Central Detroit Christian Community Development Corporation
When was it organized?
May 6, 1993
Who is completing this survey? Name and role with organization:
Lisa Johanon, Executive Director, Housing Director, Founder
Choose one category that best fits your organization:
Community Development Organization (not sponsored by a church or agency or company)
Does your organization have paid staff?
25
What is the annual budget of your organization?
3 million
Describe the streets or locations that define your organization’s overall focus area (north, south, east and/or west):
- N — Highland Park/Webb
- E — I75
- S — W Grand Blvd
- W — Linwood
Describe in detail the work your organization does, within the role categories below, along with the specific geographic area in which the work is done. Refer to the definitions below of the community development roles we are inquiring about. Include any partner organizations you work with, and how the work is funded or otherwise resourced. Use extra pages if necessary. If your organization doesn’t do work in one or more of the role categories, just skip that portion of the survey.
Convening/Facilitating/Collaborations: General Description
- We do a lot of problem solving.
- We convene a quarterly neighborhood meeting.
- We work with block clubs.
- We completed a strategic plan with key community members.
We wouldn’t be focused on crime if it wasn’t an issue; we wouldn’t see results in terms of drug houses being shut down or people being prepared.
- We’ve refreshed parks with community members (no volunteers).
- We do cross-sector convening on a case by case basis.
- We house LISC’s Safety Line here, which talks about crime statistics.
- We convene food organizations.
- We have conversations with developers and potential developers. Develop Detroit wants to be in conversation.
- We helped found Henry ford Academy (K‑5).
Convening/Facilitating/Collaborations: Partner Organizations
- Wayne State
- State Police
- Detroit Police
- Wayne County Sheriff
- Gleaners
- Forgotten Harvest
- Detroit Food Academy
- Other smaller food groups
- The four tenants in our building
Convening/Facilitating/Collaborations: Funders
- LISC
- Food Work
- General operating funds
Convening/Facilitating/Collaborations: Important Outcomes or Lessons
Outcomes:
- We wouldn’t be focused on crime if it wasn’t an issue; we wouldn’t see results in terms of drug houses being shut down or people being prepared.
- We have great community meetings where older residents get priority in terms of speaking.
- Our meetings are an objective process.
Lessons:
- Progress is slow.
- You can’t control the outcomes.
Resident Engagement/Empowerment: General Description
- We first recognized that there’s more than just homeowners in our neighborhood. Everyone has a voice: renters and the homeless. We have a diverse and eclectic type of people in the neighborhood all entitled to be heard.
- We reach out by door knocking.
We first recognized that there’s more than just homeowners in our neighborhood. Everyone has a voice: renters and the homeless. We have a diverse and eclectic type of people in the neighborhood all entitled to be heard.
- We always keep safety in mind.
- We raise up leadership from within the community.
- Forty percent of our board is from the community.
- We’re always looking within the community first to see what’s here.
- Our contractors must hire someone from the community.
- Businesses in the area must also provide employment opportunities for residents.
Resident Engagement/Empowerment: Partner Organizations
We fund resident engagement/empowerment through our general operating support.
Resident Engagement/Empowerment: Funders
- Our housing covers operating costs and brings in $20,000 a month from property management fees and rental collections. These funds cover salaries.
- Developer fees will hopefully come from projects that aren’t eaten up.
- Foundation’s are 30% of our income.
- We have a strong foundation in churches and individuals who contribute make up 35–40% of our income.
- About 12 Michigan based churches, who give based on the premise of doing God’s work.
- Some staff raise the money to fund their own salary. We have six youth staff and 25% of their salary is raised that way.
- We have a diversified revenue stream (7), which saves us from a funder coming in and pulling funds and interrupting everything.
Resident Engagement/Empowerment: Important Outcomes or Lessons
Outcomes:
- Ninety-five percent of the staff lives in the community.
- Seven staff (⅓) have grown up through programs or through our outreach.
- There’s a safer community because we know what’s happening.
- There’s a higher level of resident engagement because we all live here and are all neighbors.
Lessons:
You have to keep safety in mind.
Economic Development: General Description
- Our boundaries for physical and business development are Claremont to Euclid and Woodward to the Lodge.
- We started 12 different business 10 of which are still under our umbrella.
Economic development creates neighborhood stabilization. It changes resident’s outlook on life by doing exterior improvement and improves hope for community members. They feel it’s for them rather than the white people who are now moving in now.
- We sold two of our businesses to managers.
- We’ve rehabbed 130 single family houses.
- We completed a 10.4 million dollar, 44 unit apartment building.
- We completed a 2.2 million dollar community center renovation, which will be a childhood center as well.
