President's Commentary - Building Sustainable Communities: A Proven Strategy
Date Published: 02/25/2011
Author: LISC
LISC President & CEO Michael Rubinger comments on 2010 and looks back on 30 years of LISC.
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A Proven Strategy
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Excerpt:
In many ways, 2010 was a year of contrasts for LISC. We saw communities continue to be shaken by the ongoing economic decline, as relentless unemployment, distressed housing markets, and funding shortfalls for everything from schools to social services took an increasing toll, particularly in low-income areas.
But we also witnessed great progress in many of the neighborhoods where we work. Local stakeholders continued to implement comprehensive community development plans that not only help promote long-term stability, but counter some of the most damaging economic fallout. Those plans are connecting better schools and community safety initiatives with job creation, affordable housing, economic development and family asset building, among many other things. Certainly, the recession has impacted these communities, but in some respects they have been able to move forward and grow in spite of it. They are still energized and hopeful.
Much the same is true of LISC. Have we felt the recession? Most certainly. But we developed strategies to respond and today find ourselves in a stronger financial position than before the downturn began. In 2010, we expanded our program activity in significant ways, and our investing, lending and grantmaking topped the $1.1 billion mark. Some of that reflects the remarkable performance of the National Equity Fund, our tax credit syndication arm, which posted record results for 2010. But it also speaks to a recovery in our lending, solid fundraising and new partnerships that have attracted fresh capital to important programs. Given overall economic conditions, we were quite pleased with what we were able to accomplish throughout the year. Continued[+]...
Type: Topical report