LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation)

LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation)
Name	Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Founded	1979
Founder	John H. G. (Jack) Kemp
Type	Nonprofit community development financial institution
Headquarters	New York City
Key people	Maurice A. Jones (President and CEO)
Area served	United States
Revenue	(varies annually)
Website	(official site)

LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) is a national nonprofit community development financial institution founded in 1979 that provides financing, technical assistance, and policy advocacy to support neighborhood revitalization, affordable housing, small business development, and community facilities. Operating through a network of local offices and partnerships, it channels philanthropic, public, and private capital to projects in urban, suburban, and rural areas across the United States. LISC works with a wide array of partners including community development corporations, housing authorities, banks, foundations, and municipal agencies to leverage resources for place-based investment and capacity building.

History

LISC emerged in 1979 amid federal policy shifts and urban challenges, building on partnerships with the Ford Foundation, Enterprise Foundation, and neighborhood-based organizations in New York City, Chicago, and Los Angeles. Early initiatives connected with Jesse Jackson, Jimmy Carter-era policy debates, and collaborations with entities such as the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation and Fannie Mae influenced its strategic emphasis on affordable housing and neighborhood stabilization. Through the 1980s and 1990s LISC expanded alongside programs like the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit, Community Reinvestment Act, and collaborations with the Department of Housing and Urban Development and state housing finance agencies. In the 2000s LISC responded to crises including the Great Recession and Hurricane recovery efforts linked to Hurricane Katrina, scaling disaster recovery financing and workforce development in partnership with Federal Emergency Management Agency and philanthropic investors. Recent decades saw growth in national programs aligned with initiatives advanced by actors such as Barack Obama, collaborations with foundations like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Ford Foundation, and strategic responses to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mission and Programs

LISC's mission emphasizes capital and capacity-building support for community development corporations, nonprofit developers, and local partners to create affordable housing, small business opportunities, and community assets. Major programmatic areas include affordable housing finance connected with National Equity Fund and Enterprise Community Partners-style models, small business lending similar to work by Accion, commercial corridor revitalization in partnership with local chambers such as the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and health-linked place-based initiatives coordinating with systems like Kaiser Permanente and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Capacity building includes technical assistance, leadership development, and programmatic support comparable to efforts by Local Initiatives Support Corporation-peer organizations like NeighborWorks America and Community Development Financial Institutions Fund. LISC also operates thematic programs addressing healthy food access, green building practices influenced by standards from U.S. Green Building Council, and criminal justice reinvestment collaborations with groups like the MacArthur Foundation.

Financing and Partnerships

LISC mobilizes capital through a blend of corporate and philanthropic grants, New Markets Tax Credit allocations administered in alignment with Community Development Financial Institutions Fund policy, tax-exempt bond financing used by state housing finance agencies, and debt and equity partnerships with banks such as Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and JP Morgan Chase. It partners with national intermediaries like Enterprise Community Partners, Habitat for Humanity International, and National Community Reinvestment Coalition while coordinating local investment through entities including municipal redevelopment agencies, state housing finance agencies, and regional foundations such as the Local Initiatives Support Corporation network’s funders. LISC’s financing strategy often leverages public subsidy programs including HOME Investment Partnerships Program, Section 8 rental assistance mechanisms, and federal tax credit instruments to catalyze private investment from institutional investors, pension funds, and mission-oriented capital providers like Calvert Impact Capital.

Major Initiatives and Impact

LISC has supported the creation and preservation of tens of thousands of affordable homes, small business loans, and community facilities through initiatives that parallel large-scale efforts by intermediaries such as Enterprise Community Partners and National Trust Community Investment Corporation. Notable programmatic efforts include place-based community development partnerships modeled after approaches used in Harlem, South Bronx, Bronx River, Bronzeville, and South Los Angeles, as well as rural initiatives comparable to work in Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta. LISC’s impact metrics often cite leveraged private investment multiples, housing units preserved, and jobs supported, reflecting outcomes similar to community development success stories in cities like Chicago, New York City, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Detroit. National initiatives have included coordinated responses to foreclosure crises alongside NeighborWorks America and foreclosure counseling networks, disaster recovery lending post-Hurricane Sandy, and small business relief programs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Organizational Structure and Leadership

LISC’s organizational model comprises a national headquarters, regional offices, and an array of local program staff, with governance provided by a board of directors drawing leaders from financial institutions, philanthropy, and community development. Leadership over time has included figures with public and private sector experience, and current executive management engages with policy stakeholders including members of the U.S. Congress, municipal leaders such as those from New York City and Chicago, and philanthropic partners like The Rockefeller Foundation and Surdna Foundation. LISC coordinates subsidiary and affiliate relationships with community development financial institutions, mission-aligned lenders, and programmatic partners such as National Equity Fund and local community development corporations across metropolitan regions including San Francisco Bay Area, Seattle, Miami, and Philadelphia.

Criticism and Controversies

LISC has faced critique from community advocates, academic commentators, and some elected officials regarding concerns about gentrification, displacement, and the balance between market-rate development and deep affordability, echoing debates seen around initiatives in Brooklyn, Oakland, and Washington, D.C.. Critics have questioned partnerships with large banks tied to practices scrutinized under the Community Reinvestment Act enforcement actions and foreclosure-era controversies involving institutions like Wells Fargo and Bank of America. Debates have also emerged over the prioritization of public subsidies, tax credit allocations, and impacts on small landlords and long-term residents, paralleling controversies in redevelopment projects in cities like Seattle and Los Angeles. LISC responds through reporting, community benefits agreements, and revised program designs intended to mitigate displacement, while continuing dialogue with stakeholders including tenant organizations, municipal policymakers, and philanthropic partners such as MacArthur Foundation and Ford Foundation.

Category:Non-profit organizations based in the United States