New Philly grant program designed to boost community development across the city

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A new grant program in Philadelphia will provide community development corporations with flexible funding they can use as they see fit.

The city’s current budget includes $3.5 million for more than 60 organizations. Eligible CDCs can apply for up to $125,000 to help cover operating expenses, whether they relate to providing services, paying staff, launching a marketing campaign or another need.

City Councilmember Jamie Gauthier, who pushed for the new funding during budget negotiations, said the money is needed now more than ever.

“As Philly continues to grapple with housing security, rampant displacement and a worsening divide between the wealthy and the working class, the city of Philadelphia must empower our CDCs to keep doing the critical work we have come to depend on,” said Gauthier during a Monday news conference in Chinatown.

CDCs are celebrating the program. But they’re also pushing for more city funding.

The grant program is backed by a one-time expenditure. Members of the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations want to change that, and increase the annual allocation to $6.25 million.

They say they need ongoing support in order to preserve and grow the neighborhoods they serve.

CDCs often use real estate development to help revitalize impoverished and struggling communities, including affordable housing. They can also offer a wide range of services like job training, health care and educational programs.

“Let’s be clear: This is not the finish line. This is a down payment,” said Jamila Harris-Morrison, executive director of ACHIEVEability, a CDC dedicated to ending poverty in West Philadelphia.

“We need a commitment that matches the scale of the work we’re being asked to do. Not just for one year. But year after year. CDCs are not short-term projects. We are permanent fixtures,” she said.

During Monday’s news conference, residents highlighted how their CDC has positively impacted their lives. They spoke from a podium set in front of a construction site at 10th and Winter streets that, by year’s end, is expected to bear six affordable townhomes thanks to the work of the Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation and its partners.

About a block away sits Man An House, another PCDC project for seniors. Lulu Chiu said the development ended her search for affordable housing in Chinatown, where she desperately wanted to stay.

“Now there is a whole community of senior citizens who can stay in a cultural neighborhood where we belong,” said Chiu through an interpreter.

A spokesperson for Mayor Cherelle Parker did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In addition to the new grant program, the city offers a $100,000 tax credit to businesses that support CDCs by contributing to “economic development in distressed parts of the city.”

A business is eligible to receive the tax credit each year if it satisfies the program’s criteria, which include a commitment to contribute $100,000 a year to a qualifying organization for 10 consecutive years.

Gauthier pushed to expand the tax credit program, but the ask did not make it into the final budget.

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