NorCalUrban

To all of my deprived readers (if there are any left), Please forgive my absence. Frankly, blogging started to feel more like work than fun - so a break was in order. Going forward, I hope to be more focused with my posts. They may be less frequent but hopefully will have slightly more content. Over the past three months I've focused my attention on a few key issues. The first and main issue is formulating a response to the current housing crisis. We've been working on a Housing Market Stabilization Initiative (HMSI) which would work to intervene for families who are losing their homes. Secondly, NCUD's  youth program, now dubbed "Future Profits"is growing and needing more and more attention. Lastly, I've been working on an Emerging Leader Initiative (ELI) for CCDA . The ELI will be a one year cohort program designed to pass on the CCDA legacy from the founders including Dr. John Perkins. Overarching all of this is the economy - which is making all of us in th...

Dear friends, Merry Christmas from all of us here at Northern California Urban Development (NCUD)! As 2008 comes to a close there is much to be thankful for and reflect upon. Lately I've been thinking about an analogy that describes NCUD's work in the community. We are painfully aware of the current economic conditions in our country and world. East Palo Alto and east Menlo Park certainly aren't immune from the problems, which are indicated by the well over 400 distressed properties in our community that are either in or near foreclosure. Truly, a fire is raging and lives are being forever changed. In a fire there is always a short-term and long-term response. The short-term response saves lives and property. The longer term involves two activities: replanting and future fire prevention. As I've meditated on the correlations between a fire and NCUD, I'm thankful that God has placed our organization in the middle of the crisis at the right time. Who would have k...

My coworker Jenni Ingram (aka 'Reflections of Reality) recently blogged about her job at Northern California Urban Development (NCUD). See her blog here. We've recently been blessed to bring on two new staffers. Gilbert Chaidez came on as a program developer to work with the development of our youth programs. He was funded through a generous grant from the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. As Jenni mentions in her blog, she was doing double duty as admin support and Youth Program Manager. Through her leadership our programs have grown so much we were able to bring Cynthia Ruiz on as admin support. This frees Jenni to focus her attention on the youth programs. Jenni's blog has a great update on what we're doing. Check it out!  I've known Cynthia for many years through my time at  BCM. She's a wonderful young leader who has grown up in East Palo Alto. We're blessed to have both Gil and Cynthia on our team. You can see more about them on our website here...

What a great weekend! Last Friday and Saturday we were honored to co-host the Christian Community Development Association's (CCDA) Institute at our church (St. Samuel's). On Friday Noel Castellanos taught the class, "The Church's Role in Community Development" and on Saturday Bob Lupton taught on "Empowerment". Both classes seemed appropiate for what God is doing in East Palo Alto and the Bay Area.  We had an intimate group for both days which made the class interactive and fun. On Thursday night Melissa and I got to spend some time with Noel, and had a great dinner at Palace Barbaque in Sunnyvale. Noel is on a no-carb diet - and there is no better place to eat meat than Palace! I had a major grant application due Friday, so I was in and out for Noel's class - but the couple of hours I spent there were rich. I was able to attend all of Bob's teaching on Saturday. This is my second time through this class - and it seems to get better each time. B...

CUs NATIONWIDE COME TOGETHER TO OPEN CU BRANCH IN UNDERSERVED AREA OF EAST PALO ALTO Branch Is First Credit Union in Area Currently Served By One Community Bank, Several Check-Cashing and Payday Lending Establishments March 21, 2008 From coast to coast, several credit unions have banded together to help Community Trust Credit Union in Modesto, CA open up a branch in East Palo Alto. The community of more than 40,000 residents, mostly low-income and Latino, is currently served by one small community bank as well as a number of check-cashing and payday lending establishments. Many banks left the 2.5-square-mile city in the 1980s. On March 15, Community Trust Credit Union of East Palo Alto held its grand opening celebration with more than 150 members, community and credit unions leaders, residents, and legislative officials in attendance. Palo Alto, CA-based Stanford Federal Credit Union and Addison Avenue Federal Credit Union, and San Francisco-based Patelco Federal Credit Union joined u...

Dear NCUD Friends, Recap of Grand Opening Last Saturday we had a wonderful grand opening celebration. Many leaders, well wishers and friends from the East Palo Alto (EPA) and surrounding community attended. This included State Assemblyman Ira Ruskin, East Palo Alto Mayor Pat Foster, City Council members David Woods, Ruben Abrica and Pete Evans, members of the national, regional and local credit union community and church leaders from EPA and surrounding communities. We also had a special presentation of a flag that was flown over the Capitol in Washington D.C. from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo given to us by State Congressman Ira Ruskin. This was a wonderful, joyous celebration where we culminated over 3/1/2 years of work, planning, praying and organizing. I know many of our friends were able to stop by, thank you for celebrating with us. I will shortly post pictures of the event on our website at www.norcaludc.org. I have also attached an article that was in the Palo Alto Daily News las...

Here's a recent article about the credit union project. Our grand opening was yesterday - more updates to come... First credit union shows signs of success Plan aims at low-interest loans for East Palo Alto By Banks Albach / Daily News Staff Writer John Liotti has a vision for East Palo Alto, and it involves low-interest loans. With the support and help of several community members, Liotti last December launched Community Trust Credit Union, the city's first credit union. He's hoping that a combination of cheaper car loans and mortgages, eventual small business financing and an alternative to the expensive check cashing outlets in the city will help locals save and succeed financially. Liotti said the credit union can offer members car loans 5 to 10 percent lower than banks. The credit union will celebrate its grand opening today. "This community has been amazingly under-banked," Liotti said inside his credit union office on Bay Road. "Our goal is to move pe...

Dear NCUD Friends, As I write this letter I'm brimming with excitement and thankfulness. Our journey began three years ago with a seemingly random conversation with NCUD co-founder Marc Prioleau regarding poverty, justice, opportunities and economic development in East Palo Alto. That conversation planted a seed of faith that now, after much planning, praying, crying, countless meetings and much perseverance, has blossomed into two very significant milestones: the opening of Community Trust Credit Union of East Palo Alto this December and the kicking off of our youth financial literacy initiative! Credit Union Update Earlier this month we received our final building permits from the City, paving the way to a projected opening in mid-December. I can now say that East Palo Alto, for the first time in history, will have it's own community focused financial institution - by the people and for the people! Finally there is a safe alternative to predatory lenders and check cashers. T...

Good ideas from the folks at FROG via Guy Kawasaki. I'm rethinking some of the ways my organization does things. I need to look more into google docs. and other free web applications. Any of you used google docs? What's been your experience?