Peter Goldberg
President & CEO
Alliance for Children and Families
Founding Member
National Community Development Initiative
(ncdi)

I had the distinct pleasure and experience of participating in the efforts to shape the initial Living Cities program and to build a consensus for moving it forward.

I remember fondly and with pride the $15 million commitment that the Prudential Insurance Company—whose social investment program I led—made in the first round of funding. Indeed, Prudential was the only corporate investor in that first round. I served as the second chair of the National Community Development Initiative (NCDI) as it was then known.

The process of crafting the initial partnership was an enormous undertaking; we were creating something that did not exist. In retrospect, the launch of NCDI fit what author Jim Collins would characterize as a “big, hairy audacious goal.” I was pleased to have been a part of the amazing and intellectually strenuous exercise.

While we sought to make a big impact—raising the initial $62.5 million was a significant statement for the time—it was the process of crafting NCDI that was so energizing. Developing the vision, creating the plan, building a consensus, raising the funds, creating a buzz, and completing the hard work of implementation required levels of time, trust, interaction and commitment that remain firmly engrained in my memory.

NCDI was unlike much in philanthropy—in concept and in ambition—that had preceded it. In fact, I doubt that we ever truly imagined a 20th anniversary of this undertaking.

Not to be forgotten, the leadership and support to drive the process—Goldmark, Mutz, Rubinger, Black, Rouse, Grogan, Svirdoff, Pickman, among them—were groundbreaking in their aspirations.

The conceptualization and early implementation of NCDI was a profound experience in that it demonstrated the importance of intellectual capital (as opposed to just financial capital), the power of unusual partnerships, the importance of thinking out-of-the-box, and the significance of strategic philanthropic risk.

After I left Prudential in 1994, I sadly was somewhat disconnected from Living Cities. But my sense is that Living Cities has significantly grown, and continues to be a very important force in community development.

I am sure new and exciting opportunities await Living Cities. As federal, state, and local government budgets are increasingly squeezed, the pressure will be present to find next generation ideas for financing human services and community development. The current systems of traditional grants, tax credits, and program-related investments may be inadequate for future needs. Yet, the origins of Living Cities seem rooted in building public-private partnerships and new financing opportunities to spark a next-level commitment to community development. Can Living Cities be the birthplace of new ideas for public and private sector financing in an environment where the public sector is burdened with increasing amounts of deficit and debt?

The lessons of 1990 and 1991 were that the intellectual capital we brought to the table was every bit as important as the financial capital that followed. I would not be surprised, and would be most delighted, if history repeats itself.

Editor’s note: Peter Goldberg died unexpectedly as this publication was being prepared. We mourn his loss.