Community development corporations (CDCs) are central to the work of our Supporting Neighborhoods initiative. They run important programs, help neighbors advocate for resources and services, and preserve and develop affordable housing.
That’s why The Community Foundation recently co-funded research to better understand the history, impact, and challenges of local community development corporations (CDCs) with partners at the Jessie Ball duPont Fund and United Way of Northeast Florida. The result is a report that offers new insights into this critical partner for affordable housing, economic mobility, and neighborhood revitalization.
On the latest episode of our podcast, Forever Forward, James Coggin, Senior Director of Grantmaking and Impact Investing, explores the findings of the report with two guests:
- Stan Fitterman, author of the report, who is a housing and community development consultant with over 25 years of experience.
- Paul Tutwiler, CEO of Northwest Jacksonville CDC for over 20 years—spanning five mayoral administrations—and a foundational leader of the local CDC movement.
Below is a condensed version of their conversation.
Q: Paul, could you start by sharing a bit about yourself and how you came into this work?
Paul Tutwiler: I’m originally from Memphis, and although I studied public administration and politics, I realized quickly that I wasn’t going to create real community change from that field alone. I gravitated toward community-based work because it not only identifies problems—it actually implements solutions.
I tend to describe CDCs as nonprofit businesses with a social conscience. We serve community residents, but we also must operate sustainably and be accountable to the neighborhoods we work in.
Q: Stan, how about you? What brought you into housing and community development?
Stan Fitterman: My background is in city planning. I originally wanted to work in environmental planning, but I found my housing and real estate professors far more inspiring. My first job was in local government, and because I was the only person who understood housing, I became the housing expert by default.
I later led a local government housing department, then worked for a statewide nonprofit consulting firm, then a national one. After a sabbatical, I joined Ability Housing in Jacksonville as a developer before launching my own consulting firm. Now I work with CDCs and local governments around the country.
Q: Stan, can you give a brief overview of how CDCs developed nationally?
Stan: The first CDC began in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, in the mid-to-late 1960s—an era of growing national attention on poverty and civil rights. The first president of the Bed-Stuy CDC later became president of the Ford Foundation and helped create a permanent funding source for CDCs. Out of that came LISC—the Local Initiatives Support Corporation—which provides technical assistance and financing to CDCs nationwide.
Q: Paul, you were directly involved in Jacksonville’s early CDC movement. What do you remember from those early days?
Paul: Jacksonville was very different from northern cities where the CDC model originated—less unionized, fewer traditions of public protest. We needed to start with community organizing. Neighborhood groups were used to advocating for city services, not running nonprofit businesses.
Vacant and abandoned housing was a major issue, and we realized that simply forming neighborhood associations wasn’t enough. We needed to empower residents through small nonprofit businesses that could borrow money, acquire properties, and develop housing. That meant teaching board governance, financial management, and organizational structure from the ground up.
Q: You were helping stand up multiple new CDCs at once. What did that capacity-building look like?
Paul: Intensive. We started with five organizations across the Eastside, Northside, and Westside. Many were unfamiliar with audits, bylaws, or even the need for a quorum. There was some pushback—these things cost money—but we emphasized that strong governance protects the organization and its mission.
We weren’t just talking about pipes and sidewalks when we said “infrastructure.” We were literally helping build the business infrastructure needed for long-term community revitalization.
Q: Stan, what was LISC’s “secret sauce” in supporting CDCs nationally and locally?
Stan: Two big things:
- Capital – Banks wouldn’t lend to newly formed CDCs building in distressed neighborhoods. LISC could. All businesses need capital—even nonprofit ones.
- Expertise – LISC staffed professionals who understood real estate development, construction, and finance. Most early CDC staff came from the community with passion but not necessarily technical training. LISC provided hands-on, deal-specific guidance.
Q: Paul, you eventually went from being a project manager at the Jacksonville Housing Authority to leading the Northwest Jacksonville CDC. How did that shift change your perspective?
Paul: It was a major transition. At the Housing Authority, I managed programs and built homes. As a CDC executive director, I was suddenly responsible for fundraising, hiring, navigating city policy, and advocating for resources.
