In service to
America's
Neighborhoods
since 1975

The National Association of Neighborhoods was founded in 1975 by the leadership of America's community councils, neighborhood coalitions, and block clubs, and by concerned individuals united in their determination to improve the quality of life in the nation's neighborhoods.

Today, more than 2,500 members nationwide, NAN today is the largest and oldest multi-issue membership association of grassroots neighborhood organizations. The Association's growth is due to its unique approach to neighborhood problem solving. We listen; listen to the voices of wisdom and experience that live in the communities we represent and serve. We seek to identify emerging issues and to tackle persistent problems, always together.

In a quarter of a century, the Association has addressed several significant issues and achieved a great deal. NAN's major projects and accomplishments include:

Organizing national conferences in partnership with several organizations to address major issues of concern to local leadership. One of the most notable was NAN's effort with The Leadership Conference on Civil Rights and The National Fair Housing Alliance on ways to stop predatory lending;

Working with the grassroots leadership of the nation's empowerment zones to stimulate retail and housing opportunities;

Creating national models for neighborhood inter-modal transportation systems;

Working with the leadership of neighborhood churches, small businesses, and non-profit organizations to identify benefits and the means to access them from electric deregulation;

Working with the leadership of neighborhood coalitions, and of the private and public sectors to reduce nuclear high-level waste from proximity to neighborhoods;

Educating the leadership and members of community volunteer organizations about the need for legal reform, with particular emphasis on joint and separate liability;

Working with "A" and "B/C" lenders to improve their "best practices" policies and programs for minority and elderly applicants for loans;

Working with local neighborhood leadership and other national organizations to establish neighborhood leadership training institutes;

Creating the first National Center for Neighborhood-Based Service Delivery;

Creating neighborhood crime prevention models, and

Helping neighborhood leadership develop practical and short-term economic empowerment projects.

NAN has worked with Republican and Democratic Administrations, with members of Congress, governors, mayors and other local leaders of both political parties on critical issues for the future of America's neighborhoods. The Association has held national conventions, unique because they provide an opportunity for grassroots leaders to discuss with each other issues of importance and strategies that are successful in attacking economic, social, environmental, health and safety problems.

The Association's history is one of successful issue dialogue and problem solving. It is a living history with an ongoing vision: one in which the leadership of federal, state, county and city entities join with the leadership and membership of vibrant grassroots organizations to better the heart of the nation's community: America's Neighborhoods.

In service to America's Neighborhoods since 1975

In service to
America's
Neighborhoods
since 1975