Elevate your expertise, amplify your impact
Grow America (formerly NDC) offers cutting-edge professional development for economic and community development leaders. Our training equips you with the real-world knowledge and skills to drive growth and create lasting change in your community.
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Experience the Grow America difference
Rigorous, college-level learning opportunities
Practical curriculums focused on building current real-world skills
Courses designed and taught by industry experts
Accelerate your career with an accredited professional certification
Choose individual courses to strengthen key skills or pursue a certificate program that will propel your career forward. Choose from learning modalities that meet your needs.
Community Impact Finance Professional (CIFP)
Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP)
Housing Development Finance Professional (HDFP)
Rental Housing Development Finance Professional (RHDFP)
Learning based on your goals & time
Choose individual courses to strengthen key skills or pursue a certificate program that will propel your career forward. Choose from learning modalities that meet your needs.
In-person
Network with peers, meet new contacts, and benefit from interacting in a classroom setting.
Live remote
Virtual classrooms make learning convenient, with all the benefits of a dedicated, live instructor.
Online self-paced
Learn when and where it is right for you with our self-paced digital learning modules.
“Grow America’s EDFP Certification exposed me to other areas of economic development, and I think it allowed me to blossom in the industry.”
Certifications earned: Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP) Certification
Favorite course: ED201 – Business Credit Analysis
“Everything evolves, from development tools to new funding sources at the local and federal level, and when these things are introduced, you have to be able to absorb and understand them. Grow America’s training courses teach you how to adapt with confidence.”
Certifications earned: Grow America’s Housing Development Finance Professional (HDFP)
Favorite course: All of the Grow America finance-related courses
“If we expect people to do great things, then we need to give them the tools they need to succeed. In my opinion, Grow America’s training is one of the best tools out there.”
Certifications earned: Economic Development Finance Professional (EDFP)
Favorite course: The Art of Deal Structuring and Problem-Solving
The SEED Academy
The SEED Academy is an intensive training program designed to help people of color and women become successful real estate developers. Graduates have learned everything they need to know to get started in the field, including how to plan and finance a development project. They can determine if a project will be profitable, create financial projections, and prepare loan applications.
Your community and economic development knowledge base
What you need to know to increase your institution’s growth potential.
GA Trainer Spotlight: How Andria Martinez Uses Her Depth of Knowledge to Prepare Her Students
Andria Martinez knows exactly what it’s like to sit in a Grow America class room seat. Before she was an instructor for the organization’s courses, she was a student herself.
From Intern to Division Manager: How Grow America Training Helped Transform Roy Hackworth’s Career
Grow America training helped Roy to confidently initiate a myriad of projects over two decades, including the revitalization of Broadway Square and the Pendleton community in Cincinnati.
Trusted across the community development spectrum
Professionals in every sector of community development trust Grow America to upskill themselves and their teams. We’ve welcomed students from government agencies, nonprofits, foundations, community banks, and tax, legal, and accounting professionals.
