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The District LedgerCommunity development & housing finance

An independent resource explaining how community development, affordable housing and neighborhood finance work, with a Washington DC focus.

Community development and housing finance, explained plainly

Community development and housing finance, explained

Start with what community development means    or what a CDFI is

Residents and a nonprofit staff member carrying boxes of paperwork into a brick community center entrance on a bright city morning
Nonprofit offices, community centers and the meetings where neighborhood money decisions happen.

The four desks

Four desks, from ideas to local addresses

Each desk opens with an index of its guides. Pick the field itself, the housing it builds, the money that funds it, or the Washington DC case.

  • Neighbors and planners gathered around a table with a printed district map and building sketches during a community meeting.

    Desk 01

    Community Development

    Define community development, its actors and how the section guides connect.

    3 guides inside

  • A row of modest brick apartment buildings with tidy stoops and flower boxes on a quiet residential street in late afternoon light.

    Desk 02

    Affordable Housing

    Frame affordable housing, its financing stack and the section guides.

    3 guides inside

  • A neighborhood bank branch interior with a loan officer shaking hands with a community group representative across a desk.

    Desk 03

    Community Finance

    Frame community finance, CDFIs, loan funds and the section guides.

    4 guides inside

  • A Washington DC street of brick rowhouses with a distant view of the Capitol dome under a pale evening sky.

    Desk 04

    Washington DC

    Frame DC affordable housing, local players and the section guides.

    3 guides inside

Latest guides

Newest in the ledger

The most recent guides across all four desks: definitions, financing walks and program maps, each written to be read on its own.

  • A loan committee meeting around a wooden table with folders, a laptop and a map of a city district marked with project pins.

    Community Finance

    CDFI Loan Funds Explained

    How CDFI loan pools gather capital, lend to nonprofits and small developers, price risk, and recycle repayments into the next project.

  • Two contrasting buildings side by side on a city street: a tall glass bank tower and a small brick community lender office.

    Community Finance

    CDFIs vs Banks

    What separates a CDFI from a bank: mission, capital sources, flexibility on collateral and credit, and when each lender fits a project.

  • A contractor and a nonprofit director reviewing a cost sheet at a folding table inside a half-renovated community building.

    Community Finance

    Community Development Loans

    The main community development loans explained: predevelopment, acquisition, construction, mini-perm and facilities, plus what lenders ask.

  • Construction workers renovating a brick apartment block in a Washington DC neighborhood, scaffolding and a permit sign visible.

    Washington DC

    DC Affordable Housing Programs

    A tour of Washington DC affordable housing tools: the Housing Production Trust Fund, DHCD programs, inclusionary zoning and tenant rights.

  • An archival-style view of a 1990s downtown Washington DC office block with brick facades and a street sign in soft light.

    Washington DC

    Community Finance in Washington DC: A History

    How community lending grew in the District, from 1990s nonprofit loan funds like Cornerstone Inc. to today's CDFIs and housing trust tools.

  • A carpenter installing a wooden access ramp at the entrance of a modest veteran's home, tools laid out on the porch.

    Washington DC

    Home Repair Programs for Veterans

    How veterans can fund home repairs and accessibility: VA adaptation grants, nonprofit repair programs, weatherization and local DC help.

A neighborhood bank branch interior with a loan officer shaking hands with a community group representative across a desk.

The rest of the ledger

Every guide, one file

  1. What Is Community Development?

    A plain definition of community development: who does it, what it funds, how it differs from charity, and why it pairs housing with local power.

  2. How Neighborhood Revitalization Works

    From vacant lots to main streets: the stages of neighborhood revitalization, who funds each step, and how residents keep a real say.

  3. What Is Community Investment?

    How community investment moves money into underserved neighborhoods through CDFIs, funds, banks and public programs, and what it pays for.

  4. What Is Affordable Housing?

    What affordable housing means in the United States: income limits, the 30 percent rule, program types and who qualifies for each.

  5. How Nonprofit Housing Projects Are Financed

    The financing stack behind nonprofit housing: predevelopment loans, tax credits, grants, first mortgages and the role of community loan funds.

  6. What Is Supportive Housing?

    Supportive housing pairs affordable homes with services for people facing disability, illness or homelessness. How it works and how it is funded.

  7. What Is a CDFI?

    A clear guide to Community Development Financial Institutions: the four types, Treasury certification, what they fund and who they serve.

  8. CDFI Loan Funds Explained

    How CDFI loan pools gather capital, lend to nonprofits and small developers, price risk, and recycle repayments into the next project.

  9. CDFIs vs Banks

    What separates a CDFI from a bank: mission, capital sources, flexibility on collateral and credit, and when each lender fits a project.

  10. Community Development Loans

    The main community development loans explained: predevelopment, acquisition, construction, mini-perm and facilities, plus what lenders ask.

  11. DC Affordable Housing Programs

    A tour of Washington DC affordable housing tools: the Housing Production Trust Fund, DHCD programs, inclusionary zoning and tenant rights.

  12. Community Finance in Washington DC: A History

    How community lending grew in the District, from 1990s nonprofit loan funds like Cornerstone Inc. to today's CDFIs and housing trust tools.

  13. Home Repair Programs for Veterans

    How veterans can fund home repairs and accessibility: VA adaptation grants, nonprofit repair programs, weatherization and local DC help.

Washington DC

3 guides
  • Construction workers renovating a brick apartment block in a Washington DC neighborhood, scaffolding and a permit sign visible.

    Washington DC

    DC Affordable Housing Programs

    A tour of Washington DC affordable housing tools: the Housing Production Trust Fund, DHCD programs, inclusionary zoning and tenant rights.

  • An archival-style view of a 1990s downtown Washington DC office block with brick facades and a street sign in soft light.

    Washington DC

    Community Finance in Washington DC: A History

    How community lending grew in the District, from 1990s nonprofit loan funds like Cornerstone Inc. to today's CDFIs and housing trust tools.

  • A carpenter installing a wooden access ramp at the entrance of a modest veteran's home, tools laid out on the porch.

    Washington DC

    Home Repair Programs for Veterans

    How veterans can fund home repairs and accessibility: VA adaptation grants, nonprofit repair programs, weatherization and local DC help.

Open the Washington DC index

The District

Washington DC, read closely

The District runs one of the deepest local housing systems in the country: a deed tax trust fund, a 1980 tenant purchase law, inclusionary units and a community finance lineage that includes a loan fund once hosted on this domain. 3 guides cover the programs, the history and the veterans' repair help.

  • Construction workers renovating a brick apartment block in a Washington DC neighborhood, scaffolding and a permit sign visible.

    Washington DC

    DC Affordable Housing Programs

    A tour of Washington DC affordable housing tools: the Housing Production Trust Fund, DHCD programs, inclusionary zoning and tenant rights.

  • An archival-style view of a 1990s downtown Washington DC office block with brick facades and a street sign in soft light.

    Washington DC

    Community Finance in Washington DC: A History

    How community lending grew in the District, from 1990s nonprofit loan funds like Cornerstone Inc. to today's CDFIs and housing trust tools.

  • A carpenter installing a wooden access ramp at the entrance of a modest veteran's home, tools laid out on the porch.

    Washington DC

    Home Repair Programs for Veterans

    How veterans can fund home repairs and accessibility: VA adaptation grants, nonprofit repair programs, weatherization and local DC help.