As community-based research (CBR) is gaining recognition as a high impact practice at colleges and universities across the country, it is increasingly important to develop a repertoire of best practices. This article describes a CBR project to estimate the incomes required for various families in a local community to satisfy their basic needs without relying on government assistance. Strengths and shortcomings of the project are evaluated based on two standards of best practice in CBR, one that focuses primarily on process and one that focuses primarily on results. The article concludes with next steps and several lessons learned that are broadly applicable to the field of CBR. Special attention is given to lessons that can help align and unite best practices for process and results.