what is woodlands?
WDG. WCL. CHDO. CDFI.
What does it all mean?
At Woodlands Development and Lending we work to develop affordable housing, drive downtown development, increase community capacity, and provide affordable small business support and lending services to the communities in our service area. Because we engage in community-driven community development, every Woodlands project begins with a community conversation.
Woodlands Development and Lending is two Elkins, WV based organizations. Woodlands Development Group (WDG) is a Community Housing Development Organization (CHDO) and Woodlands Community Lenders (WCL) is a Financial Institution (CDFI) that serves Randolph, Barbour, and Tucker Counties. We are separate, sister organizations that grew out of bold ideas by local visionaries. Read our origin story here.
Woodlands adheres to strict federal guidelines in order to use these letters and in return they allow us access to valuable resources that would not otherwise be available to the communities we serve. As a CHDO our board of directors must be representational of the areas we serve, not controlled by government entities, and our housing projects must adhere to strict equity, quality, and affordability standards.
As a CDFI we are committed to financing local entrepreneurs and providing assistance to individuals and businesses so that they can qualify to borrow the money they need either from us or from a local bank. Across the country, CDFIs share the common goal of expanding economic opportunities in our most underserved communities. We support community-driven community transformation.
What does this mean for you?
- It means there are more successful start-up businesses in your Randolph, Barbour, or Tucker County towns.
- It means there are more high quality, affordable places for you and your family and neighbors to live.
- It means there are downtown buildings getting rescued and renovated.
- It means there are blighted structures being demolished, cleaned up, or rebuilt.
- It means more collaboration between groups in your community and between nearby communities.
- It means you have more options for borrowing money for your next business venture.
- It means more parks, better, safer park facilities, and improved public greenspaces.
- It means more voices being heard at community meetings.
- It means more opportunities for local colleges to be strong community partners.
- It means more capacity for city governments, civic organizations, and local non-profits.
- It means more resources coming to a historically neglected and under-invested area.
