ownership track resources
[Flyer] People’s Housing+: Post Purchase Homeownership Course
This flyer outlines a 7-module program offered by People's Housing+ to help homeowners maintain financial stability, avoid foreclosure, plan for long-term sustainability, and protect their investment.
[Pitch Deck] People’s Housing+: Double Down
This pitch deck from People’s Housing+ presents the “Double Down” community ownership model — a modern reinvention of New Orleans’ historic double homes. It details how PH+ leverages community land trusts, zoning reforms, and small multifamily development to create perpetually affordable homeownership and rental opportunities. The deck includes architectural plans, financing models, stewardship supports, and an actionable pipeline of over 50 units aimed at combating displacement and building Black wealth.
[Flyer] People's Housing+: Heirship, Wills & Succession Planning Workshops
This flyer promotes two free public events on heirship, wills, and succession planning hosted by Infinity Title and partner legal professionals in New Orleans.
[Resource Binder] People’s Housing+
This comprehensive binder from People’s Housing+ (PH+) outlines their approach to community wealth-building through affordable housing, stewardship, and shared equity models. It includes organizational background, financial education tools, stewardship program details, Community Land Trust (CLT) models, and various resources designed to help families achieve financial resilience and sustainable homeownership. Ideal for those interested in housing justice, financial literacy, and long-term affordability in New Orleans and beyond.
[Notecards] Delta Fest - Renters to Homeowners
This notecard deck outlines a detailed presentation delivered at DELTA FEST 2025 on expanding access to homeownership, particularly for renters in LIHTC developments. It features data on racial disparities in mortgage lending, HOPE’s inclusive mortgage products, and innovative lease-to-own strategies.
community infrastructure resources
[Article] Capital One Announces Five-Year, $265 Billion Community Benefits Plan
Capital One Announces Five-Year, $265 Billion Community Benefits Plan in Connection with Discover Acquisition to Advance Economic Opportunity and Financial Well-Being
[Article] U.S. Mayors Look to Local Housing Affordability Solutions
This article reports on a bipartisan survey of mayors from over 68 U.S. cities, highlighting how they are pursuing local strategies—such as public-private partnerships, regulatory reforms, and wraparound services—to address housing affordability. It also outlines Capital One’s commitments through a $265 billion Community Benefits Plan, including funds allocated for affordable housing, community development financing, and support for capacity building.
[Report] Data Centers, Economic Development and the New Infrastructure of Civilization
The deck explains what data centers are—always-on facilities turning electricity into computing for AI, cloud, and internet services—and why rapid AI adoption is driving demand. It outlines utility and policy approaches to handle growth without shifting costs to households, alongside efficiency moves like low-water, direct-to-chip cooling. Finally, it frames data centers as economic infrastructure that attracts investment, creates jobs, and generates regional “halo effects.”
[Deck] Enterprise Community Partners
Robin Wolff & Adrienne Norwood | Developing Capacity to Create and Preserve Affordable Housing in Rural Communities
Enterprise Community Partners is tackling the national housing crisis by expanding its focus to include rural communities, aiming to create homes and communities that promote pride, belonging, resilience, and upward mobility. This slide deck outlines the urgent need to expand and preserve affordable housing in rural America. It features data, maps, and timelines focused on Mississippi, and highlights tools like the USDA Section 515 transfer process to support emerging developers — especially those working in historically disinvested areas.
[One-Pager] The Impacts of Co-Op New West Jackson
Nia Umoja | Our Grass is Green, Too
This one-pager outlines the mission, values, and impact of The Cooperative Community of New West Jackson — a resident-led effort revitalizing an eight-block neighborhood in West Jackson, Mississippi. Through property ownership, art, food, and cooperative action, the community is disrupting cycles of poverty and exclusion. The document highlights core values, vision, and accomplishments in housing, economic opportunity, and food access.
[Report] As the South Grows So Grows the Nation
Nia Umoja | Our Grass is Green, Too
This report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy and Grantmakers for Southern Progress highlights the underinvestment in Southern-led social change and calls for a fundamental shift in philanthropy. Through data, case studies, and actionable recommendations, it makes the case that supporting Southern grassroots movements — particularly those led by marginalized communities — is critical to advancing equity and justice across the nation.
[Report] Community Ownership and Self-Determination
Nia Umoja | Our Grass is Green, Too
This brief introduces the concept of community ownership as a powerful tool for advancing racial and economic justice. It highlights models such as land trusts, cooperative businesses, and community-controlled infrastructure, illustrating how these approaches support long-term self-determination. Designed for organizers, funders, and policymakers, the document outlines key principles and strategic pathways to build collective power.
[Book] The Revolution Will Not Be Funded
Nia Umoja | Our Grass is Green, Too
In this introduction, Andrea Smith critiques the nonprofit industrial complex (NPIC) as a system that often limits radical organizing by forcing movements into professionalized, depoliticized structures tied to state and corporate interests. She explains how reliance on foundation funding can redirect activist energy away from grassroots base-building and systemic change. The piece calls for a reevaluation of how movements sustain themselves — centering self-determination, accountability to communities, and transformative strategies for liberation.
