Report #1:
Community Economic Development Organizations and Their Activities

Community Economic Development Organizations and Their Activities is the first report in the Money Meet Community series. It identifies the types of nonprofit organizations that make up the community development sector and seeks to answer three research questions.

  • Which kinds of nonprofit agencies make up the community development sector?
  • What kinds of activities do these organizations carry out?
  • Do different kinds of agencies carry out different types of activities?

Community development organizations invest large amounts of government and philanthropic dollars into projects and programs to advance the well-being of low-income communities and the people who live there.

Findings

  • Many different types of organizations pursue community development, including social services agencies, real estate developers, residential property managers, lenders, and planning, and organizing groups.
  • To respond to the diverse needs of the areas they serve, most community development organizations pursue multiple activities simultaneously.
  • No matter what type of activity these organizations carry out as their primary line of work, nearly 80 percent of them  provide social services to low-income people. 

Community Development Sector
Composition by Organization's Primary Activity