Southern New Hampshire University professor Michael Swack answers basic questions about capital markets and explains how community development lenders can raise their capacity by tapping into these markets.

Microloans, also known as microfinancing, peer-to-peer lending, and crowdfunding, started out as a means for individuals, such as impoverished borrowers who lack collateral and underprivileged women in third world countries, to provide for themselves. The way microloan markets operate is quite...

Abusive lending practices have made headlines around the nation, and the issue remains hotly debated. Stephen O'Sullivan gives an overview and an update on the issue. He focuses on how various regulators and legislators are trying to curb abuses without limiting access to the subprime market.

A new kind of partnership is benefiting both nonprofits and for-profits by tapping the scale of investment and depth of data available in the for-profit world and applying 50 percent of returns to underserved communities.

Deterioration of urban neighborhoods is known to induce out migration, but how well do public investments to reverse decline actually work? To evaluate Philadelphia’s greening investment, researchers measured property buyers’ willingness to pay more—and found that greening works.

In neighborhoods across the country, public schools and community groups are beginning to work together in new and innovative ways. Connie Chung explores the wide variety of roles that public schools can play in community development efforts.

Contrary to the perception of trade-offs between financial return and social impact, the F.B. Heron Foundation demonstrates that it’s possible to achieve competitive returns while incorporating mission-related investments into an overall portfolio and asset allocation.

Whether low-income communities are struggling to rebuild after a hurricane or after long neglect, the challenges often seem insurmountable. The New Orleans 9th Ward’s inclusive approach to decision making shows that the best revitalization plans are those with the broadest buy-in.

Many community development challenges are intractable because it’s hard to convene all the relevant stakeholders to work on real solutions with real consequences. Now a few organizations are trying out multiplayer scenarios as a way to give serious thought to opposing views. Scenarios feel...