Community Development

Research and community development initiatives that support progress in low- and moderate-income communities

Photo of lighthouse in Portland, ME.

Maine launches initiative aimed at boosting prosperity, connecting people across divides

Working Communities Challenge, funded by $2.7M in contributions, to take on chronic issues

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Boston Fed president, Maine governor announce collaborative effort to strengthen communities

Maine selected as next New England state to participate in community development initiative

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A collage of many images together of children, working parents, and care takers.

Future of child care sector shakier than ever, a half year into pandemic

Experts hoped crisis would serve as a ‘wake-up call,’ but solutions are scarce as challenges mount

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What We Do

Empty street of a small town.

Supporting Growth in Smaller Industrial Cities

Research and field support for communities focusing on efforts to improve prospects for new England’s smaller cities and their low- and moderate-income residents.

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Advancing Household Economic Security and Equity

Strategies and targeted efforts to ensure that lower-income households have the tools and means to be financially stable and fair access to opportunities to prosper economically.

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Expanding Employment Opportunities

Research and engagement efforts to promote better employment opportunities for lower-income individuals.

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Tracking and Elevating Low- & Moderate-Income Issues

Ongoing research and interactions with First-District organizations and constituents to build understanding and promote awareness of challenges facing New England’s lower-income residents.

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Programs & Initiatives

Racial Wealth Inequalities

We are examining the causes of significant racial inequities in regional economic conditions—particularly evident in New England’s large racial wealth gap—to help identify and advance policies for reversing this trend.

Increasing the Quality of Jobs

Many low-wage jobs do not provide workers with economic security. This initiative seeks to upgrade the current low-wage jobs in our economy to rebuild a strong middle class—an outcome that better serves workers, businesses, and communities.

Working Cities Challenge

Building civic infrastructure through leadership and cross-sector collaboration to spur and accelerate economic resurgence and growth in smaller industrial cities.

Early Child Care for Working Parents

The Early Child Care for Working Parents Initiative recognizes that child care access affects the financial health and job prospects of working parents. The goal is to make high-quality early care a successful part of the workforce infrastructure.

Today’s Interns, Tomorrow’s Professionals (TIP) internship program

The Boston Fed’s long-standing high school internship program for local low-income youth that combines employment opportunities with applied, research-based workforce/life-skills enrichment.

Investing in America’s Workforce

The Boston Fed is supporting a Federal Reserve System-wide initiative aimed at improving outcomes and investments for workers and businesses.

Reinventing Work Initiative

A partnership with Commonwealth Corporation and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development to explore opportunities to collaborate with employers on redesigning entry-level jobs to better support business and worker growth.

Services & Resources

Internships and Co-ops

The Boston Fed offers a variety of paid and unpaid internship and co-op opportunities to high school and college students interested in economic research, community development, technology, finance, accounting, human resources, and other fields.

Education Resources

The Boston Fed recommends quality education resources from the Federal Reserve System and other reputable sources.

Community Reinvestment Act

The Community Reinvestment Act requires the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston to assess each state member bank's record of helping to meet the credit needs of its local communities consistent with safe and sound operation.

Publications & Data

Featured

Invested

Series

Invested

An interview-based publication focused on a range of community voices speaking to issues affecting low- and moderate-income New Englanders.

Featured

A $15 Minimum Wage in New England: Who would be affected?

2016 Series

Community Development Issue Briefs

A $15 Minimum Wage in New England: Who would be affected?

by Anmol Chaddha

Featured

The Color of Wealth in Boston

The Color of Wealth in Boston

by Ana Patricia Muñoz, Marlene Kim, Mariko Chang, Regine O. Jackson, Darrick Hamilton, and William A. Darity Jr.

The Reckoning: When a Pandemic Collides with Systemic Racism

Invested

The Reckoning: When a Pandemic Collides with Systemic Racism
Unemployment insurance claims during COVID-19: Disparate impacts across industry and demography in New England states

2020 Series • 20–5

Community Development Issue Briefs

Unemployment insurance claims during COVID-19: Disparate impacts across industry and demography in New England states

by Robert Clifford and Marybeth J. Mattingly

Early Evidence from Massachusetts and Connecticut Suggests Nutritional Assistance Use Is Dramatically Increasing in New England During the Covid-19 Pandemic

2020 Series • 20–1

Community Development Field Notes

Early Evidence from Massachusetts and Connecticut Suggests Nutritional Assistance Use Is Dramatically Increasing in New England During the Covid-19 Pandemic

by Erin Michelle Graves, Marybeth J. Mattingly, and Catherine Tonsberg

HUD/FHA-Insured Homeowners and Properties in End-Stage Default and Foreclosure: National Context and Experiences in Massachusetts

2020 Series

Community Development Issue Briefs

HUD/FHA-Insured Homeowners and Properties in End-Stage Default and Foreclosure: National Context and Experiences in Massachusetts
Health Insurance and Essential Service Workers in New England: Who Lacks Access to Care for COVID-19?

2020 Series • 20–3

Community Development Issue Briefs

Health Insurance and Essential Service Workers in New England: Who Lacks Access to Care for COVID-19?

by Sara Chaganti, Amy Higgins, and Marybeth J. Mattingly

Understanding Appetites for Addressing the Early Child Care Access Problem: Results from a Stakeholder Survey in New England

2020 Series • 20–2

Community Development Issue Briefs

Understanding Appetites for Addressing the Early Child Care Access Problem: Results from a Stakeholder Survey in New England

by Marija Bingulac, Sarah Ann Savage, and Julia Wilson

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Events

Featured

April 8, 2019

Community Development Advisory Council Meetings

Roundtable Discussion and Questions

Featured

March 19, 2019

Fintech for Social Impact

Featured

December 19, 2018

Savings Innovation Convening

Savings Innovation Convening

Featured

December 3, 2018

Community Development Advisory Council Meetings

Roundtable Discussion and Questions

Featured

November 29, 2018

Collaboration for Inclusive Economic Development

Featured

October 31, 2018

Raising the Floor: Strategies that Make Jobs Work for All
October 21, 2020

Maine Working Communities Challenge Announcement Event
October 16, 2019

Reinventing Work Initiative: Massachusetts Business Perspectives on Recruiting, Retaining, and Engaging Talent in Today’s Marketplace
August 19, 2019

Community Development Advisory Council Meetings

Roundtable Discussion and Questions

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People People

Leadership

Contributors

Authors

Visiting Scholars & Fellows