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How to Convince Your Boss to Send You to the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference
How to Convince Your Boss to Send You to the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference

So you want to attend the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference (RVP). It sounds awesome, right? Three days of networking, learning relevant skills, and seeing real-life examples of neighborhood revitalization up close. But your boss needs some convincing. After all, you’ll have to be away from your day job and spend…

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Tips for a Successful Session Proposal for the 2024 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference
Tips for a Successful Session Proposal for the 2024 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference

How to write a session proposal for the Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference that will get noticed.

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Meet Kat Guillaume-Delemar, President & CEO of Community Progress
Meet Kat Guillaume-Delemar, President & CEO of Community Progress

For Kat Guillaume-Delemar, community revitalization is a deeply personal journey.

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A Message from President and CEO Akilah Watkins
A Message from President and CEO Akilah Watkins

Dear friends and supporters of the Center for Community Progress, With great sadness and great gratitude, I announce that I will be departing from the Center for Community Progress at the end of 2022, to assume the role of President and CEO of Independent Sector. Over these last five years…

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Lessons from 2022 VAD Academy
Lessons from 2022 VAD Academy

On June 15, more than 900 people joined us for the 2022 VAD Academy—a day-long virtual bootcamp for professionals and community partners whose work and communities are impacted by vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated (VAD) property challenges. Throughout the day, experts from Community Progress led trainings on the causes of systemic…

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Submitting a Session Proposal for the 2022 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference? Read This First.
Submitting a Session Proposal for the 2022 Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference? Read This First.

If you’re here, it probably means you’re thinking about submitting a session proposal to Community Progress’ flagship conference, Reclaiming Vacant Properties. Luckily, we’ve got you covered with some tips for writing a good session proposal that’ll grab our interest, and your attendees’ interest too!  Begin at the end: What will…

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#LoveThatLot 2022: Show Your Favorite Formerly Vacant Lots Some Love
#LoveThatLot 2022: Show Your Favorite Formerly Vacant Lots Some Love

February is a special month at the Center for Community Progress. And that’s because it’s time for our annual Valentine’s Day celebration, #LoveThatLot, where you share with us your favorite revitalization projects and community champions, and show them some love too! Here’s how to participate: Share your favorite community revitalization…

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Community Progress Weighs in on $350 Billion ARPA State and Local Recovery Fund
Community Progress Weighs in on $350 Billion ARPA State and Local Recovery Fund

Center for Community Progress recently submitted a public comment letter in response to the Treasury Department’s Interim Final Rule (“IFR”) implementing the American Rescue Plan Act’s (“ARPA”) $350 billion State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund (“SLFRF”). The public comment period is open through Friday, July 16, 2021, and public comments…

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Michigan Initiatives Quarterly Update: April – June 2021
Michigan Initiatives Quarterly Update: April – June 2021

This quarterly update from Community Progress’ Michigan Initiatives team highlights important revitalization news and resources from across the state. For specific inquiries or to share how your community is addressing vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties in Michigan, email Payton Heins, Director of Michigan Initiatives at [email protected].

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New Paper by Alan Mallach – Making the Comeback: Reversing the Downward Trajectory of Black Middle Neighborhoods in Legacy Cities
New Paper by Alan Mallach – Making the Comeback: Reversing the Downward Trajectory of Black Middle Neighborhoods in Legacy Cities

In city after city, the Black middle neighborhoods face the most significant challenges and have seen the sharpest declines across the country when compared to other middle neighborhoods. Black middle neighborhoods lead in the struggle to receive public help, programs, amenities, and more. In a new paper, Making the Comeback:…

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A Word From Our CEO

Dear Fellow Impact Makers, We are in a pivotal moment. Too often in our history, crises like the current COVID-19 pandemic have been followed by profound inaction and avoidable missteps that we only acknowledged and addressed in retrospect. Yet, we know better. We know that the collaborative spirit of communities,…

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Event Update – Cornerstone Webinar Postponed, Recordings Available

To our Community Progress Partners and Supporters,  As we all face the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, we know you are playing vital roles in your communities, engaging in crucial tasks aimed at protecting public health and safety.   To show our support, we have made the decision to postpone our upcoming Cornerstone webinar, Strategic Code Enforcement: Building a “3-E” Ordinance Program…

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Community Progress Joins 200+ Nonprofits in Supporting “Charitable Sector: COVID-19 Relief and Economic Stimulus Package”

The Center for Community Progress is proud to join more than 200 fellow nonprofits including Smart Growth America,   Habitat for Humanity, United Way Worldwide, Meals on Wheels America, and Girl Scouts of the USA  in requesting support for a $60 billion infusion of support to nonprofits to enable them…

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#LoveThatLot – Help Tell America’s Big Revitalization Story, Score National Exposure

#ValentinesDay six years ago was just the start. For six years, you’ve shared #LoveThatLot stories of your revitalization wins that have turned vacant lots and homes into beautiful additions to your community. We can’t say thank you enough and how excited we are about your work… so excited that one…

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New Online Webinars: Middle Neighborhoods with Alan Mallach, Land Banking, Code Enforcement and More

          2020 Cornerstone Webinars Feature Updated Data and Trend Training from Community Progress This Spring, Community Progress will make staying up to date on the latest community development trends easy. Our 2020 Cornerstone Webinar series will focus on sharing new updates on important topics related to…

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Top 5 Community Progress Resources of 2019

Five Game-Changing Community Development Resources to Help Drive Revitalization What’s working in Community Development? Sixty thousand readers, 1,400 conference attendees, and thousands more downloaders and training attendees say these are the top Community Progress resources of 2019. Whether you work for a local government or are looking to turn your…

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#LoveThatLot Turns 5: Let’s celebrate amazing revitalization efforts!

For four years, you’ve helped #LoveThatLot blossom into the Valentine’s Day celebration for your favorite revitalization projects and community champions: 2015 – In its inaugural year, people were excited to participate via social media in a celebration of community gems and community champions. We received a number of great posts ranging…

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Building equitable communities: It takes systems reform, collaboration, and community wealth-building

The day-to-day work of community revitalization is intense and consuming. For all the talk of “breaking down silos,” it is a challenge to carve out the time and space for interdisciplinary learning. JPMorgan Chase and the Center for Community Progress (Community Progress) worked together recently to help make that cross-sector…

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Lots of love for #LoveThatLot! Highlights from the 2018 campaign

What an amazing year for #LoveThatLot! From in-person celebrations in Albany, New York, Baltimore, Maryland, and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to the many Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram posts that filled our newsfeed, we loved poring through all of the inspiring photos of your favorite revitalization projects and the community champions behind them. The…

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Time to #LoveThatLot — A Valentine’s Day campaign for revitalization projects!

Back again for the fourth year, it’s time to #LoveThatLot! ♥ In 2017, the #LoveThatLot campaign gained national momentum. You took to Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to share your love for revitalized spaces. A number of you hosted in-person celebrations to recognize those creating positive change in your community. In…

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