The Centerville Fund, Inc.: A Case Study in Community Economic Control

Abstract

Community development corporations (CDCs) are new institutions which substitute collective for private ownership and combine social goals and functions with economic development for the poor. In part, a response to OEO-funded community action agencies, which have not lived up to expectations, CDCs are designed to reduce local economic dependency and increase individual and community power. A specific CDC, the Centerville Fund, Inc., is described with particular regard to its relationship to the community and its attempt to combine business and social goals. Its four years of experience suggest that the idea is feasible, and that it is applicable to more affluent citizens and communities.