Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC)

Alondra González worked in customer service in the restaurant industry until last February, when she became a LISC AmeriCorps member in the Economic Mobility Corps (EMC) supported by Citi Foundation. As a community education officer at GUBECOOP, a savings and credit cooperative in Santurce, Puerto Rico, González is getting a taste of what it’s like to work in the field of community development. The experience is proving to be a valuable resume builder for González. At GUBECOOP, she is organizing community engagement activities to help recruit new members. She also teaches financial education sessions, and helped lead a used car financing event (public transportation is scarce on the island, particularly in rural areas, and even people living on very low incomes are dependent on cars). 📽 Hear what González has to say about her AmeriCorps experience and the crucial role GUBECOOP plays in helping community members build financial stability. --- Alondra González trabajó en atención al cliente en la industria de restaurantes hasta febrero pasado, cuando se convirtió en miembro de LISC AmeriCorps en el Cuerpo de Movilidad Económica (EMC) apoyado por la Fundación Citi. Como Oficial de Educación Comunitaria en GUBECOOP, una cooperativa de ahorro y crédito en Santurce, Puerto Rico, González está experimentando lo que es trabajar en el campo del desarrollo comunitario. La experiencia está demostrando ser un valioso aporte para el currículum de González. En GUBECOOP, está organizando actividades de participación comunitaria para ayudar a reclutar nuevos miembros. También imparte sesiones de educación financiera y ayudó a dirigir un evento de financiación de automóviles usados (el transporte público es escaso en la isla, particularmente en las áreas rurales, e incluso las personas que viven con ingresos muy bajos dependen de los automóviles). Escuche lo que González tiene que decir sobre su experiencia en AmeriCorps y el papel crucial que desempeña GUBECOOP para ayudar a los miembros de la comunidad a generar estabilidad financiera.

#ElectionDay2024 is coming up soon! Make sure to use your voice and #Vote: here’s a State-by-State guide to help you get ready for the polls 🗳️ 👉🏾 https://lnkd.in/dcBH3pF

Today President Biden was in Arizona to apologize for what he called “one of the most horrific chapters in American history…that the vast majority of Americans don’t even know about.” We are proud to have supported the work of Native American Connections and Phoenix Indian Center to bring the stories of Phoenix Indian School to our community. Engagement with survivors and community helped design the adaptive reuse of the original band building at what is now Steele Indian School Park to become a community event space, classroom and gallery. A commercial kitchen was built for Indigenous chefs and entrepreneurs to preserve Native foodways, which got significant use during the pandemic to prepare meals for elders. And importantly, a curriculum was developed to bring the history of the Phoenix Indian School to students around the state to break the silence around this dark time in American history. Phoenix Indian School Visitor Center: https://lnkd.in/gEZgKGMr Project story: https://lnkd.in/gMaqwg6x Project video: https://lnkd.in/g-uhuRnp Arizona Republic coverage of Biden visit: https://lnkd.in/gcE9ntN6

During the four days of this year’s #OFN40 conference, the energy around the greening of the CDFI sector was palpable among the 2,500 attendees: there were plenary speeches, networking events and countless conversations devoted to the topic. Plus, more than a dozen panels on topics ranging from how to design a climate lending program to multifamily decarbonization finance strategies to mobilizing private capital for GGRF work. National underwriter Noam Gross-Prinz gave an overview of LISC’s role in Power Forward Communities to deploy the coalition’s $2B in GGRF awards, decarbonizing affordable housing and training people for green jobs. And John Moon, the new president of LISC Green LLC, led a wide-ranging discussion on the landscape of GGRF in communities of color and Indian Country, stressing the urgency of ensuring that members of low-income and communities of color are integrated into the green economy (both talks were packed).   CDFI practitioners at the conference, including Opportunity Finance Network president and CEO Howard Pettigrew, emphasized that CDFIs are the prime conduit for these unprecedented federal funds for green development in low-income places because they are set up precisely to deploy dollars to the very communities most stressed by the climate crisis (OFN itself was awarded $2.29 billion through the Clean Communities Investment Accelerator (CCIA), part of GGRF, to support green energy transition financing); Oswaldo Acosta, CEO of City First Enterprises, pointed out the challenges ahead for CDFIs as they work to make decarbonization both affordable and desirable to people living on the economic margins, and that private capital will be key for realizing this enormous task across millions of households, small businesses and community spaces.   And on the topic of private capital’s hand in green community development, Dan Letendre, who spoke on behalf of #OFN40’s lead sponsor, Bank of America, announced that the bank is establishing a $50 million climate resiliency fund which he expects will grow and serve as a flexible and fast funding source for CDFIs—financial first responders—in the wake of climate disasters like this fall’s hurricanes Helene and Milton.   “People were curious and creative about how to tackle the challenges and take advantage of the opportunities,” says LISC’s Madeline Fraser Cook, of the green discussions at #OFN40. “My hope is that this translates to new strategies for community development that meet the urgency of the climate problem while being intentional about the equitable deployment of capital. This should be the new way of doing business.”

