Fiscal Year 2020

Annual Report

NKCDC advances social equity & economic empowerment by nurturing and creating opportunities for residents to live in, and actively shape, their neighborhoods of choice.

Dear Friends, Neighbors and Partners,

I joined NKCDC as Executive Director in November 2020 because I believe in a safe, healthy and prosperous future for Kensington, Port Richmond and Fishtown residents and businesses, and I believe that NKCDC’s commitment to advancing social equity and economic empowerment holds the keys to unlocking that future.

As a longtime Kensington resident, I understand the area’s strengths and its challenges. In 2020, the Covid pandemic and protests against racial violence threw into plain view Philadelphia’s disparities in safety, employment, income, public health, education, and the physical environment while also making clear the strengths and resilience of this community and its residents.

In addition to the traumas weathered by all, NKCDC weathered its own with the loss of a beloved community advocate, Elmira Smith, in January, and my predecessor, Felix Torres-Colon, the following month. Through it all, the NKCDC team demonstrated uncommon commitment, discipline and care for each other and the community we serve.

I am honored to serve this organization and this community, and I look forward to working shoulder to shoulder with all of you and what we will do together for Kensington, Fishtown, Port Richmond, and all of Philadelphia, in 2021 and beyond.

Thank you for your support.

 

 

 

Dr. Bill McKinney
Executive Director
NKCDC

Community Health Workers connected Kensington residents to health resources

With funding from the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, NKCDC began partnering with Jefferson University and Health Management Associates to train and hire Community Health Workers to address social and health needs in Kensington.

Sixteen Kensington residents graduated as Community Health Workers, and 11 were hired by NKCDC to conduct social needs screenings and match neighbors to health care, healthy food, credit and budget counseling, and other social service resources. This program brings together job training and health services to advance social equity and economic empowerment in Kensington.

School Based Outreach 

At the beginning of the 2019 school year, NKCDC began partnering with Kensington Health Sciences Academy (KHSA) on a small help desk in the KHSA lobby that gave families of KHSA students easy access to available resources. Resources focused on economic empowerment: food assistance, job opportunities, legal assistance, housing repair, and referrals to NKCDC’s housing services for first time homebuyer opportunities, utility assistance, credit assistance, and LIHEAP applications.

More than 50 families were referred to NKCDC through the help desk in its first months of operation. This success was possible through a collaboration with KHSA faculty and Antonio Romero, Community Schools Coordinator from the City of Philadelphia Office of Children and Families. Special thanks to our KHSA interns, Sam Dejesus (left) and Hecmillie Correa, who facilitated this project and many others at NKCDC in the past year!

From Kensington with Love

From Kensington with Love: Through the Veil was a group art exhibition focusing on the voices of Kensington residents from diverse sectors who shared their stories, experiences, and visions with three community artists: Ken McFarlane, Katsí Miranda-Lozada, and Jerry Puryear. The exhibit traveled to different Philadelphia locations, and was hosted by NKCDC from March 6 to 8, 2020.

Service organizations joined hands for community safety

We CAN (Change & Action Now) is a partnership between NKCDC, HACE, and Impact Services Corporation funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. The collaboration focuses on three things:

  1. Reducing crime by bringing more neighbors together, building trust, and giving local residents and organizations the tools and resources to make change.
  2. Strengthening relationships and collaboration between police and the community
  3. Reducing physical disorder

Since May 2019, We CAN has engaged more than 2,000 residents through Chat & Chews, National Night Out, Safe Clinics, community clean-ups, trauma-informed art workshops, holiday events, block parties, resource fairs, art exhibits, and Police Buddy Outings to destinations like the Barnes Foundation and the Philadelphia Zoo.

Kensington Cleanup

In the days after George Floyd was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25, 2020, protests erupted across the U.S., including in Philadelphia. The overwhelming majority of protesters were peaceful, but there were incidents of vandalism, looting and arson in Center City and other neighborhoods. On June 2, community members, nonprofit staff, city agencies and other volunteers gathered to clean up the commercial corridor Kensington Avenue in Kensington.

