Local Economy

The article below concludes Nonprofit Quarterly's series—Narratives to Build Collective Economic Power—which NPQ is publishing in partnership with the national racial and economic justice nonprofit, Common Future. In this series, the authors write about their economic justice work and how, in their work, they...

In this conversation, Craig Mattson and The Learning Tree co-founder De'Amon Harges explore the ways in which problem of theft looms on the edge of partnerships between various sectors and neighborhood organizations. Craig and De'Amon discuss ways to avoid this...

Modern culture has instilled in most of us an unchecked reverence for the idea of independence. It is a celebrated sign of maturity and accomplishment. A promised path to freedom, and a signal that we have arrived. Soulful teachers,...

  From 2018 to 2021, I had the chance to work and learn alongside an immensely creative, caring group of community members and project staff of the Free Library of Philadelphia as part of a funding initiative by the national...

An urban neighborhood strengthens its community by asking unexpected questions The Learning Tree initiative takes a different route to enhancing community by focusing on talents and gifts — not poverty.   When faced with an inability to pay their rent, mortgage or...

Talent retention is a top concern for companies right now, in an era when people are quitting their jobs in droves. But it might also be an important development strategy for low-income neighborhoods, according to the new book “Reclaiming...

Where lies the passage out of an economic and social system rooted in the illusion scarcity and competition, and into a system of living grounded in the reality of abundance and cooperation? Economist Dr. Olivia Saunders invites us to...

  It is not difficult to distinguish the functions of physical tools from each other. No one uses a saw to drive a nail into a piece of wood. Likewise, no one attempts to cut a piece of wood with a...

Gentrification is a sinister contagion spreading through Black communities across America. After years of economic oppression and deprivation, the Black community now stands at the edge of perhaps the greatest displacement since the Great Migration. Over the years, the federal...

The article below tells the story of how one neighbor generated unity, learning and joy within her neighborhood by bringing fellow community members together around the African-American holiday of Kwanzaa.   Kwanzaa in Philly: How neighborhoods celebrate the African-American holiday by Michaela...