Imagine a future where every community can thrive
CCI’s new strategic frame draws on more than a decade of learning, clarifies our approach, and gives us all a shared understanding of what it takes to build equitable community investment ecosystems.
What if every community had what it needed to thrive?
What if leaders in the community investment field were connected, sharing wisdom, and building systems that could withstand even the most significant disruptions?
That’s the future we see at CCI: One where communities in the U.S. that have experienced racism and marginalization have robust community investment ecosystems that are ready and equipped to advance their self-determined, transformative priorities.
Our Vision
Thriving Community Investment Ecosystems
The forest and greenhouse image that we have envision for our strategic frame represents a flourishing community investment ecosystem that incorporates or network, program, and influence strategies
From a fragmented landscape to a thriving forest
For too long, the community investment field has looked like a set of isolated efforts. These efforts are important, but they often do not connect to a broader system. The current political and economic state of the country is exacerbating that fragmentation and making the call for a stronger, more connected community investment ecosystem more dire.
Testimonial
“Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ac in facilisi quis ipsum, aliquam eleifend enim donec. Diam volutpat ac, lectus orci. Arcu dictum amet vestibulum.”
Omar Carrillo Tinajero, Executive Director
The Frame in Action
Description of section if wanted. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Mauris arcu malesuada eget orci. Fusce magna sem amet, integer.
Influence
The Canopy
Our case studies, convenings, tools, and frameworks ensure that what grows in one part of the forest strengthens the whole. Through this knowledge sharing, we connect leaders and ideas across the ecosystem, helping insights spread, innovations take root, and systems shift toward equity.
Programs & Initiatives
The Understory and Greenhouse
Our programs plant seeds where they’re most needed and create conditions for growth that don’t yet exist naturally in the ecosystem. Through our leadership development cohorts, initiatives, partnerships, and incubators, we support practitioners to experiment, learn, and grow together.
We cultivate leaders through programs like the Fulcrum Fellowship and California Climate Leaders Fellowship, equipping them with tools in capital absorption, racial equity, and adaptive leadership.
Network
The Roots
Our network anchors and nourishes the ecosystem, building underground connections that strengthen the forest. Through cultivating leaders, facilitating peer learning, and community building, we support the people who hold, connect, and regenerate the work.
Examples of our Network in Action
Rebuilding for Resilience: How Damon Burns Turned Finance New Orleans into an Engine of Change
How will we do this?
Adaptive Leadership
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Est quisquam pariatur qui exercitationem sunt in maxime internos qui ipsam magnam. Aut alias debitis id voluptatem pariatur nam voluptate quia qui ipsa voluptatibus. Aut delectus inventore est reiciendis nostrum eos aliquam rerum qui sint veritatis qui autem unde ut nihil impedit. Qui dolore ipsa ut nemo Quis quo delectus magnam.
Capital Absorption Framework
The framework’s three functions—articulating a shared priority, creating and executing an investable pipeline of projects, and improving the enabling environment—offer leaders tools to realize their communities’ visions.
Racial Equity
Disinvestment and racial inequity are tied and connected in the US. Racial inequity contributes to the fragmented community investment landscape. Centuries of structural racism have shaped financial systems and markets to channel resources to communities that already have them and further disinvest communities that don’t. By not centralizing racial equity, we create barriers to creating the thriving ecosystem we aim to achieve.
We offer tools, research, and ideas to help those working for racial justice in systems, organizations, and communities.
Community Self-Determination
What does a self-determined community look like? Through the lens of our strategic framework, we see as actively fostering the connections, providing the tools, and advocating for communities to decide their own futures.
GET STARTED
What This Means for You
This framework captures how CCI works alongside partners to transform systems. This is not a new direction, but a shared vision shaped by our collective efforts.
Join us in creating this thriving forest as we continue to make sure capital isn’t scarce or unevenly disrupted in your part of the forest! This year, we will be sharing resources, impact stories, and more.
Explore Our Tools and Frameworks
Nullam quis risus eget urna mollis ornare vel eu leo. Donec sed odio dui.
Access Our Latest Resources
Search the CCI Resource Library for publications, videos, case studies, research, and more.
