Together with 15 local partners, SV@Home formed the Community Roots Collaborative (CRC) in 2024 to spur community-based development in Santa Clara County. Given that there were no Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and only one Community Land Trusts (CLT) in our region at the time, SV@Home was prompted to encourage, seed, and expand community development by providing a cohort of community-based organizations in Santa Clara County exposure and education of the existing landscape of affordable housing and community development throughout the Bay Area. SV@Home provides a year-long lesson plan on community development, filled with expert speakers and presentations, facilitated discussions and resource-sharing among community leaders, and exciting tours of established CDCs and CLTs.
In 2024, our CRC cohort held four convenings, a film screening, and visited the San Francisco Chinatown Community Development Center and the Black Cultural Zone Community Development Corporation. Topics discussed included an introduction to community development, the mindset needed to become a community-based developer, and the basics of real estate development finance.
In 2025, we have expanded the CRC with more partners that reflect our region’s diversity, are bringing in more expert speakers, and have launched a one-on-one strategic consulting service for CRC cohort members on their development aspirations. Our 2025 discussion topics include learning about property acquisition & rehabilitation, how to build development partners, fundraising basics, planning/design, and development scaling. So far, we have toured San Francisco Land Trust properties back in June and will tour the Unity Council in Fruitvale, Oakland in September.
To learn more and join the CRC, contact Kenneth Javier-Rosales at kenneth@siliconvalleyathome.org