE CDC; Chapman Todd, Jaydot LLC *There will be additional housing industry leaders speaking at the conference*

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While I have written quite a bit about how churches can be community-destabilizing:

-- "Losing my religion: Shiloh Baptist Church and Neighborhood Destabilization," 2005
-- "Losing my religion: part 27," 2008
-- "The co-existence of streetcars and churches elsewhere ought to counter anti-streetcar arguments by churches in DC today," 2014
-- "Zoning and religion," 2010
-- "Churches, community, religion and change," 2015

a number of faith-based CDCs come to mind that do interesting work.  Standouts include:

• Bethel New Life CDC in Chicago ("Bethel New Life, Chicago: A case study of community transformation, HealthCare Forum; "Bethel New Life hopes service handoff leads to stability," Crain's Chicago Business)
• Famicos Foundation in Cleveland ("Assisting People with Housing," NEOCH; presentation)
• the portfolio investments of the Abyssinian Development Corporation in Harlem--even if the victories sometimes come with problems too ("Rev. Calvin Butts seeks salvation for the church-based organization that resurrected Harlem," Crain's New York Business). 

But there are many other such examples of faith-based community development initiatives that do well by doing good. (Although they are probably outnumbered by the bad.)