The Community Economic Development Law Project was launched in 1985 to respond to an unmet need in the delivery of legal services. The rationale was simple: initiatives undertaken by low-income communities require the same legal expertise, including tax, corporate, real estate and finance counsel, as any other enterprise in order to be successful. However, the cost of these services is beyond the budgets of most of the non-profit organizations serving low-income communities.
Under the direction of Susan Kaplan, the Project continues to be the only public interest legal organization dedicated to assisting non-profit groups with their neighborhood revitalization efforts.
North Lawndale Employment Network's job training program
"Sweet Beginnings" includes honey production for related products.*
Working with more than 300 Chicago lawyers, CEDLP’s Nonprofit Support Program , the Nonprofit Legal Assessment Program, and the Small Business Support Program assist nonprofit organizations and small businesses that stimulate local economic and commercial development, housing development, the delivery of social services, and activities that generally improve the quality of life for people living in poor communities. The First time Home Ownership Program assists individuals and families buying their first home through the Choose To Own Initiative.
Too many Chicagoans, and the organizations that serve them, have insufficient resources to meet the challenges posed by job loss, lack of affordable housing and poor schools. The Project remains a nationally recognized model for coordinated and effective legal support for community development programs and small businesses, marshaling an annual average of $2 million in pro bono legal services.
*photo taken on July 22, 2006 during a tour of the North Lawndale Employment Network