Comprehensive community development is an approach to creating places of opportunity for all. It is community-driven and data-driven, with a spotlight on equity and seeking out the voices of residents Elizabeth Druback Celaya smiles at the camera.throughout planning and implementation. And it’s one of NeighborWorks America’s guiding principles, embedded in the organization’s strategic plan.

Philanthropy is increasingly tasked with solving complex community challenges like the need for more affordable homes, equitable access to economic opportunity and stronger mental and physical healthcare services. As these issues become more urgent, how can grantmakers help communities drive actionable change? 

NeighborWorks America's real estate convening marked the first chance that more than 160 staff from across the NeighborWorks network have had to be together in four years. In the days since, conversations started during the convening have continued and will continue throughout the year.
 

Ground breaking on changes to the Umeya Rice FactoryIn mid-May, demolition began on the Umeya Rice Cake Factory, known for making sweet Japanese rice crackers in California's Little Tokyo. The family-owned business has been a mainstay in Los Angeles – interrupted when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which placed Japanese families like the Hamano family in internment camps during World War II.

Ground breaking on changes to the Umeya Rice FactoryIn mid-May, demolition began on the Umeya Rice Cake Factory, known for making sweet Japanese rice crackers in California's Little Tokyo. The family-owned business has been a mainstay in Los Angeles – interrupted when President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued Executive Order 9066, which placed Japanese families like the Hamano family in internment camps during World War II.

For decades, residents in West Baltimore have had to travel if they wanted to sit down to a restaurant dinner with their families. "Those of us with cars could go somewhere else," recalls Jacqueline Caldwell, who grew up in the area. "But if you didn't have transportation, there was nothing besides the Chicken Box on the corner."

The new Mill on North Food Hall, set to be completed this summer, will change that. 

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