Tools
The Gap - A Shortage of Affordable Homes
No State Has an Adequate Supply of Affordable Rental Housing for the Lowest-Income Renters
Global Greater Boston: Immigrants in a Changing Region
For as long as it’s been a city, immigrants have been central to Boston’s identity. For this new report Boston Indicators partnered with Immigration Research Initiative to analyze who makes up immigrant communities in Greater Boston, quantify what they contribute to our regional economy, and detail the immigration pathways they take to get here.
Advocates' Guide 2024!
Every year, the National Low Income Housing Coalition publishes the Advocates’ Guide to educate advocates of all kinds about the programs and policies that make housing affordable to low-income people across America.
Boston Builds Credit
Boston Builds CreditHere, you’ll find free and low-cost resources to help Boston and area residents understand how credit works and learn how to build, protect and improve your credit scores. With a trusted network of partners working with the City of Boston and United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley, our team can put you in contact with a trained financial coach and financial wellness workshops.
Doing Engagement from Home A Toolbox for Municipal Staff
MAPCDuring the COVID-19 pandemic, the Community Engagement Department of the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) conducted extensive research on digital engagement tools and methods. This document includes many tools that municipal staff can use to engage the public remotely. This document is intended as a resource and does not constitute endorsement of any of these tools. MAPC does not use every tool in this list— for questions about individual tools, reach out to the tool’s Help or Support staff.
Hybrid Engagement Hub: Navigating Together
MAPC Community Engagement DivisionThis project hub is designed to be a central source of information to support you as you develop your approach to hybrid meetings, investigate tools, and design public participation at the local level.
Worforce Training Fund Express Program - Passive House and LEED certifications
BE+Any company is eligible for $30,000 of training per year through this grant application. There are many certification for building sustainability measures.
Commonwealth Workforce Training Fund Express Program
Workforce Training Fund50 courses approved to provide PHIUS Certified Passive House Consultant training.
Highlights from Cool, Climate-safe Cities: New Solutions & Research
BU Institute for Sustainable EnergyWebinar Recording for Event
Impact of Climate Change on Health
National Institute for Health Care Management FoundationClimate change is the single biggest health threat facing humanity and it is disproportionately felt by the most vulnerable and disadvantaged according to a recent World Health Organization (WHO) special report. This infographic explains links between climate change and health.
Getting Capital to Small Businesses in Low-Income Communities
The Aspen InstituteHeeding the call for greater race and gender equity, policymakers, donors, and investors want to uplift small businesses in underserved communities. But boosting access to capital for business owners of color is easier said than done. In this video, we identify the importance of microloans in meeting firms owned by people of color where they are in terms of their capital needs. And we highlight the work of community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in serving this vital role. Members of the Aspen Institute’s Microfinance Impact Collaborative, for example, issued over 8,300 loans in 2018, 75% of which were to entrepreneurs of color.
Organizing and Engagement Core Skills Toolkit
Mel King Institute, Rising Sun ConsultingThis toolkit was designed to support the professional growth of community organizers and community engagement staff. The toolkit was developed by and for organizers! Front line organizers helped identify the 6 competency areas and piloted the tools, offering feedback on content and format.
Creativity and Community Action
David M. Greenberg, LISCIn a new essay and workbook from David M. Greenberg, LISC's vice president for Knowledge Management and Strategy, practitioners are posed with two parallel questions: how can community development and activism enhance artistic and cultural work? And how can cultural practice community development and activism? Using paintings, poetry, and the work of artist-activists in Logan Square, Chicago, as “cases,” the resource helps enhance the reach, ambition, and impact of collaborations between artists and community organizations.
Climate Resilient Land Use Strategies
Metropolitan Area Planning CouncilLand use regulations can be a powerful tool to provide climate resilience. From floodplain and wetlands restrictions, to tree protection and water conservation, to design standards and zoning, communities are using their regulatory authority to address the growing impacts of rainstorms, sea level rise, heat, and drought.
YW Boston’s 2021 Small Biz Map
YW BostonSupport businesses run by women and people of color in Greater Boston
Existing Buildings and Climate Change Resources
Boston Society for ArchitectureWe cannot meet our future goals without utilizing our greatest built and cultural assets: existing buildings. Below are some resources to support the industry as we forge ahead.
