Strengthening Partnerships between Community Development Corporations and Historic Preservation

The field of historic preservation in the United States has experienced significant growth both in its scope and in the number and character of its allies over the last 50 years. Many of these allies have joined at the local level but lack the resources necessary to carry out their missions. Community development corporations (CDCs) represent a largely untapped resource for supporting these growing local preservation efforts. CDCs vary in capacity and scope, but they share the common goal of building up their communities using a range of pro bono services. The National Trust for Historic Preservation (NTHP) recently studied the relationship between CDCs and preservation, finding that CDCs are engaging in preservation efforts, but hesitate to take on a larger role in preservation. This paper will assess the NTHP study and compare those findings to the activities of several local CDCs to develop the recommendations for ways to strengthen partnerships between preservationists and CDCs.