The North Memphis Volunteers, Organizing, Inspiring, Cultivating, and Education (V.O.I.C.E.) Coalition, supported by SPARCC, is a community-driven initiative that addresses disparities and empowers residents. This case study explores the journey of The North Memphis V.O.I.C.E. Coalition, a collaborative table focused on 20+ neighborhoods in North Memphis. Comprised of residents, community-based organizations, and institutional partners, The […]

This case study digs into how SPARCC LA directed SPARCC resources towards the advancement of transit, housing, and economic justice. Through strategies like community land trusts, tenant protections, and small business preservation, SPARCC LA furthered its collective vision of ensuring low-income Los Angeles residents of color benefit from new investments in their communities. SPARCC LA […]

This case study examines how SPARCC’s support empowered a collaborative in Denver, Mile High Connects (MHC), to foster relationships, streamline collaboration, and drive forward equity-centered changes in the Denver metropolitan region. MHC worked to address displacement by focusing on advancing transit equity through community-driven development and community ownership. With SPARCC investments and support, MHC collaborated […]

This case study explores the work of Elevated Chicago (EC), a SPARCC Collaborative table, and its successful advancement of a variety of policy and capital strategies that support the health and resilience of Chicago residents. EC began their work by intentionally bringing together a diverse, well-rounded group of stakeholders to develop a work plan devoted […]

This SPARCC case study highlights how the Bay Area for All (BA4A) collaborative, brought about policy change and equitable community development through community-centered work, ultimately improving the Bay Area’s housing crisis. BA4A, a collaborative table formed under SPARCC, consists of various coalitions and organizations that shared expertise and resources to advance  the “3Ps of housing” […]

The following case study on the TransFormation Alliance (TFA) showcases SPARCC’s contribution towards systems change work in Atlanta. TFA’s story is an example of how leveraging SPARCC resources to engage community members and organizational stakeholders can lead to equity-centered planning and community power building to advance policies and capital projects. The case study digs into […]

Lee este blog en español. Federal Grant Funding Checklist Applying for funding from the federal government is a difficult and onerous task. While the funds are ultimately meant to help a community address local needs, the process of accessing the funds and ensuring they are implemented in a manner consistent with community priorities can be […]

Recovery from the Great Recession was uneven and painfully slow for lower-income areas and people of color burdened by decades of structural racism. Some neighborhoods never regained housing values or homeownership levels. One thing we know: when parts of our communities are not healthy and thriving, we all pay a price. The multiple stressors of […]

By Sean Campbell The current financial system rewards the well-resourced and fails most BIPOC and low-income Americans. It simultaneously throws billions of dollars at unprofitable Silicon Valley companies while making capital inaccessible for small businesses and Main Street entrepreneurs. It has also done nothing to close our shameful racial wealth gap–indeed, it has made it […]

Last week Congress passed a $1.5 trillion spending bill that was signed into law by President Biden this week. This comes on the heels of the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill signed into law last November. While these bills contain funding for very worthwhile programming and resources, these funds often don’t make it to the organizations […]