- We have 18 rehabs of single family duplexes waiting on funding. These are rehabs to rent not sell. We’re waiting to hear from Home Dollars.
- We do vacant lot reclamation and have five pocket parks, three gardens, one orchard and two hoop houses.
- We host ProsperUS trainings.
- We have $100,000 for 33 occupied homes that could be rental or sale. These funds are solely to help neighbors fix their homes with facade and exterior improvements.
- We have eight licenses in the commercial kitchen and four tenants right now.
Economic Development: Partner Organizations
- Churches
- CDFIs
- City of Detroit
- Businesses and their partners
- SCORE
- NEI
- ProsperUS
- IFF
- Rock Ventures
Economic Development: Funders
- JPMorgan Chase ($100,000 a year)
- Churches
- City of Detroit
- IFF
Economic Development: Important Outcomes or Lessons
Outcomes:
- We’ve done vacant lot reclamation and have five pocket parks, three gardens, one orchard and two hoop houses.
- We host ProsperUS trainings.
- We have $100,000 for 33 occupied homes that could be rental or sale. These funds are solely to help neighbors to fix their homes with facade and exterior improvements.
- We’re the second biggest landholder after the Detroit Land Bank Authority.
Lessons:
Economic development creates neighborhood stabilization. It changes resident’s outlook on life by doing exterior improvement and improves hope for community members. They feel it’s for them rather than the white people who are now moving in now.
Resident Support: General Description
- The boundaries for our soft services go to I75.
- Through the school year, we have 9 youth and family programs.
- We work with 500 kids on a weekly basis.
- We go to two different schools and use different facilities for our programs.
We have the only parenting class that you don’t have to pay for so we get a lot of court referrals for people who don’t have to pay to get their kids back.
- We have early childhood, preschool prep and parenting classes.
- We do job trainings for teens and young adults.
- We do financial education, financial literacy, credit counseling and homebuyer education.
- We have the only parenting class that you don’t have to pay for so we get a lot of court referrals for people who don’t have to pay to get their kids back.
- We helped found Henry Ford Academy (K‑5).
Resident Support: Partner Organizations
- Parents as Teachers
- Brilliant Detroit (early childhood)
- DPN
- Henry Ford Academy
- Helping Hands
- Employment training type programs
- Focus HOPE
- DESC
Resident Support: Funders
- Two foundations
- Grow Detroit’s Young Talent for the summer (raise money for summer programs and overnight camps)
- Skillman (for job training separate from Good Neighborhoods Initiative)
- Other churches (help to increase staffing to get a couple 1,000 volunteers to work in youth programs)
Resident Support: Important Outcomes or Lessons
Outcomes:
- Parenting classes are free so there are a lot of parents that come through court referrals for people who want to get their kids back; they get to see huge life changing results.
- Kids in our tutoring program are at-level or above-level by time they’re done.
- We have an eighty-percent placement rate in teen employment program.
Community Planning and Advocacy: General Description
Community Planning:
- We constantly assess real estate within 24 block development (Claremont to Euclid and Woodward to the Lodge).
- We monitoring who the land is changing hands with and have a community based strategic plan for real estate and business development (not necessarily for youth).
Advocacy:
- We advocate in regards to education and schools. Two schools are closing in oure neighborhood and kids (K‑5) are being siphoned to Central High School.
We’re effective by not just having people come in and talking about partnerships with no plan.
- We are advocates for neighborhoods.
- We’re advocates in the food industry because of Peaches and Green.
Community Planning and Advocacy: Partner Organizations
- Councilman Sheffield
- Detroit international High School
- Northwestern High School
- Central High School
- Durfee Elementary School
- Thirkell Elementary School
- 482Forward
- Red Door Digital
- One Mile Project
- Oakland Ave Farmer’s Market
- MCR
Community Planning and Advocacy: Funders
- MCR
- Bank funding (for general operations)
Community Planning and Advocacy: Important Outcomes or Lessons
Outcomes:
- We’re not always successful. For example, we didn’t keep Thirkell open.
- Residents have bought into community plans because they’re part of them.
Lessons:
We’re effective by not just having people come in and talking about partnerships with no plan.
Frequency Rank
Convening/Facilitating/Collaborations: Frequency Rank
1
Resident Engagement/Empowerment: Frequency Rank
4
Economic Development: Frequency Rank
4
Resident Support: Frequency Rank
4
Community Planning and Advocacy: Frequency Rank
3
Can you please point us to other organizations in Detroit — especially in your immediate neighborhood — that are doing community development work? (Organization name, contact name, email, phone)
For CDAD Tool Success Story: Had 27 vacant and abandoned lots in 2008, jumped to 103 in 2009 and now back to 27 (in 24 block areas)
This information is current as of 4/19/17