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Assignment Detroit, A Special Time Inc. Project
Darrell Dawsey's interview with Detroit LISC Executive Director, Deborah L. Younger, in two parts.......
Lay of the Land, Part 1: How Detroit's Housing Crisis Got Worse
Lay of the Land, Part 2: Turning Around Detroit's Neighborhoods
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The D's Next Decade
10 Ideas, Projects, and Places that Can Create Detroit’s Future
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Credit Crunch Forces CDCs to Scale Back, Rethink
By Nancy Kaffer, Crain’s Detroit Business
Community development corporations pour millions of dollars into Detroit's neighborhoods and commercial districts each year. And as the credit market has frozen, these nonprofit entities have been left sitting on properties they can't move. Now, CDC leaders say they're in the midst of a sea change in how neighborhood development happens in Detroit.
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Van Dyke Corridor Businesses Get Facade Improvements
By Nancy Kaffer, Crain’s Detroit Business
Ten businesses along the Van Dyke corridor have completed façade improvements with the assistance of matching funds grants from the Van Dyke-8 Mile Gateway Collaborative and the Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corp.
The façade improvement program represents an approximate $500,000 investment in the corridor, according to statements released Wednesday by the organizations.
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LISC Invests $3M over 3 Years into Detroit Community Development Orgs
By Kelli B. Kavanaugh, Model D
Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation will invest $1 million annually for three years into the city's community development organizations. Its motivation? The current economic situation and its impact on the community development industry.
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Group to Invest $3 Million to Support Nonprofits
Detroit Free Press
The Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corp. announced this week it will invest $3 million starting now through 2011 to preserve and support nonprofit community development organizations working to improve neighborhoods in Detroit.
LISC officials said it is making the investment to help community development organizations adjust in the sluggish economy, reorganize and build an organizational structure that is more resistant to economic downturns.
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LISC Accepting Nominations for CDC of the Year
By Kelli B. Kavanaugh, Model D
Is your neighborhood a better place because of the efforts of your local community development corporation? If so, nominate it for Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation's (LISC) 9th Annual Detroit Community Development Awards.
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DEVELOPMENT: Green facility sought
By Staff and News Services, Detroit Free Press
KeyBank, Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corp. and Wayne County Economic Development are partnering in helping the Northeast Guidance Center's efforts to assist individuals and families, enabling the nonprofit organization to build a more efficient green facility, the Conner Campus.
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Volunteers Clean, Beautify 4 Detroit Parks
By Nick Meyer, Free Press Staff Writer
Community spirit was alive and well across Detroit today as volunteers joined Wayne State University students to clean and beautify four Detroit parks and playfields. The annual Warrior Service Day kicked off at WSU’s campus 8:45 a.m. as volunteers worked with neighborhood citizens to restore the locations into places that families and kids can enjoy again.
The sites included Eliza Howell Park at Telegraph and Fenkell, Lipke Playfield and Robinwood Playground at 7 Mile and Van Dyke, Clark Park at Vernor and Clark, Cannon Recreation Center and Balduck Park at Cadieux and Warren.
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Earth Day Activities Begin Early
By Santiago Esparza, The Detroit News
Kayla Kopke looked around Clark Park today and smiled. The 21-year-old Detroiter was proud she was among the 50 volunteers who spent the early part of the day clearing trash and touching up positive murals at the park in southwest Detroit. "I love cleaning up parks; especially when you have a big crew," the Wayne State University student said. "You can make a big difference. There is nothing better I could be doing today."
The volunteers, some of whom were area residents, are part of the thousands who took to Metro Detroit parks to celebrate the pending April 22 Earth Day. Detroit LISC and WSU students teamed for the cleanup at Clark Park and three other sites in the city and dubbed their efforts Warrior Day, after the name of WSU's sports teams.
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Detroit Development News: LISC invests $30.5M
By Kelli B. Kavanaugh, Model D
Detroit LISC invested $30.5 million into Detroit community and neighborhood development in 2008, which is the largest annual investment made in its 19-year history in the city. Most of this money was spread among 30 community development partners in its five targeted geographic areas: Central Woodward ($22.1 million); East ($980,000); Northeast ($614,000); Northwest ($346,000); and Southwest ($5.5 million).
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Philanthropy Must Turn More Attention to Housing Issues
By Jonathan Fanton, President of the MacArthur Foundation, published in The Chronicle of Philanthropy:
The American economy cannot recover without a turnaround in housing. While the federal government considers what additional steps to take to help homeowners and the housing market, American philanthropy need not wait to play a role in solving the crisis and helping to spur a recovery. Grant makers must understand that even if housing is not a part of their direct mission, it affects just about every type of effort to aid American families and improve neighborhoods across the country.
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Cities Now and Tomorrow Series
The Free Press and editorial writer Jeff Gerritt deserve an enthusiastic round of applause for delving into the depth and breadth of the seemingly forgotten national challenges facing our urban areas in the year-long editorial series, “Cities Now and Tomorrow.” Those of us in the Detroit community should especially be applauding this series for its recognition of the problems and opportunities facing metropolitan Detroit and the need for us to collaborate as a region.