Your Community Updates
from the Community Development Partnership
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A Word from Jay...
Keeping it local
Part of our mission at the Community Development Partnership is to nurture a vibrant Lower Cape Region. For me, the upcoming holidays always present a great opportunity to “nurture” our special community.
My email in-box has been stuffed with on-line deals and bargains, all offering the convenience of shopping on-line from the comfort of my home and avoiding the holiday rush and hassle. But did you know that if every family in the U.S. spent an extra $10 a month at a locally owned, independent business instead of a national chain, over $9.3 billion would be directly returned to our economy? Local businesses generate 70% more local economic activity per square foot than big box retail stores. In our largely seasonal economy, buying locally in the winter months has an even greater impact.
And giving locally is also important in nurturing our Lower Cape community. Our end of year appeal is in the mail and hope you will support the work we do. Making a contribution to the CDP through our secure website is something you can do online from the comfort of your home and have a big local impact. Donations to the CDP of $1,000 or more are eligible for a state tax credit worth 50% of your contribution. If you are interested in using our Community Investment Tax Credit program, don’t delay as we have just $9,000 in tax credits remaining for 2018.
Thanks for your support for and interest in the work of the CDP,
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An Affordable Home is First Step to Feeling Hopeful
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“The Cape is big, but the community is small...It feels so much more hopeful here. Things are finally going right. I’ve never felt I would be successful before.”
Autumn Edwards
Resident, Wellfleet
Growing up in South Dakota, Autumn Edwards never saw an ocean until she arrived in Provincetown in 2013. She had landed a position as an intern at an art gallery during her junior year at Black Hills State University. Ultimately, the internship didn’t work out, but as a photography student, Edwards attracted the attention of Amy Arbus, and won a scholarship at the Provincetown Art Association & Museum (PAAM) to study with her.
While working at a local gas station, Edwards met CDP supporter Judith Stiles, owner of the Newcomb Hollow Gallery in Wellfleet, who befriended her and took on her work. Stiles also became a mentor as Edwards struggled to make a living as a photographer.
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Supporting Local Businesses
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CDP’s Business & Credit Programs a Great Leg Up for Local Entrepreneurs
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“Most businesses do not know what they do not know…education and discussions around their operations is really what small business assistance is about.”
Pam Andersen
CDP Director, Business & Credit Programs
Cape Cod’s unique economy attracts a good number of entrepreneurs and small business owners to her shores. Whether starting a landscaping, catering, housebuilding, retail or creative business, people often need a little help to tether their dreams to reality. Getting up, running and sustaining a small business can be a challenge that sometimes feels insurmountable
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Serving the Community Comes from Knowing the Struggles
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“I want to work on solutions that address our housing challenges and help to create jobs… I want a vibrant and sustainable Outer Cape."
Raphael Richter
Owner, Mercedes Cab Company, Inc.
and CDP Board Member
Raphael Richter understands the challenges that go along with being a business owner and trying to find an affordable home on the Lower Cape. “It all dovetails for me,” says Richter. He and his wife Vida, who is also a local business owner, are also parents of a young child and have just moved in to their new home. With so much going on, it would be reasonable to think Richter would take some time off as the busy season has come to a close. Not so, Richter has always been deeply engaged in the community as a former Select Board and Finance Committee Member in Provincetown and now as a member of the CDP’s Board of Directors.
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In response to a recent report on housing, published by Housing Assistance Corporation, Jay Coburn, CDP CEO and Hadley Luddy, Executive Director of Homeless Prevention Council penned the following op-ed that was published in the Cape Cod Times on November 29, 2018.
Cape Cod Times, My View, November 29, 2018
The Housing Assistance Corporation’s recent report, “Housing on Cape Cod: The High Cost of Doing Nothing,” presented excellent data to support facts we’ve been acutely aware of and struggling with on the Lower and Outer Cape for more than a decade. Affordable rentals have become impossible to find. Waiting lists for affordable or subsidized housing are on average 3-5 years at best. The size of waiting lists for the 72 units managed by the Community Development Partnership have tripled over the past three years.
For those lucky enough to find year-round rentals, payments are upwards of $2500 a month, before utilities and other costs. This is a recipe for disaster for many of the clients served at agencies like the CDP and the Homeless Prevention Council.
Finding solutions is complicated, but here’s our challenge to the Lower and Outer Cape community:
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Upcoming Events and Workshops
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First Time Home Buyer Workshop
December 5, 7 & 10
6:00 - 9:00 PM
CDP Offices, Eastham
The CDP is offering this course for first time buyers. These courses provide information on budgeting, looking for, selecting, and purchasing a home, and local resources that may be available to buyers.
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Business & Credit Workshops
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Looking for practical business wisdom?
The CDP has arranged with Cape Cod SCORE to offer Individual Business Counseling with SCORE counselors right here in Eastham.
When & Where:
One hour
mentoring sessions will be available on:
Wednesday, December 19
between
9:00 AM and 1:00 PM.
CDP Conference Room
3 Main Street Mercantile
Unit 8 in Eastham.
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SAVE THE DATES!
Winter and Spring Workshops with SCORE
January 9:
Setting Goals that will Chart Your Path to Business Success
February 5:
Recruiting, Hiring and On-Boarding Employees
March 4:
The 4 Pillars of an Effective Website
April 11:
Grow Your Business Through Social Media
Workshops will take place at Seamen's Bank, Wellfleet
from 8:30-10:00 AM
These workshops are FREE thanks to our sponsor Seamen's Bank
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This Place Matters
our bi-weekly radio & television show
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Tune in
92.1 WOMR & 91.3 WFMR
Wednesdays 12:30pm
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Join host Jay Coburn & guests to learn more
about activities affecting the people and places on the Lower and Outer Cape Cod.
December 5
: Join
Kathleen Nagle
and
Beth Wade
of Habitat for Humanity as they share an update on current projects and the road ahead.
December 19
:
Cindy Horgan
of Cape Cod Children's Place and
Hadley Luddy
of Homeless Prevention Council discuss an exciting soon to be announced opportunity.
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Please consider an end-of-year gift to support the work the CDP does to strengthen the Lower Cape community. We cannot do any of this without you!
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Thank you
for supporting the work we do to make the Lower Cape a place where we can all
live
,
work
and
thrive
!
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