By Times staff
Following a year of strategic planning and input from the community members, Fenway CDC (Community Development Corporation) officially changed its name last week to Fenway Forward.
The name change comes alongside the recent release of a dynamic four-year strategic plan (2026-2029), according to the soon-to-be 52-year-old nonprofit which offers affordable housing, resident services, and workforce development programs in the Fenway neighborhood and beyond, including currently developing two adjacent properties located at 27-29 Hancock St. on Beacon Hill into a total of affordable home-ownership 15 units.
In October 2024, the organization now known as Fenway Forward launched a community-centered strategic planning process to guide its work through 2029. Led by a 12-member Strategic Planning Committee, the organization engaged more than 200 stakeholders, including neighborhood leaders, community and institutional partners, public officials, residents, and board and staff members via a series of focus groups, interviews, and community listening sessions.
“Building on decades of advocacy, our strategic plan envisions a Fenway neighborhood where people from all walks of life can live, study, work—and most importantly—belong,” Steve Farrell, executive director of Fenway Forward, said in a press release. “Together with our neighbors in the Fenway, we will turn these plans into real outcomes: more affordable housing, vibrant public spaces, stronger community programs, and greater equity.”
As a result of the strategic planning process, Fenway Forward has developed five strategic priorities to shape and guide its programs and initiatives over the next four years: “expand[ing] local organizing and advocacy efforts to advance housing justice and guide development in the community; significantly increase[ing] the supply of affordable and sustainable homes, while fostering stability, belonging, and quality of life for residents in [the organization’s] properties; foster[ing] deep community engagement, increased visibility, and broad-based community support for [the organization’s] mission and programs; and invest[ing] in the people, resources, and tools required to advance and sustain [the organization’s] strategic priorities,” according to a press release.
“Building on more than five decades of dedication to our mission, 2026 will be about laying the groundwork, raising our visibility, strengthening our systems, and deepening our relationships with residents, partners, and supporters,” added Farrell.
Visit fenwayforward.org/ for more on Fenway Forward.