Charity of the week: Center for Creative Land Recycling

The Center for Creative Land Recycling (CCLR.org) works to restore underutilized and distressed land to productive use for the sake of local communities and the environment. Since becoming an independent nonprofit in 1999, CCLR has specialized in helping lower-income communities with redevelopment projects, offering workshops, research funding, pro bono technical assistance, and policy leadership at the state and federal levels. CCLR has educated nearly 5,000 community stakeholders about land recycling and helped communities access nearly $73 million in forgivable loans and grants for assessing and cleaning up blighted sites. In California alone, CCLR has spearheaded state funding initiatives that have allocated nearly $900 million for land redevelopment projects.

Each charity we feature has earned a four-star overall rating from Charity Navigator, which rates not-for-profit organizations on the strength of their finances, their control of administrative and fundraising expenses, and the transparency of their operations. Four stars is the group’s highest rating.