On March 15, Coastal Enterprises, Inc. (CEI) hosted its 38th Annual Meeting to celebrate the past, present and future of community-based economic development, From Civil Rights to Sustainable Solutions. Thank you to our wonderful event sponsors. The meeting was broadcast live from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. Watch the full CEI Annual Event video below, featuring Senator George Mitchell, Ford Foundation President Darren Walker, Annie Donovan, Director of the CDFI Fund of the U.S. Treasury, LIIF President and CEO Nancy Andrews and economic development leaders from across the country.

“If citizenship in a free society means anything, surely it must mean that we have to look beyond the comforts and privileges of our lives to those of our fellow citizens who don’t have the same opportunities, the same chance that we do, held back by a variety of restraints.”

— Senator George Mitchell

“Inequality is important because of its correlation to opportunity…Really the enemy of our democracy is…hopelessness.  And that hopelessness is what we see more of in American today…that hopelessness has grown in large part because…we’ve had tremendous productivity, we’ve had tremendous growth in our GNP but it has not been shared, it has not been organized in a way that has made it possible for all boats to rise.”

— Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation

Watch CEI’s 2016 Annual Meeting Now!
Internet Explorer users should be aware IE version 11 is required, if you’re using an older version of Windows default Internet Explorer browser, you may see a window asking you to upgrade your browser. Supported Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, and Safari.

Event Program
Ron Phillips’ Remarks

CEI also produced a short film to tell the story of our 38 year history of economic development work, available below.