Survey Results: How Do You Think CAAs Can Make the Best Use of CSBG Economic Stimulus Funds?

Last month's Feature of the Month included a brief survey to receive ideas on the best use of CSBG Economic Funds.  Click here to view the responses that have been received so far.  We've reopened the survey to keep hearing plans and ideas for CAA stimulus funding projects - add your ideas by going to the Survey Link now.

The Green Economy 

Green for All is a national organization dedicated to building an inclusive green economy strong enough to lift people out of poverty.

At its recent mid-winter conference, NASCSP featured Raquel Pinderhughes, Ph. D. who is leading national expert on the burgeoning green-collar economy.  Here's Dr. Pinderhughes' workshop presentation on The Green Power Workforce.  There are a few charts in the material below that reflect a range of work identified with green jobs.

Dr. Pinderhughes is the author of Green Collar Jobs: An Analysis of the Capacity of Green Businesses to Provide High Quality Jobs for Men and Women with Barriers to Employment.

As stated in the Executive Summary, “…there is an urgent need for a new source of living wage jobs for low income residents with barriers to employment – a population that includes youth and adults who do not have a high school degree, have been out of the labor market for a long time, were formally incarcerated, have limited education and/or labor market skills. This report describes a category of jobs with significant potential to fill this need – green collar jobs.”

Another resource is the website: http://www.americangreenjobs.net/folder/list

Green Housing

Here's a sampling of resources to assist with the development of green housing.

*Green Communities is a five-year, $555 million commitment by Enterprise to build more than 8,500 healthy, efficient homes for low-income people and make environmentally sustainable development the mainstream in the affordable housing industry.

*Green Craftsman Home Plans 2008 from the Greater Minnesota Housing Fund.

*Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)
- Annotated Resources for Green Multifamily Rehabilitation (3/07) – Summary of resources available on the topic of green building / rehabilitation for multifamily homes with links to download the publications.
- Experts Online - Green Development Series, Part III: The Nuts and Bolts of Green – Lessons Learned from the Ground Up (LISC) (12/05) – Strategies for integrating the broad range of topics considered “green techniques” for cash-strapped affordable housing projects.

*National Center for Appropriate Technology (NCAT)
- Smart Communities Network: Creating Energy Smart Communities with items such as Green Buildings Articles & Publications, Green Buildings Educational Materials & Programs, Toolkit for Green Buildings and more.
- Evergreen Affordability: Tools for Building Sustainable Housing (6/04) – Affordable Sustainability Technical Assistance for HOME Project.
- Keys to Successful Solar Design – Montana Guide to Building ENERGY STAR Solar Homes.

*Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) (USGBC)
- The Green Home Guide
- LEED Resources
- Green Building Links