COVID-19 Reopening Guide for Small Businesses
Chamber of CommerceThis guide will cover all that business owners need to know about reopening and navigating current government requirements.
State Support for Local School Construction: Leveraging Equity and Diversity
Lauren Mittman, Nikhil De, and Philip TegelerHistorically, state support for suburban school construction facilitated white flight and metropolitan segregation. The least we can do today is think more carefully about the impacts of future school construction funding. PRRAC has prepared a policy brief on this question, based on a state-by-state survey of current practices.
Best Practices for RAD "Choice-Mobility" Implementation
Poverty & Race Research Action CouncilThe Rental Assistance Demonstration has become the most significant public housing redevelopment program in the U.S., bringing new funds to support aging properties around the country. One essential element of the program is that, after conversion, all tenants have a right to request a portable Housing Choice Voucher, and move to a community of their choice (thus opening up their apartment to another eligible family on the waiting list). Few housing authorities have worked out plans for implementation of this Choice-Mobility feature of the program, so we have developed a guidance document for PHAs and advocates, based on extensive policy research and interviews.
Delivering Credit to Entrepreneurs of Color Impacted by COVID-19: Why Community Financial Institutions Are Essential
The Aspen InstitutePrior to the global pandemic, the relatively high small business start and ownership rates among entrepreneurs of color were a bright spot in a period of declining US entrepreneurship. But small businesses have endured some of the hardest stresses of the pandemic, as forced closures and physical distancing have decimated earnings for restaurants, salons, childcare centers, and other services we all rely on. Businesses owned by entrepreneurs of color have been particularly impacted by declining revenues, and despite government efforts to get money into people’s hands, many small businesses have not received the support they need. This is partly a problem with the delivery systems used: programs that flow through banks miss those that have historically been underserved. Fortunately, there are lenders who serve these businesses and communities: Community Development Financial Institutions. CDFIs are mission-driven lenders that serve the parts of America that too often get left behind, inc
Fifty Years Of “The People v. HUD”
Poverty & Race research Action Council (PRRAC)HUD has benefited enormously from strong civil rights advocacy, and many of HUD’s most important regulatory guidelines have emerged from this advocacy. We offer this selected timeline as a tribute to this ongoing history and, we hope, an inspiration to a new generation of civil rights and tenant activists.
The Boston Foundation Racial Equity Capacity Builders Directory
The Boston FoundationAs part of its continued work to support nonprofits as it centers and advances racial equity within its organizations, the Boston Foundation worked with partners to develop a directory of racial equity capacity builders currently serving Greater Boston nonprofit organizations. The directory lists 80 individuals and organizations providing racial equity capacity building services. Please use this as a resource for organizational racial equity goals.
Cambridge College Resource Library for Business Development Program
Cambridge CollegeThe Business Resource Library connects Consultants, Technical Assistance Providers and students to a variety of learning tools, including sample documents and industry trend topics. This library can quickly provide comprehensive information you may need to assist small businesses during their start-up, stabilization and growth phases. These materials can be downloaded from the links below. This library was built with the collaboration of Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation (MGCC), Mel King Institute, Lawyers for Civil Rights, and Technical Assistance providers.
COVID-19 Housing Policy Scorecard
Eviction LabSafe, stable, and decent housing has always been central to ensuring health and stability. Today, with the United States focused on containing the COVID-19 pandemic, the broader and longstanding issue of income and housing insecurity has quickly become paramount to the health of an entire nation.To better understand the steps states have taken to prevent homelessness during and after the pandemic, the Eviction Lab and Columbia Law School’s Professor Emily Benfer have developed a policy scorecard for each state, distilling the contents of thousands of newly-released emergency orders, declarations, and legislation into a clear set of critical measures included in, and left out of, state-level pandemic responses related to eviction and housing.
Arts & Planning Toolkit
MAPCThe Arts and Planning Toolkit has been given a reboot to become better aligned with the needs of municipal planners who are doing arts and culture-related work. Each page now follows a consistent outline of tools, resources, and examples to show how ideas may be put into action.
Storytelling Toolkit: Lessons Learned from NHT's "Where Will We Live"
National Housing TrustThis toolkit is a guide for advocates to replicate the National Housing Trust’s efforts and successfully employ digital, visual and audio storytelling strategies within their advocacy tactics.
