Strategies to Support CDP Growth and Sustainability

The Community Development Project (CDP) of the Urban Justice Center (UJC) is a local intermediary that provides litigation, research and policy, and technical and legal assistance to community-based organizations from low-income communities in New York City. As part of an on-going strategic planning process, CDP submitted a proposal to NYU Wagner’s Capstone program to assist the organization in three main areas: developing performance measures for CDP’s work, assessing client (partner) satisfaction with CDP services, and improving external communication, with special emphasis on enhancing CDP’s fundraising abilities and communication with funders. The Capstone team conducted a series of focus groups with CDP staff as well as 26 interviews with a sample of CDP partners, local and national intermediary organizations, and funders. These interviews, combined with academic research, informed the primary recommendations in the Capstone team’s final report. The report also includes a review of key policy issues affecting CDP’s work, themes and findings from in-depth interviews, logic models of CDP service areas, a comprehensive communications plan, and recommendations for CDP with respect to fundraising, service delivery and performance measurement.