Exploring CDC Performances: Factors Impacting the Success of Community-Based Non-Profit Housing Developers

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the most prominent factors impacting the performance of community development corporations, or CDCs, as they strive to produce and rehabilitate affordable housing stock while empowering citizens to become involved in local issues of concern. Previous efforts have linked CDC success to several areas of capacity, including staff experience, the extent of ties to intermediary groups, and the degree of community involvement and representation in the organization. To test the strength of the relationship between such organizational attributes and the attainment of CDC objectives, an electronic questionnaire was submitted to a sample of CDC executive directors across the U.S. The data collected indicates that executive director tenure is moderately correlated with the number of funding sources held by each CDC. In addition, the number of informal ties to intermediaries, the freguency of community outreach meetings held annually, and the number of volunteers assisting CDCs in any capacity were also associated with greater access to funding, Finally, none of the studied capacity indicators had a significant corelation with either the revenue-expense ratio or the number of single-family housing units produced or rehabilitated annually. The results suggest that reducing turnover at the executive director position, working to foster greater ties to informal industry support networks, and increasing outreach and volunteer promotion efforts may all create additional opportunities for the acquisition of needed funding.