Winter 2007

Complete Issue

Contents (each article available in PDF)

• When Donors Feel Generous
  by Stephan Meier, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
  New research shows that people donate time and money at the level of peers to groups with which they identify—and that they want to see the impact of their giving. Nonprofits seeking volunteers and funds will find the insights useful.
• A Ticket to the Middle Class: Working Off College Debt
  by Elizabeth Warren, Sandy Baum, and Ganesh Sitaraman
  A proposed program—in which each year of paid public service would cancel one year of college expense—could lift the burden of debt from graduates while supplying capable workers to municipalities and nonprofits.
• 25 Years of Internships
  by Lillian Seay, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
  The Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has provided mentoring and paid internships to inner-city high school students since 1982. The most recent initiative, FinTech Scholars, prepares young people specifically for careers in financial services.
• Targeting Urban Revitalization
  First Person with Alice M. Rivlin, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution
  A movement to focus public improvement efforts on neighborhoods with the greatest potential to spread the benefits is gaining adherents. Former Federal Reserve Board vice chairman Alice Rivlin discusses her recent research into targeting.
• Venture Strategies for Distressed Areas
  by Michael H. Gurau, CEI Community Ventures Fund
  Venture capital, which can help businesses and neighborhoods grow, is typically limited to urban markets. A new fund serving Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont is showing that investment opportunities exist in rural and distressed communities, too.
• Supplier Diversity and Economic Development
  by Fred McKinney, Ph.D., Connecticut Minority Supplier Development Council
  Companies that use minority suppliers are learning that doing so benefits the bottom line. At the same time, community groups are seeing just how much the success of local businesses can help neighborhoods.
• Mapping New England
  by Ricardo Borgos, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
  According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey, 35.5 percent of the population 25 years and older in southern New England counties have a bachelor's degree or higher. Nationwide the percentage is 27.2.
• A New Approach to Public Housing
  by Josh Meehan and Brandy Curtis, Cambridge Housing Authority
  Since 1996, a federal demonstration project called Moving to Work has shown that if public housing agencies are permitted to merge funds from various programs and are exempted from most regulations, they can administer housing programs better.
• Reasons for Optimism
  by Cathy E. Minehan, President, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
  President Minehan delivered these remarks during the July convening of the Bank's Community Development Advisory Council in Haverhill, Massachusetts. Council members are selected from each New England state for their expertise in local community development issues.
  

Articles may be reprinted if Communities & Banking and the author are credited and the following disclaimer is used: "The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston or the Federal Reserve System. Information about organizations and upcoming events is strictly informational and not an endorsement."

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