There Aren't Going to Be Any Bakeries Here If There Is No Money to Afford Jellyrolls: The Organic Theory of Community Based Development

Abstract

Community based development organizations — CBDOs — are nonprofit developers whose mandate is to revitalize communities devastated by broader transformations in the economy. While best known for their work in building homes and commercial properties in poor communities, CBDOs accomplish more. This article presents theories put forth by community activists of what community development is about beyond doing bricks and mortar projects. While guiding the work of CBDOs, these theories also speak to the conceptual issues that scholars of community development term the ‘dilemmas of activism.’