James Pickman
National Community Development Initiative
Co-Founder and Program Secretary
(1991-2001)

The genesis of Living Cities occurred in 1989, when Peter Goldmark, then president of the Rockefeller Foundation, asked Mike Sviridoff, the first president of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), and me to create an initiative that would “jam community development into second gear.” Peter asked that we keep the design simple, rely on existing intermediary organizations, ensure that community development corporations play pivotal roles, and seek to raise at least $250 million over the next decade.

Mike and I proceeded as directed. We selected LISC and Enterprise as the implementing intermediaries and with Peter’s leadership obtained commitments of over $60 million for a three-year pilot program from seven foundations and one corporation. The National Community Development Initiative (NCDI) was officially launched in 1991.

Working closely with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Henry Cisneros and his chief of staff, Bruce Katz, we were able to secure participation and substantial federal government support without specific funding mandates or bureaucracy. A result of this partnership was the enactment of Section 4 of the HUD Demonstration Act of 1993, which continues to provide significant funds to LISC and Enterprise to support the building of capacity and the work of community development corporations.

Over time, our programmatic thrust evolved into support of community development “systems” in the more than 20 cities where we worked. This entailed not just supporting community development corporations (CDCs) and their projects, but seeking to ensure the participation, support, and programmatic coherence of local governments, financial institutions, local foundations and corporations in pursuit of viable revitalization strategies.

In its early years, NCDI was touted as the largest funder collaborative in existence—a real pace setter. Today, looking back over the past 20 years, while it now stands as one of many, Living Cities remains a leader.