Smart Growth Business Council

The Coalition for Smarter Growth is the leading smart growth advocacy and education nonprofit in the Washington DC region. CSG’s staff and volunteers have been working for more walkable, mixed-use, and transit-oriented communities for 25 years. We boast over 24,000 regional subscribers, and have helped change the debate about growth and development, winning stronger public and official support for compact, mixed-use transit-oriented development. During the pandemic, we have played a leading role in winning funding to save transit, while promoting the need for more housing near jobs and transit, and making the case that transit-oriented development is critical to our economic revival and fighting climate change.

Smart Growth Business Council (SGBC)

Our Smart Growth Business Council is composed of a variety of firms from across the DC who provide important financial support for CSG’s mission. Through the generosity of our corporate supporters, we are able to provide a high level of public education, communications, and policy advocacy to support economically, socially, and environmentally sustainable and equitable development in the DC region.

Smart Growth Business Council Memberships last for one year, and during the year, CSG staff meet with our member firms, stay up to date on member projects, and discuss critical policy issues of mutual concern. Each January, CSG hosts an annual smart growth breakfast with a guest speaker – typically a local elected official or senior government planner, and members of SGBC are offered the first seats. Firms that sponsor CSG’s Livable Communities Leadership Award reception at the $15,000, $10,000 or $5,000 level, or other CSG events at a cumulative level of $5000 and above are recognized as members of our Smart Growth Business Council.

Livable Communities Leadership Award Reception

Held in April, the Frederick and Diana Prince Livable Communities Leadership Award Reception (25th Anniversary event in 2022) honors a local official or private sector individual, as well as community smart growth advocates who have had a significant impact on sustainable development in the region. We attract as many as 150 guests representing the development, architecture, planning, and transportation sectors, along with elected officials and smart growth advocates. Sponsors receive logo recognition in all promotional materials, which include our website, email list, social media, press, and display boards. Sponsors at the $5,000, $10,000 and $15,000 level are recognized as members of our Smart Growth Business Council.

More about the Coalition for Smarter Growth 

Founded in 1997, CSG provides the most respected voice in the DC region on the interconnected issues of land use, transportation, and housing. We offer a regional vision of a network of walkable, transit-oriented communities, earning official support, although uneven implementation. We have a well-established reputation for expertise, integrity, partnerships, local community engagement, and relationships with decision makers that have allowed us to successfully shape change. Our effectiveness has been recognized by the Washington Business Journal three times in their Power100 list of most influential regional business leaders, four times by the Catalogue for Philanthropy, by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments’ 2017 Regional Partnership Award, and by the Urban Land Institute 2022 Changemaker Award.