Meet AME Builders, a commercial construction company founded in 2017 by Jung Hee Seo and Dongwook "Don" Seo. Specializing in roofing, waterproofing, wall panel and architectural sheet metal, AME has been growing steadily. With support from LISC LA's ABC program, funded by Wells Fargo, and a loan through the Abbott-LISC Initiative to Support Diverse Businesses in Health and LISC’s Entrepreneurs of Color Fund, AME recently expanded by purchasing new equipment and a larger headquarters—doubling their warehouse space and improving access to project sites. Learn more about AME’s growth journey: https://lnkd.in/gMbZRQ4n #SmallBusinessGrowth #CommercialConstruction #BusinessExpansion #Entrepreneurship

Get your #eCommerce ready for the holidays! Kamaal Jarrett, founder of Hillside Harvest ,will share the Dos and Don’ts of online selling, just in time for the holiday rush. 📅 Monday, October 28 | 1:00 pm ET 🔗 RSVP Today: https://lnkd.in/ekC4q9rz Bonus ‼ : Complete 2 courses from the "Master the eCommerce Essentials" Learning Path on Verizon Small Business Digital Ready, and you’ll be eligible to apply for a $10,000 grant to invest in your business! #HolidaySales #VerizonSmallBusinessDigitalReady #GrantOpportunity

Rural areas account for 85% of the nation’s most economically challenged counties. Find out what we learned to support these underinvested areas from a multiyear economic development engagement in three Indiana #RuralTowns using Community Centered Economic Inclusion with The Brookings Institution. With local and regional partners, we’re creating new community-driven investment and prosperity. Read the report: https://lnkd.in/e-7dk_RY Rural LISC LISC Indianapolis

A theme running through #OFN40’s packed conference this year is the imperative of developing and retaining diverse talent, and building a pipeline of people coming into the #CDFI universe to serve communities—including their own communities. At the morning’s plenary, author and urbanist Majora Carter made the case for why talent retention must be part of community development work, so “success is not measured by how far you get away from the neighborhood you grew up in.” Two LISC programs with a big presence at #OFN40 that are doing just that are the LISC AmeriCorps Economic Mobility Corps and our #HBCU internship program, both of which receive critical support from Citi Foundation. At a gathering of LISC EMC and HBCU program participants today, LISC board member Lisa Hasegawa described her own history of coming into the field with no idea about what a CDFI was, but reminded the group that the industry is a “movement founded by organizers and people of color, and it’s your movement. So welcome to the family.” Stacey (Rapp) Grant, senior director of LISC AmeriCorps, and Anikka King, who runs the LISC National HBCU Talent Development Program, amplified the issues of inclusion, support and economic empowerment for newcomers to the field at a panel called “Cultivating Prosperity through Early-Stage Talent Development.” Through financial, employment, and life coaching, new community development professionals have a greater likelihood of staying with an industry that asks a lot of them—but that will only flourish into the future with their insight, dedication and work. And communities and local economies will flourish, too, the more committed CDFIers are able to remain in their communities if they choose to. Opportunity Finance Network

#ZeroHunger is the United Nations #SDGOfTheMonth. LISC #ImpactNotes help support projects like College Park, a new 48,000 square foot grocery store in a low income, low food access area in Jacksonville, FL. Who is helping create equitable access to healthy food in your community? https://lnkd.in/ek39D7Zm     The purchase of LISC Impact Notes is subject to risks, which are described in our prospectus. This is not an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy our securities. Before investing you should read our prospectus available at www.lisc.org/invest

Exciting news! The Entrepreneurs of Color Fund (EOCF) has officially surpassed its $500 million small business lending goal— more than two years ahead of schedule! This incredible achievement is helping close capital gaps in communities of color through loans and technical assistance, directly supporting the growth of 9,500 businesses across 10 metro areas.     LISC is proud to continue empowering local CDFIs to increase access to capital for diverse entrepreneurs who face challenges with traditional financing. But we’re just getting started! EOCF is expanding to double its impact, aiming to support $1 billion in financing for underserved businesses and communities. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/gyu_tw6v