Staff and Board members of The Elmwood Foundation and Greater Elmwood Neighborhood Services gather to celebrate their merger.

CommunityWorks Rhode Island set to Shine

Rhode Island LISC congratulates Greater Elmwood neighborhood Services and The Elmwood Foundation on their recent merger.

Providence, RI  - For the first time in Rhode Island two Community Development Corporations have joined forces to better serve their community.

"LISC is extremely proud to be a partner of CommunityWorks Rhode Island," said Barbara Fields, Executive Director of RI LISC. "We are confident that this merger will result in better and more efficient community development efforts in the Elmwood neighborhood. Mergers like this one send a powerful message to funders looking to make smart choices for scarce resources."

Based in the Elmwood neighborhood of Providence, both CDCs have worked in Providence’s Southside for more than 30 years, creating close to 1,000 units of affordable housing and investing more than $60 million in the community.

The boards of both organizations have been collaborating for several months on due diligence and integration plans. 

“By joining forces, we will gain efficiencies and increase our reach,” said CommunityWorks Board Chair Maryclaire Knight, “We hope and expect this merger to deepen our community building efforts and to expand our capacity to produce the quality affordable homes and businesses our neighborhoods so desperately need.”

Cynthia Langlykke, Associate Director and Director of Real Estate, added, "Staff is very pleased to finally be one organization. We anticipate that by combining forces we will create positive neighborhood impacts beyond what the two organizations could achieve separately."