Timely rental assistance kept 90 Kensington residents in their homes

In 2019, NKCDC won a $50,000 Home4Good grant from the Pennsylvania Housing Finance Authority to prevent evictions with direct rental assistance and financial education. The program offered up to $500 in rental assistance to 90 eligible households as a one-time payment.

In a year of fear and uncertainty, the Home4Good grant was economic empowerment. NKCDC focused on Kensington residents, especially our tenants at Orinoka Civic House and Coral Street Arts House. Out of 81 of NKCDC’s total tenant households, NKCDC assisted 21 who lost wages due to Covid-19, and an additional 21 who were behind or struggling with rent before the Covid-19 outbreak.

As additional help to NKCDC tenants during the coronavirus pandemic, we connected about 50 households to free weekly food deliveries from Easter Outreach, a partnership between Liberti Church Riverwards, Urban Worship Center, West Kensington Ministries, and Philabundance.

Homebuying handed 440 clients the keys to economic empowerment

Homeownership is key to building family wealth and economic empowerment. The City of Philadelphia offered a homebuyer assistance grant of up to $10,000 to help first-time home buyers with down payment or closing costs from May 2019 to August 2020. To qualify, homebuyers needed to complete a free City-funded homeownership counseling program, like those offered by NKCDC, before signing an agreement of sale. Through NKCDC’s housing services, 440 Philadelphians were able to purchase their first home through Philly First Home.

Office Redevelopment

In fall 2019, NKCDC was awarded $150,000 through a Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development Local Share Account grant to redevelop new commercial and residential spaces at our old office—2513-15 Frankford Avenue. While the construction project was in its earliest stages, NKCDC partnered with local printer Fireball Printing to creatively activate the empty window space.

80th healthy home repair built economic empowerment & generational wealth

On October 11 and 12, 2019 over 200 volunteers helped to repair ten homes around the 2200 block of East Cambria Street as part of NKCDC’s third “block build” with Rebuilding Together Philadelphia. Volunteers worked alongside homeowners to remove old carpet, paint walls, install grab bars and fire extinguishers, and build curbside planters. Homeowners received repairs to improve the safety, health and energy efficiency of their homes.

NKCDC believes that connecting neighbors to home repair is one of the most important ways to advance community health and economic empowerment. Over the last three years, NKCDC’s partnership with Rebuilding Together Philadelphia has repaired over 80 Kensington homes.

Award Winners

Each year the Philadelphia Association Community Development Corporations (PACDC) recognizes exemplary individuals, groups and programs across the city of Philadelphia. In 2020:

  • Our nominee, Ariell Johnson, owner of Amalgam Comics & Coffeehouse, took home an Equitable Entrepreneur Award
  • NKCDC’s Outreach & Engagement Specialist, Rodney Mobley, won a Rising Star Award
  • Our Community Health Workers were finalists for the Blue Ribbon Award, and
  • CoLab—a mobile health services trailer that is a collaboration between Impact Services Corporation, Thomas Jefferson University’s Health Design Lab and NKCDC—also was a finalist for a Blue Ribbon Award

Learn more about the award winners and nominees in the 2020 PACDC Magazine, where you will also find artwork by our own Director of Community Engagement, Katsí Miranda-Lozada, and a poem by an Orinoka Civic House tenant, Stephan Alas!

Dr. Bill McKinney

Executive Director

Sudden loss challenged us to new growth

Early in 2020 NKCDC lost Executive Director Felix Torres-Colon to a sudden illness, leaving a huge hole in the hearts of staff and partners. We celebrated his life with colleagues, friends, and family on March 7, just a week before the onset of the coronavirus-related closures. Over the next nine months, a thoughtful executive search process engaged staff, board members, and community representatives in choosing our next leader. In November 2020, we celebrated the arrival of Dr. Bill McKinney as NKCDC’s new Executive Director.

