A Community Land Trust (CLT) is a nonprofit organization governed by a board of community members, including CLT residents and public representatives, that acquires and stewards land in trust for the permanent benefit of low-income communities.  These community-held assets remain affordable for generations and can be put to a variety of uses, including  homeownership, rental housing, locations for small businesses, cultural institutions, farms and more. This is done by guaranteeing low, stable cost of real estate, as well as post-purchase stewardship for lessee members. The location and population the land trust serves usually determines how it operates — CLTs can operate as independent nonprofits, as a part of a larger nonprofit, or as part of a local government. Douglass Community Land Trust  is firmly rooted in the racial justice origins of the CLT movement in the US, and was established as a membership-controlled, independent organization. Centered around racial and economic equity, Douglass CLT was created to prevent displacement of current and future residents, create community-held assets, and build assets for individuals and families, while ensuring decision-making resides within the community. Fundamentally, Douglass CLT aims to make DC an equitable place where everyone can stay and thrive – and specifically low-income, black and brown residents who have contributed to making DC the thriving community it has become but have not reaped the economic prosperity in nearly the same proportion as their white counterparts. Douglass CLT drives toward this equity by securing lasting affordability of rental and ownership housing, as well as local small business, through community ownership of land and collective stewardship.

The primary way CLTs secure non-stop affordability is to separate ownership of the land from the buildings atop the land. The CLT takes title to the land and issues a Land Lease back to the owner of the buildings (this can be housing, commercial space for small businesses and nonprofits, etc.) that incorporates a covenant to ensure lasting affordability for low-income persons. In situations where is it not feasible to separate ownership of the land from ownership of the building, CLTs can employ other legal mechanisms to retain affordability in perpetuity and community control, notably a Deed Restricted Affordability Covenant. The developer or owner of the building signs a legally binding covenant agreeing to lasting affordability for low-income persons (or other community benefit as negotiated). The CLT ensures that the property is being used for the community-purpose through this covenant, while providing ongoing Stewardship as well. The land lease, or affordability covenant, is a robust legal mechanism that assures residents /occupants of a stable housing/ commercial space cost, at a price lower than they could otherwise afford, in addition to maintenance assistance in the form of stewardship services, while assuring the community as a whole a place that low-income families and local DC small businesses will be able to afford, for generations to come.