Organizational Capacity

Over the last thirteen years and longer, NJCDC has demonstrated its capacity to lead the revitalization effort in the Great Falls Neighborhood. The organization has built specific internal capacities in real estate development, community outreach and leadership development, K through 8 education, youth development programming, and social service provision. Moreover, it has proven adept at building political support for neighborhood initiatives – working with officials across local, county, state, and federal government – and acting as an effective booster in promoting the neighborhood, with its most visible success in advocacy being the Paterson Great Falls being formally designated as a National Historical Park in 2011.

NJCDC has been one of the most effective operators in the NJ Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit (NRTC) Program. Over the last twelve years, NJCDC has received eleven NRTC project grants totaling over $10 million in funding. These NRTC project grants have funded the development organizing and advocacy. of a number of real estate projects, such as: Park Corner Plaza, Rogers Meeting Center, Michael’s Energy Factory preschool, and the Great Falls Youth Center. Additionally, NRTC funds have supported NJCDC programs like the Paterson Youth Corps, Youth Build, and the Neighborhood Help Center.

The neighborhood also has huge untapped potential pockets of social capital. The largest of these pockets is parents of students in the neighborhood’s schools, who share common interests and have tremendous potential to be organized and recruited into community-improvement efforts and advocacy. Other social capital hubs include neighborhood houses of worship, ethnic associations, and residents not directly participating in NJCDC’s core services and programs.

These community building and leadership efforts will continue to grow, as they are codified in this neighborhood plan’s first two strategies: Strategy 1.1: Conduct Effective and Empowering Community Organizing, and Strategy 1.2: Support Resident-Led Community Initiatives.

NJCDC has also successfully advanced community projects outside of the NRTC program. One such success is the founding the Community Charter School of Paterson in 2008, which has since grown to serve students in grades K through 8 in two schools, employing over 170 individuals while maintaining an annual budget of $18M.

NJCDC is led by its founding President and CEO, and has built an experienced, talented, and dedicated staff with the right mix of professional and personal attributes to serve the community. Many of NJCDC’s key staff have strong connections to the community, and, quite literally, speak its language.