COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ADVOCATES OF DETROIT ANNUAL REPORT 2018 WHERE DETROIT HAPPENS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR LETTER WHO WE ARE CDAD is a membership organization for community development Dear Friends, and neighborhood improvement groups, enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of its members and detroit residents through 2018 was the 20th anniversary for Community Development Advocates of Detroit (CDAD). For twenty advocacy, training, technical assistance, information sharing, years we have worked to effectively serve our members, the organizations that work to make Detroit’s education, and facilitating common action. neighborhoods better for all. This year, we continued our focus on Building Neighborhood Power through public policy advocacy, community engagement, capacity building and specific projects focused on supporting and fostering strong neighborhoods. CDAD increased its reach, member benefits, general membership and funding. Our partnerships and collaborative projects have grown. Our storytelling initiative grew to include a partnership with Detroit Public Television to highlight member work and better inform media stories. Our advocacy on affordable housing needs resulted in valuable data, reports and partnerships that cross sectors. We expanded our community engagement work, supporting engagement processes for neighborhood planning work throughout the city. We tried new things in an effort to better connect and engage with members. Our Lunch & Learns were the most well-attended of any ever, hosted in different locations by CDAD members. We held subject-matter conversations during membership meetings to connect members with similar interests. Our storytelling services for and about members increased and have greater reach. 2018 was also a year of other milestones for CDAD. We were honored to be selected as a 2018 recipient of the Neighborhood Builders Award from Bank of America. This generous award supports not only CDAD operations and leadership but also cultivates emerging leadership. We held our second annual Community Development Week with increased participation and a 20th anniversary reception honoring past and present CDAD leadership. OUR CORE VALUES CDAD programs and activities are guided by these core values: The national narrative about Detroit is one of recovery and revitalization. CDAD members and the residents they serve recognize that this is not the complete story. We celebrate Detroit wins but will EQUITY the right of everyone to participate, make decisions and continue to support and advocate for our members working to achieve a recovery that is equitable determine the future of their neighborhoods and community. and benefits all Detroiters. INTERGRITY performing our work in a way that inspires trust, is Thank you for all that you do to make Detroit better. Thank you to our members, funders, and transparent, and accountable. partners for your continued participation, funding and support. We strive to do more and be better. RESPECT for ourselves, colleagues, members, partners and specifically the expertise of Detroit residents. DIVERSITY appreciation and inclusion of different viewpoints, experiences, cultures and backgrounds throughout all Sarida Scott facets of our work. Executive Director NEIGHBORHOOD BUILDERS AWA R D In September 2018, CDAD was honored with the Neighborhood Builders Award from Bank of America. Through Neighborhood Builders®, Bank of America invests in nonprofit leaders so that they can more effectively address pressing community COMMUNITY needs. This award provides a unique combination of leadership development for the executive director and an emerging leader, $200,000 in flexible funding DEVELOPMENT and a network of peer organizations across the U.S. WEEK CDAD’s 2nd Annual Community Development Week engaged over 200 participants in nine events over five days to highlight Detroit’s Community Development sector and build networks and relationships. Events Included • Breaking in, and Building a Career in Community Development • CDAD’s 20th Anniversary Reception • Detroit 67 Project Placemaking Tour • Community Development: Beyond Bricks and Mortar • Racial Equity Training, Foreclosure Update from the Coalition to End Unconstitutional Tax Foreclosures • Real Talk Real Change: Who is Planning the Future of Your Neighborhood • Capacity Building for Community Development Practitioners • The Connected Communities Approach 2018 MILESTONES COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Through meaningful community engagement, we support residents and neighborhood-based organizations to guide the vision for Detroit’s future. We foster thoughtful collaboration, resource- sharing and networking among our more than 150 members to help create strong and vibrant Detroit neighborhoods. CDAD Events CDAD hosts and partners on a range of events that help our members build capacity, lift their voices, and connect with critical information, resources and potential partners. In 2018, more than 1,000 people attended CDAD sponsored conferences, trainings, networking events, and more! CDAD Events Caucus Meetings as important to Community Development. The five topic areas were: Funding/Organizational Sustainability, CDAD’s District Based Caucuses provide a platform Inclusion in Community Development Work (Youth/ for our members and other stakeholders in each City Diversity), Community Development Organization - Council District to share information, build relationships Grassroots Collaboration, Community Land Trusts, and improve partnerships across their district. Our City-CDAD Member Relations. district board representatives play a critical role as a connecting point between members in their district and CDAD and in planning caucus activities. Lunch and Learn Series In 2018, CDAD hosted twelve Caucus meetings, with CDAD’s Lunch and Learn series aims to address over 250 attendees across all City Council Districts. trending community development topics through The Community Engagement team took a new approach collective conversation in a relaxed atmosphere. Each to the Caucus meetings, which included working Lunch and Learn was hosted at a different community closely with the CDAD District Board Representatives site. We invited a few practitioners to speak about the Community Engagement Consulting Services to plan the details of each meeting. With their thought selected topic and then opened up the discussion to partnership, all of the meetings had an agenda that was all attendees. With close to 70 attendees at the three reflective of the interests, needs and relevant events events, the conversations were robust and reflective As Detroit neighborhoods have been receiving increased city on its engagement efforts and played a central role and projects happening in that specific district. As a of many different perspectives on the selected topics. planning and development attention, CDAD has always in designing and organizing community outreach and result, each Caucus meeting had a unique format, with In 2019, we hosted discussions on Community put a priority on ensuring that our members are feedback activities. Specifically, CDAD led planning, different speakers covering a large range of topics. Development and Design, Community Organizing and appropriately engaged in any process that logistics, and facilitation of the following aspects of the Urban Agriculture. impacts their neighborhood. To that end, in 2018 Jefferson Chalmers planning process: Membership Meetings CDAD began working as a contracted community Developing Vibrant Communities engagement sub consultant to the City of Detroit and • “Residents in Action” stakeholder committee with CDAD hosted six Membership meetings over the other government agencies and successfully bid and 20 members meeting nine times to advise and give CDAD partners with CEDAM to present the annual course of the year and engaged over 160 attendees. In interviewed on several proposals. feedback to the planning process response to feedback from prior Membership meetings, Developing Vibrant Communities Conference. With • Four large “town hall” community meetings with we introduced a new meeting format. The first half of the over 170 people registered from all over the state In 2018, CDAD worked with the City of Detroit Planning over 125 attendees at each meeting included presentations, announcements and of Michigan, the 2018 conference provided a unique and Development Department to lead community • More than 25 focus groups and small meetings updates related to the sector, including presentations opportunity for Community Development practitioners engagement for the Jefferson Chalmers Neighborhood attended from City officials, policy advocates, and local of all different backgrounds to learn and network with Framework plan. CDAD’s community engagement tea • Creation of the Jefferson Chalmers Citizens guide community development initiatives. The second half one another. The session offerings covered a diverse worked closed with City departments, the consultant with over 2,000 distributed and 500 surveys of each membership meeting consisted of recurring range of topics including neighborhood-based housing team, and Jefferson Chalmers residents and community completed topical table-top discussions for attendees to engage in and real estate development, financial empowerment, organizations to make sure that neighborhood residents • Door-to-door outreach and surveying deep-dive conversations around topics they identified fair housing policy and advocacy, inclusive engagement were actively involved in the