Ongoing Projects:
Community League of the Heights (CLOTH). WCC has a long-standing relationship with CLOTH, a community-based organization in southern Washington Heights, NY that builds affordable housing and provides educational programs, social services, and other vital community needs. Over several years, WCC has provided targeted organizational development assistance to assist CLOTH through a period of significant change and growth. This work has included strategic planning, staffing, budgeting, and programming.
Hope Community Development Agency. WCC works with this East Biloxi nonprofit organization (formerly the East Biloxi Coordination, Relief, and Redevelopment Agency) on a range of capacity building areas. William Stallworth, City Councilman for East Biloxi, established the organization just two days after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Coast to meet the immediate food, shelter, and medical needs of residents. WCC has an ongoing partnership with Hope CDA and has provided a range of organizational development assistance, including strategic planning and fundraising.
National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (NCAPACD). WCC evaluated NCAPACD’s two-year national technical assistance initiative that has provided funds and assistance to organizations working in six cities across the U.S. NCAPACD is an advocacy member organization dedicated to addressing the community development, organizing, and advocacy needs of Asian American and Pacific Islander communities. WCC first produced a baseline report on the participating organizations and then authored a complete evaluation on the program’s successes, challenges, and lessons learned that was completed in spring 2007.
Completed Projects:
Health and Education Alternatives for Teens (HEAT). WCC assisted HEAT, a comprehensive health and social services program for HIV- infected and at-risk youth, in designing and implementing a youth survey to assess attitudes towards HIV testing and counseling. WCC also conducted a survey of local healthcare facilities to assess the availability of services skilled in providing youth-oriented care. Based on the survey findings, focus groups, and the healthcare delivery overview, WCC provided comprehensive recommendations for increasing HIV prevention and treatment for youth, including program design, community collaborations, and policy development.
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC). WCC worked with LISC’s Los Angeles office to develop an information packet to highlight community development initiatives for funders and public partners. These projects included an innovative healthcare outreach and delivery program and a comprehensive community building effort. In addition, WCC developed an outreach program to attract public, corporate, and philanthropic interest and support.
Lower 9th Ward Neighborhood Empowerment Network Association (NENA). WCC supported NENA’s work to rebuild community and housing in New Orleans’ Lower 9th Ward. NENA, which is led by a local resident, Patricia Jones, is a resident -organized and -controlled community development organization formed in the aftermath of Katrina. WCC’s work included providing capacity building services through fundraising and strategic planning, as well as assisting with the design of an affordable housing program for the neighborhood.
Renaissance Economic Development Corporation. WCC assisted Renaissance in developing and capitalizing as a CDFI. This work included preparing a comprehensive business plan for the organization, developing funding proposals to local and regional banks, and submitting a successful $360,000 request to the U.S. Department of Treasury. A highlight of WCC’s activities was the creation of a loan fund to serve immigrant small business owners in Chinatown and the Lower East Side in the aftermath of 9/11. This $12 million emergency working capital loan pool provided low-interest loans of up to $150,000 on an expedited basis for affected small businesses.