CP Planning launches Black Futures Community Development Fund to help youth

BY PAUL JUNOR

Cheryll Case who serves as Executive Director and provides strategic leadership to fulfil their mission and vision founded CP Planning in 2017. They are a non-profit urban planning organization practicing a human rights approach to community planning. The mission of CP Planning is to align for: public, non-profit, and private sector organizations within the land use development industry.

They invest in solutions that uphold the: economic, social, and cultural rights of marginalized people to have access to good: housing, good jobs, an adequate standard of living, and opportunities for cultural expression. CP Planning is visionary in its outlook as it foresees a future where people are connected communally with a sense of belonging.

On Monday, February 6^th, 2022, CP Planning announced an important initiative with the launch of the Black Futures Community Development Fund.

CP Planning currently provides a range of community services in three specific areas:

Strategic planning

• Workshop and meeting facilitation and administrative support
• Collaborative program design, partnership development, and grant writing
• Coordination and engagement with public, non-profit, private, and community sector leaders

Research

• Data and geographic analysis of demographic, development, and land use

patterns

• Social, policy and practice trend analyses and communications

Real estate development

• Coordination to promote, produce, and deliver non-market affordable housing and commercial space

$50,000 is earmarked as the total to be raised for the Black Futures Community Development Fund by the end of Black History Month and will be utilized by CP Planning. It will be a fund dedicated exclusively to provide Black youth with the tools and resources they need to take a leadership role in the planning industry.

The four specific goals of the Black Futures Community Development Fund include:

Paid employment

• Commit to hiring and nurturing Black talent. Since 2017, they have directly employed seven Black youth, and paid for services from numerous, Black-led businesses and consultants.

Mentorship

• Senior and change-leaders in the industry advise the staff and Black residents they support in the community

Training

• To create impact, Black staff are trained in real estate development, community development, survey analysis and project development

Connections to professional networks

• As emerging leaders in the urban planning industry, they see connecting Black youth to networks of decision makers as vital to accelerate improving conditions for Black people and other organizations and have developed great relationships and partnerships. Over the years, CP Planning has been commissioned to do work for the: City of Toronto, Oakwood Vaughan Community Organization, Woodgreen, Ontario Homebuilders Association

Anyone who is interested in more information about CP Planning’s work check:  https://cpplanning.ca/