Tax Credits for Historic Rehabilitation
by John Leith-Tetrault, National Trust Community Investment Corporation and Kennedy Smith, The Community Land Use and Economics Group, LLC
Saving historic buildings preserves New England’s character while providing opportunities for affordable housing and economic development. The authors describe how to use federal historic tax credits as well as New England’s state-level historic tax credits.

The College as Community-Based Organization
by Todd Andrews, Goodwin College
Colleges and universities increasingly strive to build healthy environments through strong relationships with surrounding communities. Goodwin College, for example, actually thinks of itself as a community-based organization and participates fully in East Hartford’s revitalization.

Age-Restricted Housing in New England
by Peter Francese, New England Economic Partnership
Fair Housing Act amendments exempt housing restricted to “older persons” from provisions protecting families with children from discrimination. But municipal leaders who believe that promoting over-55 housing will reduce education costs are in for a rude awakening.

Mapping New England: Age-Restricted Housing in New Hampshire
by Dickson Power, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
The map highlights concentrations of existing age-restricted units and building permits for the construction of age-restricted units in New Hampshire.

Creating Hope for Incarcerated Women
by Debbie Rogala, Community Partners in Action
Connecticut is testing ways to help ex-offenders turn their lives around and improve their communities. A program that identifies motivated women and starts before their release is showing that a holistic approach can cut recidivism.

No Island Is an Island: Maine’s Island Housing Groups Collaborate
by Heidi Shott, Genesis Community Loan Fund
The Islands Challenge Fund formed by the Maine Community Foundation, the Maine Sea Coast Mission, the Island Institute, and Genesis Community Loan Fund offers a model for helping year-round residents in any resort community to create affordable housing.

Maine’s Lifelong Learning Accounts
by Auta Main, State of Maine
Lifelong Learning Accounts (LiLAs) support current and future workforce needs. LiLA funds differ from tuition reimbursement in several ways: being available before course registration, being portable, and merging employee savings with contributions from both employers and third parties.

From Subprime Mortgages to Subprime Credit Cards
by Margo Anderson, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston
Since the 2005 changes to bankruptcy law made subprime products safer for credit card companies, they are promoting more cards to consumers with poor credit. High up-front fees and penalties may call for consumer caution.

Funding New England’s Co-operative Movement
by Erbin Crowell, Cooperative Fund of New England
With its focus on community needs, the co-op is the original social enterprise. Today patient capital from the Cooperative Fund of New England is helping co-ops involved in housing, food delivery, health care, financial services, and agricultural marketing to build for the future.