about equity and development

​Growing our economies and building thriving communities requires a focus on equity —achieving outcomes that aren’t dependent on one’s race, ethnicity or a community’s racial composition.

This site has a variety of toolkits to help you learn about the tools available to North Carolina communities to achieve the goal of strengthening our communities with a focus on equity and opportunity. For each tool, you’ll find an overview of how it works, tips for how to use it, and resources to find out more.  

toolkits

Historically underutilized businesses 

This certification helps secures access to public contracts and procurement opportunities from state government as well as local and federal government for minority-owned businesses. 

first source hiring

First Source Hiring (FSH) is a policy designed to ensure private sector businesses and local governments recruit and hire employees from within the community where they are located. ​

SNAP double bucks at farmers markets

Accepting SNAP at farmers market is a win-win situation. The program gives the retailer direct access to new customers and gives SNAP recipients access to healthy, locally-grown produce. ​

land banks

Land banking can be used to stabilize and revitalize communities that are experiencing abandoned properties, foreclosures, and deteriorating conditions. 

community benefits agreement

Community Benefit Agreements (CBAs) are contracts between developers and community coalitions to support equitable economic development. 

green infrastructure

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Using green infrastructure principles in the development of public parks can be an instrumental tool to promote equitable health outcomes by increasing access to green spaces. 

individual training accounts

Individual Training Accounts (ITA) are vouchers for training in a specific occupation or industry. These vouchers can transform the lives of youth, adults, and dislocated workers.

corner store initiatives

The Corner Store Initiative is an incentive project designed to make healthy fruits and vegetables accessible to under-served communities in their local convenience and corner stores.

Participatory budgeting

Participatory budgeting is where citizens decide on how to spend a portion of a public budget, which increases understanding, engagement levels, and connections to community.

Brownfield Redevelopment

Brownfield redevelopment is where sites or properties that have been environmentally contaminated are redeveloped into parks, greenways, and commercial or residential developments.

Supporting Re-Entry Through Enrollment in Public Programs

Public programs can link prisoners pre-release to the income supports that can support their re-entry process and provide critical resources to meet their most basic needs.  

​Local budgets


​Local budgets determine funding for community services and institutions. Designing an equitable local budget helps ensure communities thrive. ​

American Rescue Plan

​​The American Rescue Plan (ARP) has distributed $130 billion in payments to local governments to assist in the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.