Context

From May 27 to 29, just steps from the White House, this CNCLT team attended Grounded Solutions Network’s first conference since 2022: Policy. Power. Practice.

Grounded Solutions is a U.S.-based national network advancing equitable housing solutions through community land trusts, shared equity homeownership, and inclusive development.

Amid political uncertainty and devastating funding cuts, the conference offered not only practical insights but repeated calls for hope, unity, and creativity to navigate the challenges ahead.

Proceedings

We began with a screening of Arc of Justice, followed by powerful discussions about the ongoing legacy of New Communities Inc and leadership of Black communities within the CLT sector– then and now. Afterwards, CNCLT was invited to join a mixer hosted by the International Centre for CLTs, where we continued to forge our relationship with their team and collaborators.

Over the next two days, CNCLT team attended practitioner-led sessions on:

  • Trust-based philanthropy
  • Climate resilience and disaster response
  • Regional CLT collaborations
  • Land and program stewardship
  • Organizational development, and
  • Community-engaged housing development.

We closed the final day with an impromptu, attendee-led conversation wrestling with tensions in the movement: How do we fight for land justice using tools inherited from a settler-colonial system?

In addition to connecting with U.S. partners, we were thrilled to build new relationships with researchers, consultants, and organizers from the UK CLT Network, affirming our shared goals and identifying similarities in organizing contexts.

Key takeaways

Takeaway 1. Regional CLT organizing is strengthening across the US.

We learned about collaboratives and conferences, such as:

CNCLT will continue to study these arrangements, looking to how we can get organized regionally in Canada.

Takeaway 2. CLTs are fighting for climate resilient communities and environmental justice.

We heard thought-provoking presentations from forward-thinking organizations such as:

  • Lāhainā CLT (Hawaii) emerged after the Maui fires to combat speculative pressure and rapid displacement. Given the high cost of acquisitions, the CLT is developing shared equity solutions — like purchasing stakes in homes to help underinsured families rebuild while staying rooted in place.
  • Caño Martín Peña Community Land Trust (Puerto Rico) is a volunteer-led CLT tackling environmental contamination, repairing roofs, and rolling out a community solar and generator program to build energy independence.

Takeaway 3. “Trust-based philanthropy” is on the rise.

We learned all about trust-based philanthropy and its relevance to our movement:

  • This funding approach emphasizes long-term relationships, flexibility, and shifting power between funders and agrees. It’s grounded in the belief that grant recipients (i.e. non-profit organizations) known best the needs of their communities, and how to address them.
  • Mackenzie Scott Foundation’s recent multimillion-dollar donations to CLTs across the U.S. were a major talking point (one example).
  • One workshop provocatively asked: “If your CLT received a $1 million donation, do you have a plan to spend it?”

Take away 4. Repair, reconciliation, and justice is top-of mind for many CLTs.

There is a strong appetite to keep reparative lens at the top of the agenda.

  • Although no formal sessions focused on reparations, the topic surfaced organically throughout the event. Attendees struck up a spontaneous discussion group to wrestle with a contradiction: How can a movement rooted in anti-displacement draw inspiration from the Israeli kibbutz model, which is itself entangled in practices of dispossession?
  • The appetite to engage with this complexity — and to keep reparative justice central — was clear.

Takeaway 5. Land trusts for conservation and affordable housing are not so different after all.

There is growing momentum around CLTs that blend multiple land uses — housing, farming, and conservation — into a single vision of stewardship. We learned about some interesting organizations such as:

  • Vermont Housing and Conservation Board: A quasi-governmental organization showing how public infrastructure can support both affordable housing and environmental protection.
  • Athens Land Trust (Georgia): A “triple CLT” model integrating residential housing, agriculture, and conservation.

Moving Ahead

Thank you to Grounded Solutions Network for offering this deeply enriching window into the CLT movement in the United States. We return energized by what we’ve learned — and eager to apply these insights to our work here in Canada.

We also enthusiastically extend an invitation to our new colleagues and friends: Join us this September in Halifax for the 2025 CLT Summit, where we’ll be sharing stories, strategies, and visions from across Canada’s growing CLT network.

Let’s keep building — across borders, and together.