Detroit’s community development leaders, friends and champions celebrate collaboration, progress

On Tuesday, July 29, a hot summer evening at Michigan Central’s Newlab building, Detroit’s community development leaders gathered for the Community Development Organization (CDO) VIP Expo—a celebration of collaboration, connection, and the grassroots work shaping Detroit’s neighborhoods.

With music, Latin dancing, and food from across cultures filling the space, the event was more than just a showcase—it was a reminder of the collective power of Detroit’s CDOs when they work together.

This year’s event built on the success of a similar, smaller gathering at the end of 2024, which included mostly Detroit 21 (D21) members. The positive energy and outcomes from that gathering led organizers to expand the 2025 expo, inviting more neighborhood-based organizations to participate and increasing the impact and visibility of Detroit’s community development ecosystem.

D21 is a collaborative network of two dozen CDOs working across the city to strengthen neighborhoods through coordinated investment, learning, and leadership. The name comes from the original 21 Detroit nonprofit organizations funded by The Kresge Foundation.

This year’s expo was chaired by Quincy Jones, executive director of the Osborn Neighborhood Alliance (ONA), a D21 member that focuses on transforming quality of life in the Osborn neighborhood through youth development, housing, and economic revitalization.

“My role as the chair for the expo [was] really just supporting, making sure that the event happened,” Jones says. “It shows the work that has happened. Oftentimes, people seem to say there’s nothing happening in neighborhoods… you get a chance to see what’s happening in every neighborhood.”

Tables lined the Newlab space, each hosted by a different CDO, offering snapshots of work happening in every corner of Detroit—from housing development and resiliency hubs to food access, business corridors, and green space revitalization.

For Linda Smith, executive director of U SNAP BAC, which serves Detroit’s east side through affordable housing and community reinvestment efforts, being part of the D21 collaborative has been both a personal and professional game-changer.

“I’ve been doing this work for 30 years now… I’ve become the person, whatever your question is around housing, pretty much I can answer it, or put you in the direction of someone who can,” she says. “It also means that there are other people who come together, who may have experience at doing different projects, and I get to share my experience and knowledge.”

The sense of connection is what keeps her involved.

“I’m not doing this alone. When I started out 30 years ago, there was no such thing as the Detroit 21,” Smith says. “Most of us didn’t pick this as our career goal, and this allows us to have a way to have open discussion.”

She added that collaboration is especially crucial now as Detroit faces a shortage of affordable housing, pointing to efforts like the East Side Resilience Hub, which aims to provide neighborhood spaces where residents can stay cool during extreme weather. “A lot of people still don’t have air conditioning,” she says. “So, in the summer, there’s a place residents can go and relax if something happens on their block.”

Ultimately, she hopes events like the expo help shift public perception.

“There are community development organizations across our city that have learned how to work together and not just do their own thing, like they’re just doing this work on the island, but to share resources and collaboration and be able to make our city great again,” she says.

Jeanine Hatcher, executive director of GenesisHOPE, a CDO focused on creating healthy, thriving communities on the city’s lower east side, also spoke to how the D21 ecosystem has supported her organization’s growth.

“We’ve grown from a volunteer, contractor-based organization to a staff of eight as a result of the operating support that we get,” she says, referring to the philanthropy-funded Community Development Organization Fund, which supports D21 members.

But the collaborative offers more than just funding. Through shared learning trips, peer support, and knowledge exchange, organizations are evolving together.

For Hatcher, one of the biggest values is visibility and scale.

“I think the intent is supposed to demonstrate our collective power. You may see us in our individual spaces, but to kind of see us as a whole is what is important, to really see the impact we have across the entire city,” she says. “The more we can get the word out about the work that we are doing, it creates forward movement.”

For Jones, collaboration isn’t just a value—it’s a strategy. “The more people that come together on a common goal, we can get things done quicker,” he says. “Why not share your knowledge? Why not share your staff to get that goal done?”

He adds, “Let’s keep up the good work, let’s promote all the work that we’ve been doing in our neighborhood, and let’s just keep pushing forward.”

Resilient Neighborhoods is a reporting and engagement series examining how Detroit residents and community development organizations work together to strengthen local neighborhoods. It’s made possible with funding from The Kresge Foundation.