[Timeline] How Philanthropy Has Fueled The Accumulation & Privatization Of Wealth
Nia Umoja | Our Grass is Green, Too
This timeline-based report illustrates how U.S. tax policy and philanthropic structures have enabled the wealthy to accumulate and preserve private wealth under the guise of charitable giving. It explains how mechanisms like private foundations and Donor Advised Funds (DAFs) evolved into tax shelters, often delaying or diverting resources away from the public good. The document is part of Resonance: A Framework for Philanthropic Transformation by Justice Funders.
[Report] Toward An Anti-Racist Paradigm In Community Development
Nia Umoja | Our Grass is Green, Too
This report, commissioned by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and developed by ThirdSpace Action Lab, explores how structural racism manifests within the community development sector. It outlines dominant narratives that perpetuate inequity, analyzes systemic challenges, and proposes actionable frameworks for creating an explicitly anti-racist approach to community development—grounded in community voice, equity, and long-term transformation. This document is a powerful tool for anyone seeking to align development work with racial justice.
[Resource Hub] Creative Placemaking Resource Hub
Nia Umoja | Our Grass is Green, Too
The Hub is a living archive of scholarship and practice on creative placemaking, focused on the intersection of arts, community design, and equitable development. It hosts resources transferred from ArtPlace America (2010–2020) as a foundational archive, and continues to grow with new materials contributed across sectors, audiences, and art forms
[Toolkit] The People’s Practice
Nia Umoja | Our Grass is Green, Too
The People’s Practice advances anti-racist community development by supporting leaders, organizations, and movements aligned with just and equitable community transformation. It offers tools, frameworks, and collaborative strategies for transforming systems in ways that center the voices and needs of communities most impacted by inequality.
[One-Pager] Community Infrastructure Services
This document outlines the comprehensive services offered by Communities Unlimited to support rural communities in building, operating, and maintaining safe drinking water and wastewater systems.
[Flyer] Community Sustainability
This bilingual flyer outlines Communities Unlimited’s approach to strengthening underserved rural communities through locally driven planning, capacity-building, and access to resources. From small business consulting to water system expertise, GIS mapping, and healthy food programs, the initiative leverages local assets to create vibrant, sustainable economies.
[Flyer] Home Water Well Assessment
This bilingual flyer outlines free home water well assessments offered by Communities Unlimited in seven Southern states. It explains what to expect during an in-person assessment, including visual inspections, water source evaluations, and guidance on low-interest financing for well or septic system repair or replacement. A valuable resource for rural homeowners seeking clean, reliable water.
[Flyer] Préstamos Para Servicios De Ingeniería Previos Al Desarrollo
This bilingual flyer explains how Communities Unlimited provides interim financing of up to $500,000 to rural and underserved communities for pre-development expenses related to water and wastewater systems.
[Flyer] Septic & Well Loans
This bilingual flyer describes low-interest loans (up to $15,000) available to rural homeowners for the construction, renovation, or replacement of household water wells and septic systems. It includes eligibility criteria, loan terms (1% fixed APR, up to 20 years), and a list of eligible states across the South and Midwest.
[Flyer] Jackson Public Schools
Latoya Cutts, Roy Decker, & Dr. Errick Greene | Good Things for Good People: Repurposing Community Assets
This flyer (dated September 18, 2025) shares information about Jackson Public Schools' initiative to repurpose 17 unused school buildings due to a sharp decline in student population. It outlines available properties — including elementary, middle, and high schools — and invites proposals for innovative, community-benefiting redevelopment. Ideal for organizations or individuals interested in local revitalization and adaptive reuse.
Delta Fest 2025
conference resources
Relive. Reimagine. Reignite.
DELTA FEST 2025 planted seeds, sparked connections, and showed us what prosperity in action can look like.
This page brings together the resources, insights, and conversations that fueled our gathering—so you can revisit the moments that inspired you, share them with your networks, and keep building toward what’s next.
Whether you’re here to watch a keynote you missed, dive into a session handout, or explore materials by track, you’ll find it all organized below.
Use these resources to carry the movement forward—we’re just getting started.
Entrepreneurship track resources
[Article] The Next California Phase III: Action and Implementation
This report outlines Phase III of WWF’s “The Next California” initiative, which aims to shift a portion of U.S. specialty crop production to the Mid-Mississippi Delta in response to climate risks and economic opportunity. Focused on action and implementation, it details efforts to pilot specialty crop ventures, attract innovative funding, and build a supportive infrastructure and business ecosystem.
[Article] Future US Food Security is a $3.2 Billion Opportunity for Farmers in the Mid-Mississippi Delta
This World Wildlife Fund press release outlines how shifting just 3% of farmland in the Mid-Mississippi Delta to specialty crops could generate $3.2 billion in new farmgate revenue.
[Article] Farming for people, planet, and community in the Mississippi Delta
This article highlights efforts to reimagine agriculture in the Mid-Mississippi Delta through WWF’s “Next California” initiative. By transitioning a portion of the region’s farmland from commodity crops to specialty food production, the initiative aims to build a climate-resilient, economically viable, and community-centered food system.
[Podcast] Lori Chatman on an equitable path forward to redress racial injustice in real estate
Lori Chatman | Fortifying Emerging Developers
Enterprise, the 40-year-old nonprofit affordable housing developer, has set out to change the structure of the real estate industry, starting with themselves. Lori Chatman, president of Enterprise’s Community Loan Fund, joined the Reconstruction podcast to share how the Enterprise is working to dismantle America's legacy of racism in housing by changing the way the organization lends to real estate developers.