<p>Coasts around the world are threatened by sea level rise and a changing climate. In response, coastal communities and managers spend billions annually to restore changes, protect communities, and promote more resilient coastal ecosystems. However, limited research evaluates the long-term societal impact on coastal communities from constructed restoration projects. The paucity of research on long-term outcomes disadvantages future efforts to develop coastal restoration projects and policies while simultaneously failing to engage communities in developing a shared understanding of these projects’ impact. Using a literature review, we develop a conceptual framework to assess community benefits with multiple indicators in three major dimensions: ecosystem services, economic activities, and community capital. We identify gaps in measurement of community benefits along these dimensions and assess potential data sources to use when determining community benefits. We evaluate the framework using data collected from community members at History Harvests in coastal Louisiana. Seeking to be a global leader in coastal restoration, Louisiana has had a formal coastal master plan since 2007 and decades of experience with restoration. With the qualitative data from History Harvests, we reviewed the relevance of the conceptual framework. The results of this study contribute to global climate resilience efforts by providing a structure for considering the long-term impact of restoration on communities, identify gaps in existing data on long-term restoration outcomes, and highlight how collaborative community input can provide critical support for long-term on coastal restoration.</p>