About Us

Cedar Grove Institute for Sustainable Communities grew out of the work we were doing in our for-profit company, McMillan and Moss Research, Inc. Our work was being called for in cases involving civil rights, predatory lending and fighting institutionalized discrimination. While we were drawn to this kind of work and attorneys realized the value of what we had to offer, other funders could not hire us through our for-profit company. In order to pursue our new mission, we formed CGISC in 2000 as a 501(c)3 non-profit.

We have since received funding from Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the Fund for Southern Communities, Warner Foundation, the Racial Justice Collaborative and the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law. We have also enjoyed realized strong support from other groups who share our goals. In March of 2004, we received a plaque of appreciation for our work from the N.C. Fair Housing Center. In the fall of 2004, our work on fighting institutionalized discrimination was the focus of the annual conference of the Center for Civil Rights at the Law School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.