HomeBase Cincinnati

HomeBase Cincinnati is excited to welcome Emily Linesch as the 2026–2027 CDC Fellow!

Over the next year, Emily will work alongside the HomeBase team, supporting the volunteer leadership of Madisonville Community Urban Redevelopment Corporation (MCURC) and Mt. Washington CDC as they drive neighborhood-led change.

A bit about Emily:
Emily is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s Urban Planning program with experience in community and real estate development. She has contributed to local projects with College Hill CURC and 3CDC, and currently serves as a board member for Mt. Washington CDC. She is passionate about community organizing, engagement, and neighborhood development.

This Fellowship reflects HomeBase’s commitment to strengthening Cincinnati’s community development ecosystem by investing in emerging leaders and building capacity within local CDCs.

The CDC Fellowship is designed as an apprenticeship-style leadership pipeline, connecting talented individuals with hands-on opportunities to learn, contribute, and grow into long-term roles within the field.

Through this program, HomeBase is:
• Recruiting and training emerging leaders from university programs
• Expanding organizational and project capacity for local CDCs
• Fostering collaboration, shared resources, and professional networks across neighborhoods

HomeBase looks forward to the impact Emily will make in the year ahead. Welcome to the team!

Grateful to our CDC members, partners, and friends for joining us for our very first Tuesday Talk in our new office space ✨🏠

A special thank you to Deputy Director Brandon Rudd of Department of Community and Economic Development for sharing updates and engaging in a thoughtful conversation about ongoing changes at the City and the new Office of Strategic Growth.

It meant a lot to see our new HomeBase office come to life, filled with familiar faces and new connections. We are excited to continue growing as a space for community, collaboration, and conversation.

Next up on your Saturday April 18th: Roll down the Price Hill a little to grab lunch and support local artists in LPH!

Join us next Saturday for Brunch & Art Show in Outerspace!

Come grab lunch, explore one-of-a-kind artwork, and support talented Lower Price Hill artists and artisans. Every purchase directly supports local creatives and the growing artistic community right here in the neighborhood.

We’ll also have hands-on art activities and live music throughout the afternoon—just a good, easy way to connect and spend time together.

📆 Saturday, April 18
⏰ 12:00–3:00 PM
📍 Outerspace, 734 State Avenue

Come by, bring a friend, and stay awhile.

CDBG at work in Camp Washington 💪
The final in our take-over series!
Through CWURC’s FaceLift and Homeownership programs, small businesses are getting refreshed, neighbors are becoming homeowners, and long-term investment is taking root.

From $780K invested in 14 businesses to new homes on Colerain and Sidney, this is what neighborhood revitalization looks like.

HUD/CDBG → City → HomeBase Cincy → CWURC → Real impact

HOME INVESTMENT PARTNERSHIPS PROGRAM:
In addition to CDBG, HUD offers a number of other Community Planning and Development (CPD) programs, including the HOME Investment Partnerships (HOME) program.

Certain CDCs are also CHDOs (Community Housing Development Organizations) and are eligible for HOME funds. Only certified CHDOs can access this funding, and those organizations must have current projects eligible for HOME funds, and must be re-certified each year.

While CWURC is not a CHDO, organizations like OTRCH , Avondale Development Corporation, and Working In Neighborhoods are, or have been, certified CHDOs and have used, or are currently using HOME funds to support their work.

HOME is the largest federal block grant to state and local governments designed exclusively to create affordable housing for low-income households.

Every single county in the U.S. has access to HOME funds. HOME funds benefit persons at or below 80 percent of area median income (AMI) by providing funds for construction or rehabilitation of housing for renters and homebuyers, owner-occupied rehabilitation, and tenant-based rental assistance.

Just like with CDBG, HOME funds are awarded annually as formula grants to eligible and participating jurisdictions.

The program’s flexibility allows states and local governments to use HOME funds for grants, direct loans, other forms of credit enhancements, or security deposits.

Congratulations NEST - Northsiders Engaged in Sustainable Transformation!!!!

Thank you to Rep. Landsman's office for helping us secure $2 million in the Congressional budget for the Northside Gateway project at Knowlton's Corner! We are working with to renovate the former Stagecraft building into apartments and a first floor commercial space as well as construct a new building for apartments behind Stagecraft.

At , CDBG supports a small but mighty team of two, fuels real estate development like the transformation of long-blighted 4024 Hamilton, and powers programs like REFRESH that help small businesses grow and thrive.

You can see that impact here: new life at Sidewinder Coffee, and Bridges Nepali, new homes rising on Witler Street, and spaces like Dean’s Mediterranean Table activating the neighborhood.

This is what CDBG is designed to do. Invest locally, leverage additional resources, and turn vision into reality.

As we celebrate Community Development Week, we are also making it clear: continued investment in CDBG is essential to keep this work moving forward.

WHO BENEFITS FROM CDBG?
Low- and moderate-income people are the direct program beneficiaries. States and entitlement cities and counties receive direct program allocations. Small, rural communities receive assistance through their state.

Nonprofit organizations, contractors, and other local partner organizations serve as program subrecipients to deliver local CDBG activities. State and local governments work with their local program partners and harness input from the public to develop community development programs that invest in low- and moderate- income people and neighborhoods.

One of CDBG’s greatest strengths is its ability to leverage other investments. As a flexible resource designed to accommodate local needs, CDBG often serves to match other sources of public and private funds. Program resources also help projects and services become reality providing gap funding to meet budget needs.

📣Happy Community Development Week!
In honor of Community Development Corporations (CDCs) and 50 Years of CDBG (Community Development Block Grant), HomeBase is hosting a social media take over with a few of our local CDC partners who are recipients of CDBG funding!

WHY NATIONAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WEEK?
National Community Development Week was created in 1986 by NCDA and elected official groups to bring national attention to the CDBG Program through grassroots support at a time when the program was facing scrutiny by Congress.

The main objective of National Community Development Week is the education of Congressional members on the importance of CDBG, its impact and the need for increased program funding.

National Community Development Week is intentionally held during the Congressional appropriations process so that the significance of CDBG can be imparted to Congressional members through local activities conducted by grantees and program partners at the grassroots level.

This is a critical time for appropriations; work on the upcoming FY 2027 HUD funding bill will be in the initial stages. National Community Development Week provides the perfect opportunity to cement the importance of CDBG in the minds of those in Washington to increase program funding.