Cascade Briefs: October 2009

Interview with Diane Sterner, Executive Director, Housing and Community Development Network
Of New Jersey

The Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey is marking its 20th anniversary this year. Since it was incorporated in 1989, the network has grown from 34 initial members to over 250 members, including 150 community-based developers — often called community development corporations (CDCs) — and 100 other nonprofits, financial institutions, public agencies, private developers, and individuals. Diane Sterner became the network’s founding director in 1990. Keith Rolland interviewed her at the network’s offices in Trenton, N.J.

How are rising foreclosures, the economic crisis, and state and local funding shortfalls affecting the work of network members?

In a nutshell, these problems are creating more work for our members with fewer resources to do the work. It’s playing out differently in different communities. Some communities with higher concentrations of foreclosures are losing ground and are struggling to help residents avoid foreclosure and cope with the loss of jobs. Some of the stronger groups in northern New Jersey are doing well and are in a strong financial position and have been asked to take over projects.

There are opportunities in this difficult situation as CDCs try to get access to some of the new stimulus bill money that’s available. The stimulus funds are challenging because they come with a lot of strings attached and the timelines are short.

The majority of the network’s members are based in urban areas of New Jersey. How do you assess the health of New Jersey’s cities?

Diane Sterner, Executive Director, Housing and Community Development Network

Several years ago, the network began a systematic research effort to identify and analyze the key issues facing our older cities. Our aim was to examine both opportunities and problems to frame strategies that would enable state and local government to address them more effectively.

The first phase of this effort, a diagnostic assessment of the cities, resulted in the report Cities in Transition: New Jersey’s Urban Paradox in 2006. We found that the majority of cities had been improving. The challenge at the time was that a lot of the development was market development and the jobs created were for people at high skill levels so the benefits from an improving economy were not filtering down to long-term residents.

After the report came out, the economy tanked and the cities are in a lot of pain, just like most municipalities. Residents are losing jobs and foreclosures are a big issue. Cities have higher costs to stabilize buildings that aren’t being maintained. There’s a drain on municipal budgets and less money to fill financing gaps. We’re hoping that when the economy recovers, the cities will pick up where they left off instead of being further behind.

In May 2008, we did a follow-up report New Jersey and Its Cities: An Agenda for Urban Transformation.* In the report, we called for a new relationship in which the cities are seen as partners with the state in the revitalization of the older cities that works to benefit New Jersey as a whole.

What are the biggest challenges that New Jersey’s housing and community developers face today?

A lot of CDCs’ challenges are rooted in the difficult economic times and limited resources. The traditional sources of money have shrunk. As we pointed out in the follow-up report, some of nonprofits’ biggest needs are underfunded. A lot of money is targeted to particular programs rather than to organizing and planning activities, which help residents determine which activities and strategies the nonprofits should employ. Another big challenge is the shortage of CDC staff.

However, there are new opportunities. New technologies such as Facebook and LinkedIn can be used for fund-raising, planning, and social networking that enables people to keep in touch with each other and build their base. CDCs need to figure out better ways to collaborate and have as much impact as possible at a time of limited resources.

We’re looking at some examples around the country where CDCs and their partners are being very strategic. For example, in Essex County, N.J., 17 partners — including the city of Newark, Orange, East Orange, Irvington, and Montclair, a half dozen CDCs, and several other developers — put together a strong, creative proposal for Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2 funds to work in affected neighborhoods. We’re trying to build on each partner’s strengths and enhance the initiative’s ability. We’re looking for opportunities to assist other such collaborations.

Another area of opportunity is green development and retrofitting buildings. Some of our members have been working in this area for a long time, but there are new resources available, heightened concern about global warming, and leadership by New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine. Some of our members are coming up with very creative approaches, and our role is to help us learn from each other.

How do you think the shortage of seasoned CDC staff and leaders should be addressed?

We’re working on different strategies with different partners that have the ability to implement them. We need to inform young people in college and high school about the community development field and recruit people through career track programs. School internships and practicums will help young people get academic and practical experience in the field. We have some academic supporters working in this area. There’s another big opportunity involving mid-career people who have finished one career, have pensions, and want to give back to society. There are many such people who could be attracted to the field, and we need to reach them.

We also need to improve community development jobs by building career paths with good salaries and working conditions. We need professionalization of community development careers. We need funders to understand the importance of community developers having jobs that sustain them and their families.

Most CDC funding is targeted for specific projects or programs, but few resources exist for organizing residents, setting priorities, and creating a plan for change. What ideas do you have on how funds can be raised for this purpose?

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs provides an operating support program for nonprofit community development corporations through the department’s Office of Housing Advocacy. It is really helpful, but we need an additional program that provides a flexible source of money to help CDCs do important community organizing and planning work. Such work builds resident involvement and enables CDCs to become stronger organizations and implement strategies that will be transformational. We’re pursuing these ideas at the state level and at the national level through the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations (NACEDA) .

The network has written that New Jersey’s housing programs have developed piecemeal, without much thought as to how they work together or how scarce public funds can be used more cost-effectively. How is the network trying to change these elements of the present housing delivery system?

We’re approaching this from a couple of different angles. We encouraged the state to come up with a housing plan. Last year in the housing reform bill shepherded by Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts, Jr., we got a provision that would create a housing commission charged with developing a statewide housing development plan and leveraging resources as widely as possible. We’re waiting for commission members to be confirmed and are hoping that it will be a useful tool. We’re working to get input on individual programs from our members and are working with the state to make changes.

What are your personal and professional goals in the next decade?

I helped start NACEDA while I was on a James A. Johnson Fellowship from the Fannie Mae Foundation in 2006-07 and I want to help NACEDA to become strong and sustainable so it can address the needs of the community development sector and advocate for effective policies. It is a national voice for CDCs, and I want to see it firmly established in the constellation of players in Washington, D.C.

While I was on the fellowship, I also got involved in supporting community development in Central America. I started working with a group called PeaceWorks and it’s been an invigorating and rewarding opportunity to apply what I’ve learned about community development. I go once a year to Nicaragua and visit organizations that are doing community development and help them raise money.

I find it very inspiring to see the caliber of people in community development and their commitment, creativity, and incredible results. It takes special people to do this kind of work.

* An executive summary and the full report may be found at http://www.hcdnnj.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=85661 .

Cascade Briefs: October 2009

Interview with Diane Sterner, Executive Director, Housing and Community Development Network Of New Jersey

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Interview with Diane Sterner, Executive Director, Housing and Community Development Network
Of New Jersey