Donors of Time & Resources


Organizations

  • Bank of America Charitable Foundation
  • Beneficial Foundation
  • Bryn Mawr Trust Company
  • Capital One Foundation
  • City of Philadelphia – Office of Violence Prevention
  • City of Philadelphia Division of Housing and Community Development
  • Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Human Services
  • Energy Coordinating Agency
  • Finanta
  • First Presbyterian Church in Kensington
  • Four Son’s Pizza
  • Friends Fiduciary Corp
  • Fulton Bank
  • Independence Blue Cross/Keystone Health Plan East
  • Local Initiatives Support Corporation
  • M&T Bank Charitable Foundation
  • MJH Home Help
  • NeighborWorks America
  • Penn Treaty Special Services District
  • Pennsylvania Horticultural Society
  • Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
  • Philadelphia Federal Credit Union
  • Philadelphia Activities Fund
  • Philadelphia Authority for Industrial Development
  • Philanthropy Network of Greater Philadelphia – Philly Counts 2020
  • Santander Bank
  • The Claneil Foundation
  • The Kresge Foundation
  • Thomas Scattergood Behavioral Health Foundation
  • U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development via Mon Valley Initiative
  • U.S. Department of Justice
  • Wells Fargo Foundation
  • Wells Fargo Housing Foundation
  • Wells Fargo Regional Foundation

In Kind Donors

  • Philadelphia Zoo
  • PC Coalition Against Racism
  • The Richmond Shops IGA

Individuals

  • Anonymous (2)
  • Anonymous via United Way Donor Choice
  • Marcy Boroff
  • Ruth Briggs
  • Jack R. Butler
  • Lisa Calvano
  • Jonathan Crossette
  • Joe Filipski
  • Daniel D Gilman
  • Jeffrey Hartman
  • Christopher Helmers
  • George Hennessey
  • Melissa Hoffman
  • Frank Iannuzzi
  • Edward and Dorothy Johnson
  • Susan Jouard
  • Todd Kimmel
  • Samuel Lamson
  • Timothy Lederer
  • Samuel Lufi
  • Jonathan Martin
  • Katherine Martin
  • Carlos Masip
  • Julie Mayer
  • Deborah McColloch
  • Victoria Monillas
  • David Moylan
  • William Pace
  • Greg Papazian
  • Judith Rose
  • Marissa Rumpf-Lauer
  • Richard Russ Russo &
    Gretchen Mann
  • Madeleine Shea
  • Maura Shenker
  • Lynnette Smart
  • Sydney Stewart
  • Lisa and Jason Sullbsky
  • Jon Taylor
  • John Theobald
  • Keiko Tsuruta Cramer
  • Erica Vanstone
  • Ralph Whitfield
  • Steffi Wright

Felix Torres-Colon Memorial Fund

NKCDC lost Executive Director Felix Torres-Colon to a sudden illness on February 5, 2020. We created a special fund in his memory to support staff development and racial equity work, two of his greatest professional passions.

  • Brandon Alcorn
  • Babb Insurance
  • Nancy Bastian
  • Brenda Bodett
  • Tenara Calem
  • Cecil Baker + Partners
  • Claneil Foundation
  • Sharon Conard
  • Joe Dabek
  • Tess Donie
  • Mark Enstrom
  • Joseph F. Garlick / NeighborWorks Blackstone River Valley
  • Genevieve Geer
  • Jason Haines
  • Dana Hanchin
  • Dan and Pat Hardy
  • Lowell Hart
  • Stephen Hoorton
  • Stephen Horton
  • Deborah Howard
  • Walter Howell
  • Garlick Joseph
  • Susan Jouard
  • Michael Dennis Layton
  • Le Puppet RegimeMark Levine
  • Samuel Lufi
  • Hilary Marcus
  • Deborah McColloch
  • Christina Metzler
  • Kevin Musselman
  • Neighborhood Housing Services / NeighborWorks Western PA
  • Anne Nevins
  • Julianne Ortega
  • Angel Ortiz-Torres
  • Amy Pfeiffer
  • Marissa Rumpf-Lauer
  • Karen R. Schultz
  • Sea Heart City Press
  • Stefanie Seldin
  • Kirsten Shea
  • Douglas Smith
  • Lisa Solinsky
  • Denise Thorpe
  • Holly Vegas
  • David Wood

