Community development is loosely defined as the practices of leaders to improve aspects of local communities. In that regard, BetterTrades founder Freddie Rick is enthusiastically devoted to improving the local community in West Virginia, where he lives, and in Georgia, where his BetterTrades office is located.

Freddie Rick encourages and supports people and organizations in those communities that have the goal to help others achieve a better life. People get together as a group to assess the problems facing their area and produce the social resources to gain the economic and political leverage to help the community meet its needs.

"One of the most rewarding areas is helping with various needs that occur in our small community in which we live," Freddie Rick says. "We always try to help with those individual needs when the opportunity presents itself. This is an area that I would encourage everyone to participate. It is of the utmost importance that we help those around us when needed, and is most rewarding."

The idea of community development began to become popular in the late 1960s, complementing and eventually replacing the notion of urban renewal. The Ford Foundation was instrumental in helping low-income residents and neighborhoods apply business and management skills to social problems. Community Development Centers came about in 1974 with the beginning of the Housing and Community Development Act, which funneled funds to non-profit organizations.

It is all supposed to lead to community empowerment, which is designed to increase the spiritual, political, social or economic strength of individuals and communities. It often means empowering groups to develop confidence in their own capabilities.

The emphasis on community development is capped each year by the annual convention of the Community Development Society. The organization's goal is to promote active and representative participation toward enabling community members to meaningfully influence the decisions that affect their lives. The CDS has the goal of engaging community members in learning about and understanding community issues, and the economic, social, environmental, political, psychological and other impacts associated with alternative courses of action.

The National Community Development Association is a non-profit organization comprised of more than 550 local governments that administer federally supported community and economic development, housing and human service programs. The NCDA is a byproduct of the old Model Cities Program that was created during President Lyndon Johnson's War on Poverty.