Journal Article
Apprenticeships and Their Potential in the U.S.
Rolland, Keith (2016-01)
Government, foundation, and workforce leaders are displaying keen interest in apprenticeships as a way to give job seekers skills, credentials, and access to careers. This increased interest is also part of the greater attention to workforce development strategies that engage employers. Apprenticeships have a long history with roots in ancient times. The Code of Hammurabi of Babylon, which dates back to the 18th century bce, required artisans to teach their crafts to the next generation. By the 13th century, a type of apprenticeship emerged in Western Europe in the form of craft guilds.1 In ...
Cascade , Volume 1

Journal Article
Investing to Create Good Jobs
Rolland, Keith; Baldini, Noelle (2015-10)
A growing number of foundation, nonprofit, and for-profit investors are making investments for measurable social and environmental impact as well as financial return. The ?impact investing? field includes a few investors that are investing in businesses specifically to create jobs for unemployed and underemployed residents. These investors also provide ongoing assistance to owners of the businesses to create ?good quality jobs,? which generally provide income above the minimum wage, health benefits, and training and opportunities for workers to move into positions with higher wages. Three ...
Cascade , Volume 4

Journal Article
Breakthroughs in CDFI Capital Access
Rolland, Keith (2015-10)
For a long time, community development financial institutions (CDFIs) have wanted to raise larger amounts of capital in order to make more loans and have greater social impact. A significant step in that quest was two California CDFIs being issued Standard and Poor?s (S&P) ratings in April 2015. Two other important moves to raise capital are seven CDFI intermediaries raising $525 million through the CDFI Fund?s CDFI Bond Guarantee Program (BGP) and 35 nondepository CDFIs becoming members of the Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) system. This article explores each of these developments.
Cascade , Volume 4

Journal Article
Training for Jobs in the Emerging Energy-Efficiency Industry
Rolland, Keith (2012-01)
The nonprofit Energy Coordinating Agency (ECA) of Philadelphia, Inc. has trained about 2,000 low- and moderate-income adults and teenagers during the past 18 months for jobs in the energy-efficiency field and is simultaneously taking steps to help develop this emerging industry.
Cascade , Volume 1

Journal Article
Pennsylvania Legislation Enables Municipalities to Create Land Banks
Rolland, Keith (2013-01)
Pennsylvania municipalities have a new tool to acquire, manage, and dispose of vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties to facilitate their redevelopment and reuse. Legislation effective in December 2012 states that land banks may be created in Pennsylvania by a city, county, borough, township, or an incorporated town with a population of more than 10,000 residents, or two or more municipalities with populations of less than 10,000 residents that enter into an intergovernmental cooperation agreement (ICA). School districts may be part of an ICA.
Cascade , Volume 1

Journal Article
What Makes Cities Resilient?
Rolland, Keith (2012-10)
How older industrial cities can become resilient cities was the focus of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia?s fifth biennial Reinventing Older Communities conference, which was attended by over 430 community development leaders from nonprofits, banks, foundations, government agencies, and businesses from 24 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada.
Cascade , Volume 3

Journal Article
Delaware Financial Education Program Enlists State Agencies, Nonprofits, and Businesses
Rolland, Keith (2015-04)
Stand by Me (SBM), a four-year-old program created to educate Delaware residents about personal finance and motivate them to achieve financial goals, is currently being implemented by four state agencies, seven nonprofits, and about 50 businesses. The program, which is a joint initiative of the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services and the United Way of Delaware, has the support of Delaware Governor Jack Markell ? a longtime proponent of financial education.
Cascade , Volume 2

Journal Article
How Will Affordable Rental Housing Be Preserved?
Rolland, Keith (2015-01)
Affordable rental housing for low- and moderate-income individuals and families is increasingly scarce. Housing finance agencies, nonprofits, and policymakers agree that existing affordable rental housing must be preserved despite formidable complex obstacles in achieving this goal. This article focuses on challenges in rental housing preservation and discusses the programs and perspectives of the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency (PHFA), the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), and the Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA).
Cascade , Volume 1

Journal Article
Mt. Airy: A Legacy of Intentional Integration
DeMaria, Kyle; Rolland, Keith (2016-01)
Mt. Airy, a Philadelphia community nationally recognized for its community building and organizing efforts to create and maintain racial integration, was the subject of a tour offered as part of the Reinventing Our Communities conference in Philadelphia in September. This article summarizes some key features of these intentional integration efforts in Mt. Airy and contains current perspectives from two residents
Cascade , Volume 4

Journal Article
New CDFI Community Investment Fund
Rolland, Keith (2017-07)
The Opportunity Finance Network (OFN) and Woodforest National Bank (NB), based near Houston, TX, created a new fund in early 2017 to provide equity-equivalent investments to community development financial institutions (CDFIs) in Woodforest NB?s 17-state region, which includes Pennsylvania
Cascade , Volume 2