Opportunity360 Community Dashboard
EnterpriseOpportunity360 Community Dashboards provide the information necessary to determine where action is most needed and where established programs and policies have been most successful in any neighborhood in the country. These dashboards now allow data comparison for up to three census tracts, anywhere in the US. In the free Opportunity360 Community Dashboards, you will find over 150 indicators from 27 sources.
Public Policy Resources
BestColleges.comThis guide includes links to free public policy online resources that will help one get a better sense of the entire field.
Public Policy Career Outlook
BestColleges.comThis guide provides you with in-depth information on degree planning including program structures, concentrations, and skill development and application for a Public Policy career.
Earning a Public Policy Master’s Degree
BestColleges.comThis resource will help you learn about the common Master's in Public Policy admission requirements, coursework, and jobs available for graduates.
Honor Native Land: A Guide and Call to Acknowledgement
Sponsored by: U.S. Department of Arts and CultureCreated in partnership with Native allies and organizations, the Guide offers context about the practice of acknowledgment, gives step-by-step instructions for how to begin wherever you are, and provides tips for moving beyond acknowledgment into action.
Vision, Values, and Voice: A Communications Toolkit
The Opportunity AgendaThis toolkit focuses on the broader goal of identifying universal themes and values that tie together a range of issues.
Rights for Renters Messaging
Public Will Initiative with ToposThis tool reiterates focusing on the positives instead of the negatives when it comes to messaging. Even though the series is called Rights for Renters, it isn’t actually limited to renter issue areas—such as the Critiquing Without Undermining Government brief.
A Progressive’s Style Guide
Hanna Thomas (SumOfUs.org); Anna Hirsch (ActivistEditor.com)A Progressive’s Style Guide is explicitly multi-voiced and is created with the following commitments. 1) We combat discriminatory language. 2) We seek advice or more information when we’re unsure. 3) When writing, speaking, or using images, we aim to use examples that reflect a broad range of identities and perspectives.
Housing Matters
Urban InstituteHousing Matters is an online resource for the most rigorous research and practical information on how a quality, stable, affordable home in a vibrant community contributes to individual and community success.
Radical Imagination
Angela Glover Blackwell; Powered by PolicyLinkTo imagine radically, means to think big, demand better, and redefine the terms of the struggle; the Radical Imagination podcast delivers all that. The debut season confronts the challenging issues facing our nation, including immigration, the need for big new economic ideas, the impact of climate change, revolutionary approaches to community safety and justice, and more.
The Move
Ceasar McDowell, Founder; Ayushi Roy, Podcast co-host; Misael Galdamez, Website Author; Julia Curbera, Website AuthorThe Move is a movement to rebuild our public’s muscle for democracy. This movement aims to bring together people of all backgrounds who are seeking to facilitate real civic engagement in today’s democracies. The Move rebuilds our public muscle in three ways: We will partner in the design and implementation of at least one civic engagement project each year. We will provide a collaborative learning and knowledge exchange platform on TheMove.MIT.edu and it’s adjacent social media channels for cities, institutions, and community organizations. We will advance learning, experimentation, and innovation in civic design using eight design principles.
Massachusetts Defense For Eviction (MADE): Self-Guided Eviction Help
Greater Boston Legal Services (GBLS)This completely free guided interview is for Massachusetts tenants who are being evicted. It is estimated to take between 25 and 90 minutes for a typical tenant to use on their own. It will help you make sure that you respond to your landlord's eviction case correctly.
Massachusetts Small Business Loan Data Project
Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (MCBC)The Massachusetts Community & Banking Council (the MCBC) has sponsored an annual report on small business lending trends in Massachusetts since 1998. In the Spring of 2019, MCBC launched a new online platform – the Massachusetts Small Business Loan Data Project – that serves as a companion to the most recent report, Small Business Lending in Massachusetts 2008-2017, authored by BankMaps. The Massachusetts Small Business Loan Data Project provides an online data service with interactive access to maps and charts from six (6) national databases related to the subject of small business lending in Massachusetts.
Boston Neighborhood Change Interactive Map
Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard UniversityA new interactive mapping tool showing the dramatic demographic, social, and economic changes that have occurred in Greater Boston since 1990. The tool includes data from the 1990 and 2000 decennial censuses and from the American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates for 2010 and 2016.