When we first started the Community Development Corporation of Oregon we interviewed dozens of organizations who were already providing services. We discovered a bewildering array. It seemed that the individual elements did not add up to more than the sum of their parts.
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We mapped them on a continuum between relief and development. Then we looked at those services that were being done for our neighbors versus those that we do with our neighbors.
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The vast majority of the resources went into relief for people.
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While fewer of the efforts went into development with people.
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Our strategy is to drive resources from the lower left hand corner to the upper right hand corner, which adds permanent, sustainable value to the community.