Volunteers

Volunteers with NKCDC, community organizations, and civic associations contributed thousands of hours of service to Kensington, Fishtown, and Port Richmond between July 2019 and June 2020. The list below represents neighbors who volunteered directly with NKCDC initiatives such as Community Connectors, Drop Spots, the Neighborhood Advisory Subcommittee, Trenton and Auburn Playground, and food distribution at Orinoka Civic House and Coral Street Arts House.

  • Scott Bickmore
  • Chris Adcox
  • Isaac Brooks Jr.
  • Nelson Burney
  • Pastor Jacqueline Capers
  • Natasha S. Cossom
  • Ali S. Crawley
  • Brenda Dejesus
  • Pamela Draper 
  • Theresa Grone
  • Celia Hutchinstein
  • Lisa Lewandowski
  • Jennifer C. Lewis
  • David Linwood
  • Eric Loose
  • Christian Martinez
  • Traypeta Mayson
  • Carlos Mitti
  • Carmen Moreno
  • Brenda Mosley
  • Network of Neighbors
  • Joseph Osti
  • George Patterson
  • Jerry Puryear
  • Zion Puryear
  • Thurston Renwrick
  • James Ridgway
  • Maria Rivas
  • Elmira Smith *
  • William Summers
  • Andy Werkerly 
  • Jimmy White IV
  • Ralph Whitfield
  • Ricardo Zapata

Finances

Audited financials are available here.


Assets

Current Assets
Cash1,671,711
Grants and Contracts Receivable805,378
Prepaid Expenses11,314
Escrow Accounts226,200
Total Current Assets$2,714,603
Property and Equipment
Land219,188
Buildings and Building Improvements2,101,364
Equipment174,722
Automotive46,502
Less Depreciation(740,926)
Total Property & Equipment$1,800,850
Other Assets
Grants and Contracts Receivable373,734
Investments914,180
Mortgages Receivable2,324,926
Property Held for Sale and Investment1,047,957
Note Receivable143,892
Total Other Assets$4,804,689
TOTAL ASSETS$9,320,142

Liabilities and Net Assets

Current Liabilities
Accounts Payable131,834
Accrued Payroll and Expenses96,396
Escrow Deposits4,521
Agency Liability51,443
Loan Payable238,200
Total Current Liabilities$522,394
Long Term Debt
Line of Credit203,740
Mortgage Payable2,525,377
Loan Loss Reserve50,000
Total Long-Term Liabilities$2,779,117
TOTAL LIABILITIES$3,301,511
Net Assets
Without Donor Restrictions5,302,453
With Donor Restrictions716,178
Total Net Assets$6,018,631
TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS$9,320,142

Support and Revenue

Grants and Contributions829,584
Contract Revenue
City of Philadelphia730,346
Non-Government196,359
Other Government1,080,728
Rental Income55,712
Interest Income52,750
Program Fees40,644
In-Kind Services1,300
Home Sales400,001
Developer’s Fees49,396
PPP Loan Forgiveness119,100
Other Income200,000
Total Support and Revenue$3,755,920

Expenses

Program Services
Community Engagement 1,146,343
Real Estate Development and Operations445,647
Housing Counseling717,157
Economic Development502,728
General and Administrative283,452
Total Expenses$3,095,327
CHANGE IN NET ASSETS$660,593