by N.H. Community Loan Fund
on August 21, 2024
Fundo de Ajuda a Desastres -
Apoie o Tanglewood Cooperative Park no restabelecimento da segurança da comunidade!
Apoie o Tanglewood Cooperative Park no restabelecimento da segurança da comunidade!
We recently had the honor of playing a central role in establishing New Hampshire's 150th resident-owned community (ROC) — Derry Oak Village Cooperative. Including Derry Oak, a 27-unit manufactured-home community, we have preserved homeownership for nearly 9,000 households. Over the last 40+ years, we have helped secure over 11,080 housing units. That’s a lot of homes. A lot of families. A lot of communities. It’s a lot of money lent so that our neighbors across the state can attain affordable housing.
Over the years, our Farm Food program has helped 84 farm and food businesses by lending over $14,000,000. That's a big number. Our coaching and guidance programs provide borrowers with access to the tools and skills that they need to be successful in creating a sustainable repayment plan. All together, we’ve spent over 500,000 hours helping our borrowers succeed. That’s a lot of time — over 56 years combined.
But while Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs), including us, love big impact numbers and celebrate these accomplishments, we also think it’s important to remember the little wins that happen for us and for our borrowers.
When it comes down to it, our accomplishments are most important to individuals and small communities. And we caution our fellow CDFIs not to lose sight of smaller life-altering little goals in pursuit of big numbers. We aren’t social media companies or influencers seeking followers and likes. Community is in our name. We are mindful of focusing there.
One of our programs grabs no headlines and has a very unassuming name — Infill. In a nutshell, infill is filling the empty lots in a ROC. We offer infill guidance to ROC Boards and have produced a video series on the subject. You might wonder why it matters that there are a few empty lots here and there. Well, it’s actually a big deal.
Many urban studies have shown how empty homes (or in our case lots) in communities have a wider impact. They lower property values in a community. They reduce morale in neighborhoods that feel neglected. This is most predominant in systematically excluded communities. And these are the communities we and other CDFIs serve.
On the other hand, filling in those lots creates multiple benefits. It helps build communities and can create meaningful connections between people. The ROC receives rental income from the lot. They often have small budgets to begin with and a few empty lots can mean the difference between doing maintenance or improvement work, or putting it off again and again.
And let’s not forget the boon to the people who move in. Evidence supports our belief that manufactured homes are part of the affordable housing solution that every state in America is trying to address. Each manufactured-home that fills a previously empty lot provides a place for an individual or a family. And the ripple effect of housing security is significant — for some people and families, it’s life changing.
One by one, little things as simple and hidden as infill add up. They create opportunities. Our small business lending creates opportunities — even when we’re financing something as simple as a point-of-sale system. It might sound basic, but that bit of technology can make the difference between a local business thriving or closing forever.
When small towns lose businesses, they take a hit both economically and socially. The same is true for locally-focused nonprofits, local and regional food and agriculture businesses, childcare centers, and all the other individual borrowers that CDFIs serve.
CDFIs that ignore the little things in favor of big wins and big numbers can miss out on the singular successes that are at the heart of our work. Be sure to pay attention to each win. If you don’t, you risk losing sight of the reason we do what we do. All together, programs that fly under the radar can make the difference between a thriving community, neighborhood, or town versus one that feels left behind as its residents see shuttered businesses and vacant lots.
The big numbers described above are important for understanding what’s been accomplished collectively. But effective CDFI leaders know that they get there by doing the little things. By paying attention to open lots and understanding that for each community and for each family that places a manufactured-home in one, these details can make a world of difference.