As of January 1, 2022, elected officials may not participate in making or administering contracts to nonprofit organizations with which they are associated. This prohibition is part of SB 473 which aims to prohibit conflicts of interest among local...
"Your Town Council wants to establish a group to make recommendations to the Council about allocating funds coming to the Town under the American Rescue Plan. The Council is thinking about establishing a committee of Town staff and local stakeholders, but is also...
Keep your local authorities and nonprofits in good working condition Every county has an industrial authority (whether you know it or not). Most cities and towns will have a housing authority (sometimes whether you know it or not). Did you ever create a nonprofit...
Many North Carolina local governments wrestle with how to fund those valued local nonprofits that are effectively doing good work in the community. There are a variety of approaches for annually funding operating expenses, but occasionally the question arises of how...
Early Days
In the late 1990’s and early 2000’s, Community Development Corporations (CDC’s) were the prime innovators in North Carolina’s urban and rural corridors for revitalization, affordable housing and small retail development. Organizations like Northwest Corridor CDC in Charlotte, Project Homestead in Greensboro and Rocky Mount-Edgecombe CDC were very successful in both housing and small retail development. Metropolitan Housing in Washington, NC excelled in both housing and health services. These organizations demonstrated that nonprofits were ideal vehicles and partners for Community Economic Development (CED) long before the term was coined.
However, after the General Assembly withdrew its formidable support of these organizations and groups like the Rural Center, the Association of CDC’s and the North Carolina Community Development Initiative lost the capital to support these CDC’s, the work has slowed to a trickle. But CED may be the renaissance these groups need.