Archive for the ‘Policy’ Category

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Engage Your Legislators This Summer: Legislators Building Communities

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

How would you like to bring your State Representative or Senator to your neighborhood to help with one of your projects?LBC logo

This summer, CEDAM members and other housing and community development practitioners around Michigan will have that opportunity! Legislators Building Communities (LBC) is a new initiative to educate our legislators about housing and community development activities in their districts through hands-on volunteer opportunities. It is led by the Living in Michigan coalition, a network of statewide and regional housing & community development advocates that is co-chaired by CEDAM and Habitat for Humanity of Michigan.

Here’s how it works for CEDAM members:

  1. You submit an online interest form, letting us know your project idea (see rules and ideas here).
  2. If your project is selected, we will put you in contact with a staff person in your legislator’s office so you can set a date and discuss details.
  3. You plan and publicize your event (we can help).
  4. You host your event. Show off your work, involve the community, and take pictures!
  5. You share your story with CEDAM, your contacts, your local media, and anyone else you can think of.

The call for projects is now open, and we hope to collect at least one project idea in each district by the end of February.

Please visit the LBC website and submit your interest form (via the Hosts tab) ASAP. If you have any questions about LBC, give Katie a call: 517.485.3588.

We’re looking forward to working with you on this exciting new initiative.

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Posted in Events, Foreclosure, Policy | No Comments »

CED in the State of the State Address

Thursday, January 20th, 2011

Economic development, housing, urban renewal, economic gardening, and rural development were major themes in Governor Rick Snyder’s first State of the State address, given last night. The Governor also unveiled a new online “dashboard” to score how Michigan is doing compared to other states in the areas of Economic Development, Public Safety, Value for Government, Quality of Life, and Health and Education.

Some of the Governor’s specific ideas included:

While specific details of the Governor’s new plan will not be known until he issues his budget recommendations next month, his speech last night did outline a solid foundation that could provide much-needed support for the work that many CEDAM members are doing every day to help rebuild Michigan’s communities. We look forward to hearing more details on the Governor’s plans to rebuild Michigan, and we will be working diligently to ensure that the priorities of our members (via our policy committee, Asset Building Policy Project, Michigan Foreclosure Task Force, and Michigan Rural Network) are included in these efforts to move Michigan forward.

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Posted in Asset Building, Foreclosure, Policy | No Comments »

Learn About LIHTC with Our New Video

Thursday, January 13th, 2011

Have you heard about the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, but never really understood how it works?

Is this the first time you’ve ever heard of it?

Are you trying to explain to your spouse/parents/kids/colleagues how you made that last housing development work?

Then we’ve got a video for you! Fresh from our Multi-Family Development CCDI Training, we present The Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) in 5 Minutes.

We had so much fun making this that we’d like to make more explanation videos in the future. What topics would you like to see explained in 5 minutes?

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Posted in All Things CEDAM, Policy | No Comments »

The Power of “Thank You”

Wednesday, October 27th, 2010

[This post is from Katie Fritz, CEDAM Policy Associate. Photo by Nate Grigg, used through a Creative Commons attribution license.]

Thank You photoI was at a conference last weekend, and someone gave a tip that really struck me. “It’s important to tell your elected officials when you want something, or when you think they screwed up,” she said. “But it’s also important to thank them! Acknowledge the little victories.”

Such a simple point, but it’s easy to forget. Policy-makers get flooded with emails, phone calls, and letters begging them for support or berating them for their unpopular decisions. A sincere note of thanks is a little ray of light, reminding them why they signed up for their job in the first place.

Here’s a challenge for you: Most of our elected officials and their staff on the state level are at the end of their current positions. Before they leave this December, pick one or two legislators or staffers who have helped you out. Maybe they introduced a bill on your behalf, chaired a caucus you care about, attended one of your events, met with you about an issue, or simply returned a call. If you need help, give me a call (517-485-3588) and I can let you know who sponsored bills that CEDAM supported this session.

Got your people picked? Good. Now send them a handwritten card (or an email, if you must). Don’t ask for anything; just let them know you appreciate their time and effort. Your thanks will go a long way.

And by the way: thank YOU for reading this blog, being a member of CEDAM, and serving your community!

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Posted in Policy | 1 Comment »

Get Ready to Vote with CEDAM’s Election Resources

Friday, October 15th, 2010

[This post is written by Katie Fritz, CEDAM's Policy Associate.]

While there are many guides available to the hundreds of candidates running for statewide office in Michigan this year, few include candidates’ views on CEDAM’s core issues. So we made our own.* We contacted every major-party candidate for Michigan’s House and Senate and invited them to answer the following questions:

  1. What are your top three priorities if you are elected?
  2. What are your state budget and spending priorities, and how would you adjust revenue and expenses to support these priorities?
  3. How can the state government help strengthen Michigan’s communities?
  4. How can the state government help increase the availability of quality affordable housing in Michigan?
  5. How should Michigan address the foreclosure crisis?
  6. How can the state government help Michigan’s families achieve lasting and sustainable financial security?

We asked similar questions to our candidates for U.S. Congress. Many candidates shared their time and views with us, and we have published their responses verbatim. We also attempted to publish the official campaign website for each candidate, whether we heard back from them or not, so you can explore their views and experience in more depth.

So what can you do?

  • Get informed! In addition to reading CEDAM’s candidate guide, we encourage you to check out guides published by some of our nonprofit partners in the Michigan Participation Project. The Participation Project site also maintains a list of upcoming candidate forums around the state and a wealth of information for both voters and nonprofits.
  • Share these resources with other voters, including your clients if you are a nonprofit.
  • Contact your candidates, thank them for responding to CEDAM’s questionnaire (if they did), and invite them to learn more about community economic development. If you are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, check out election year guidelines first.
  • Vote, but don’t stop there. Stay tuned for new CEDAM events and toolkits in 2011 that will help you build your relationship with your elected officials.

*Disclaimer: CEDAM is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and does not endorse or oppose any candidate or party. The information we provide is intended solely to help Michigan residents learn about this year’s candidates in a non-biased way. To learn more about federal guidelines for nonprofits, visit the Michigan Participation Project’s guide.

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Posted in All Things CEDAM, Policy | No Comments »

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