Most importantly, I learned that asking the city to fix problems wasn’t enough—we needed to present solutions and invite them to support our vision.
Q: During the 1990s and early 2000s, what did your partnership with the City of Jacksonville look like?
Paul: It was critical. We had to change city legislation so that CDCs, not just Habitat for Humanity, could receive donated lots. Then we had to build the capacity to develop those lots responsibly.
We also realized we couldn’t sell a brand-new home next to a blighted property. So we expanded into more comprehensive development: acquiring derelict houses, demolishing or rehabbing them, and improving entire streets.
Community engagement built trust, which allowed us to understand challenges block by block and measure success through rising property values and reduced crime.
Q: Then came the Great Recession. Stan, what happened nationally to CDCs around 2008?
Stan: The recession hit every layer of the system:
- Housing prices collapsed, leaving CDCs with land or homes worth far less than they paid to develop them.
- Construction stalled on half-finished homes and subdivisions.
- The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit market collapsed because banks weren’t profitable enough to need tax credits.
- Adjustable-rate mortgages reset, leading to waves of foreclosures.
CDCs faced vacant land, half-completed projects, and a new wave of neighborhood distress.
Q: Paul, how did Northwest Jacksonville CDC adapt during the foreclosure crisis?
Paul: We had built momentum—our homes were selling, contractors were engaged—and suddenly everything stopped. The City asked us to shift from building new homes in our neighborhood to helping stabilize foreclosed homes across the district.
So we adapted:
- We acquired bank-donated foreclosed homes.
- We used federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program funds to rehab them.
- We created a rental portfolio for low-to-moderate income families.
That shift toward rental housing ultimately strengthened our balance sheet and expanded our mission impact.
Q: Stan, why is building a rental portfolio an important strategy for CDCs?
Stan: It diversifies revenue and increases stability. Rental income provides steadier funding than home sales, and developer fees from larger projects can be reinvested back into the neighborhood—something for-profit developers aren’t obligated to do.
It also ensures high-quality rental options for families who aren’t yet ready for homeownership.
Q: As the market recovered around 2012, what changed for Northwest Jacksonville CDC?
Paul: Home values began to rise again, and eventually we no longer needed city subsidies to make our developments pencil out. Population increased, neighborhoods stabilized, and we saw signs of recovery.
But appraisals lagged behind the rest of the city, creating new challenges. Building a house costs the same everywhere. Selling it in an undervalued neighborhood does not.
That pushed us into advocacy—educating lenders, appraisers, and policymakers about systemic barriers like low appraisals and heirs property issues.
Q: Fast forward to today. With rising speculation and interest from private developers, what is the current reality in Northwest Jacksonville?
Paul: Private investors now see our neighborhoods as desirable, which means CDCs often have to compete with cash buyers. Some longtime residents still don’t feel the benefits of rising values, and many face pressures from gentrification, storm impacts, or food insecurity.
We remain both a nonprofit business and a neighborhood anchor—responding to everything from housing needs to hurricane relief. Our aspirations for 2025 look much like 2021: addressing persistent challenges with dignity, partnership, and belief in our community’s potential.
Q: Stan, your report outlines recommendations for strengthening Jacksonville’s CDC ecosystem. What should philanthropy, government, and private partners focus on?
Stan:
Three priorities stand out:
- Flexible operating capital – The private market can’t generate profit in distressed neighborhoods, so CDCs won’t be able to, either – they need reliable, unrestricted funding for their operations.
- Access to low-cost construction financing – Banks often require balance sheets CDCs simply don’t have, so CDCs need access to other types of financing.
- Building the profession – We need formal academic pathways and defined career ladders for the next generation of community developers.
If we want CDCs to succeed, we have to treat the field as an industry—not a hobby.
Q: Paul, final word. What do you hope for the future of the CDC field and the next generation of leaders?
Paul: I hope they believe change is possible. Leaving a community doesn’t solve its problems. Appreciating what makes each neighborhood special creates opportunity—for residents and for the city as a whole.
Jacksonville is a collection of diverse neighborhoods, each with its own history, strengths, and flavor. I hope future leaders embrace that diversity, build on it, and continue lifting up the places that make our city unique.
Read the full report at jaxcf.org/report.