Cultural Resources and Community Development, a guide demonstrating how to use cultural resources in addressing social issue is culture Builds Communities. Case studies demonstrate how culture benefits community development, youth at risk and multi-culturalism. $14.95 prepaid plus $2.50 shipping and handling. Order from Partners for Livable Communities, 1429 21st St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036; phone: 202-887-5990; fax: 202-466-4845.
How to Assess Community Needs, a step by-step guide to community assessment, provides guidance in gathering community information, evaluating needs, setting goals, partnerships, and realistic estimates of cost and time necessary to conduct a thorough needs assessment. Order for $4 prepaid from the Child and Family Policy Center, 218 Sixth Ave., Ste. 1021, Des Moines, IA 50309-4006.
Core Issue in Comprehensive Community Building Initiatives, ed. Rebecca Stone, offers the views of 47 authors involved in community issues, including Anita Miller, Mitchell Sviridoff, Prudence Brown, Avis Vidal, Ronald Ferguson, John Gaventa, Ted Wysocki, Joseph McNeely, Harold DeRienzo, Gus Newport and Garland Yates. Available (possibly free) from the Chapin Hall Center for Children, University of Chicago, 1313 E. 60 St., Chicago, IL. 60637; phone: 312/753-5900; email: rstone@chmail.spc.uchicago.edu
Cisneros Essay: Higher Ground: Faith, Communities, and Community Building, a new 21-page essay by HUD Secretary Henry Cisneros discusses the unique contributions of churches, mosques, and temples in revitalizing inner-city neighborhoods. For single copies at no charge contact: HUD USER, P.O. Box 6091, Rockville, MD 20849; 800-245-2691, or 301-245-5154, if in Washington, DC, area.
Ford Foundation Report: Perspectives on Partnerships, highlights some of the tangible results of the Ford Foundation's Community Development Partnership Strategy begun in 1983. The report credits partnerships with helping a large number of CDCs evolve from undertaking modest scattered-site housing projects to comprehensive development. For free copy: The Ford Foundation, Office of Community Development, 320 East 43rd Street, New York, NY 10017; 212-573-5169.
Strategic Partnerships: How to Create & Maintain Interorganizational Collaborations & Coalitions, by Beth Rosenthal & Terry Mizrahi, is a workbook, available (for $53) from the Education Center for Community Organizing, Hunter College School of Social Work, 129 E. 79 St, NYC, NY 10021; 212-925-8051.
1996 Advocates' Resource Book from the National Low Income Housing Coalition, 1012 14th St, NW, #1200, W. DC 20005; 202-662-1530.
The Hidden History of Housing Cooperatives, eds. Allan Heskin and Jacqueline Leavitt, available for $35 from the Center for Cooperatives, University of California, Davis, CA 95616; 916-752-2408.
A Home in the Country: The Housing Challenges Facing Rural America , a compilation of 14 papers presented at a roundtable series sponsored by the Fannie Mae Office of Housing Research (co-sponsored by the Housing Assistance Council and the California Coalition for Rural Housing Project). Copies available (likely free) from FNMAOHR, 3900 Wisc. Ave. NW, Wash., DC 20016; 202-274-8000.
The Washington State Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program: Does the Program Truly Serve the Needs of Low Income People & People of Color? available ($10, summary free) from the Seattle Displacement Coalition, 4759 15th NE, Seattle, WA 98105; 206-523-2569.
Popular Education Series: Election 96, from NETWORK, includes step-by-step manual for local facilitators to offer participative, hands-on voter education. Suitable for adult learners with varied political experience, the program is 15 percent presentation and 85 percent experiential. Divided into three units: Voter Education (was available in May), Issues'96 (to be delivered in August), and Candidates '96 (to be delivered in September). Series also includes: overview of popular education; detailed session plans; poster of major political parties; display materials; and custom three-ring binder. Available for $75.00 from NETWORK, 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE Suite 460 Washington DC 20003; phone: 202-547-5556; fax: 202-547-5510; email: network@igc.org
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act Software, HMDA Works, is available
to grassroots community groups from the Center for Community Change (CCC).
Allows groups to: analyze lending rates in communities based on income
and racial/ethnic composition; identify which census tracts receive the
most, and fewest, loans; calculate lenders market shares in low-income,
higher-income, minority, and non-minority areas, rank individual lenders
performance in low-income and minority communities; examine total applications
received and rejected, and total loans made; design reports using HMDA
and census data; and export data into other software packages to create
maps, graphs, or charts. Requires no special computer skills. Information:
HMDA Works, CCC, 1000 Wisconsin Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20007; fax: 202-333-5462.