Alchemist CDC is committed to working with local neighbors to support grassroots efforts to solve community problems and pursue visions of the common good.
We believe that communities have within themselves the vision, passions, and ability to do good and great things. We also recognize that many great ideas can be held back by the need for formal organizational structure. We see our role in the community as providing the structure and support of a trellis on which the vines of grassroots collaboration can grow, flourish, and bear fruit.
In this capacity, Alchemist is best known for our Land-Based Work. Through these projects, we help transform blighted land into vibrant, neighborhood amenities through direct community engagement, design, and hands-on participation in creating public gardens and community gathering spaces.
We have also begun to pursue neighborhood empowerment through Fiscal Sponsorship. Through fiscal sponsorship, we are able to serve as an administrative “home” for a grassroots cause. This allows a community group to do good work and access donations and grants before they are officially a 501c3 non-profit organization. At present, we have the capacity for just three fiscal sponsorship arrangements but plan to build our capacity for this in the future.
We also strive to be nimble in helping the community to respond to urgent needs and immediate opportunities with one-off projects like pop-up cooling stations in the midst of a heat wave.
Our Land-Based Neighborhood Empowerment projects include:
Oak Park Sol Community Garden
Oak Park Sol Community Garden
A publicly accessible community garden in the heart of Oak Park. This garden grew out of a neighborhood desire to have a creative green space that could serve as a place to grow food, demonstrate sustainable practices, share knowledge, and build community connectivity.
Oak Park Art Garden
Oak Park Art Garden
This project is utilizing a land lease agreement with an option to buy to gain access; the property is privately owned. The community is creating a wide array of interactive art and garden projects that will begin the transformation of this high visibility corner lot in Oak Park. This will also become Sacramento’s first publicly accessible Community Food Forest project.
Pansy Community Garden Park
Pansy Project Lot
Alchemist CDC acquired ownership of a vacant parcel on Pansy Avenue in the Oak Park neighborhood of Sacramento. We are working with neighbors to convert this previously vacant lot into a community park and garden.
Our Fiscal Sponsorship projects include:
Community Connections 95820
This project represents a collaborative effort between multiple local organizations and elementary schools and is connecting families and neighborhoods so that our most vulnerable families can meet their basic needs during COVID-19. Alchemist serves as the project’s fiscal sponsor.
Our Past Projects also help tell the story of how Alchemist has grown and engaged in the work of Neighborhood Empowerment.