Community Partners
The challenges of community development are formidable. Success takes many partners, and LISC is fortunate to have many great partners in Hartford and throughout Connecticut. Each partner is very valuable to LISC as they bring us new ideas, energy and resources.
Our Community Partners
- Community Economic Development Fund
- Connecticut CDFI Alliance
- Connecticut Housing Coalition
- Connecticut Housing Investment Fund
- Connecticut Main Street Center
- Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation
- Corporation for Supportive Housing
- Hartford Community Loan Fund
- Hartford Economic Development Corporation
- Hartford Foundation for Public Giving
- Partnership for Strong Communities
Community Economic Development Fund
Donna Wertenbach, Executive Director
230-235-2333
info@cedf.com
965 East Main Street
Meriden, CT 06450
http://www.cedf.com
CEDF was created in 1994 to revitalize Connecticut’s distressed neighborhoods by providing greater access to capital, technical assistance to small businesses, and support for community economic development. Since then, CEDF has provided millions of dollars in loans to small businesses, created and retained hundreds of jobs for the state’s residents, and funded innovative community planning efforts.
Joining forces with the state, leading lenders, and community representatives. CEDF is bringing resources to Connecticut’s small businesses and neighborhoods. CEDF initially served the 53 public and targeted investment communities. As of October 1, 2003 CEDF expanded its geographic area to include low and moderate-income small businesses statewide.
Connecticut Housing Coalition
Jeff Freiser, Executive Director
860-563-2943
info@ct-housing.org
30 Jordan Lane
Wethersfield, CT 06109
http://ct-housing.org
The Connecticut Housing Coalition works to expand housing opportunity and to increase the quantity and quality of affordable housing available to people with low and moderate incomes throughout Connecticut through advocacy, education and collaboration. Our 250-plus member organizations represent the broad, vibrant network of community-based, affordable housing activity across the state - including nonprofit developers, housing service agencies, resident associations and diverse other housing practitioners and advocates. The Coalition's activities include conferences, training workshops, networking/referral services, action alerts and a quarterly newsletter. We sponsor the Nonprofit Developers Network and the Public Housing Resident Network.
Connecticut Housing Investment Fund
Cynthia Russell, President and CEO
860-233-5165
info@chif.org
121 Tremont Street
Hartford, CT 06105
http://www.chif.org
The Connecticut Housing Investment Fund, Inc. (CHIF) is a statewide non-profit community development financial institution that provides flexible financing, loan servicing and technical expertise to developers of affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization projects. CHIF provides housing financing solutions to help strengthen Connecticut communities. CHIF provides nonprofit organizations, municipalities, and individuals with construction, homeowner energy conservation, downpayment, interim bridge, and rehabilitation loans. CHIF also provides loan servicing and portfolio management services to state agencies, municipalities and non-profit organizations.
Connecticut Main Street Center
John Simone, Executive Director
860-280-2337
john@ctmainstreet.org
c/o CL&P, Box 2370
Hartford, CT 06146-2370
http://www.ctmainstreet.org
The Connecticut Main Street Center is a non-profit organization devoted to the revitalization of Connecticut’s downtown districts. We believe that by spurring economic development within the context of historic preservation, we can help Connecticut’s Main Streets once more become thriving centers of commercial and social activity.
Today, Americans are tiring of anonymous sprawl and yearn for the rich fabric of life that vital neighborhoods can provide. They recognize that a healthy downtown is key to the viability of the entire community surrounding it. However, reviving a central commercial district is a complex, long-term process.
Part of a national network that has been in place for over 20 years, the Connecticut Main Street Center brings together public officials, business owners, financial resources, community activists, and the economic development and historic preservation communities under one umbrella organization. We help communities analyze core issues and set attainable objectives. We provide training workshops, design and technical assistance, and advocacy. Our organized yet flexible approach allows communities to identify and develop their unique assets in an incremental and comprehensive way.
The Connecticut Main Street Center follows a national model called the Main Street Approach to Downtown Revitalization™. Developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the program advances economic development within the context of historic preservation and advocates public-private partnerships to ensure lasting success. Today forty-four states have Main Street programs in a total of more than 1,600 separate communities, ranging from small towns to targeted neighborhoods in big cities.
Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation
Helen Higgins, Executive Director
203-562-6312
contact@cttrust.org
940 Whitney Avenue
Hamden, CT 06517-4002
http://www.cttrust.org
The Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation is the only state wide organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the state's irreplaceable historic resources. The Trust protects the character and beauty of Connecticut's historic architecture, streetscapes, urban neighborhoods and country landscapes.
Founded in 1975 by a Special Act of the Connecticut General Assembly, the Connecticut Trust is a non-profit, tax exempt organization with more than 3,000 affiliates across the state, including among its members local preservation groups, historical societies, conservation and environmental groups, government agencies and libraries.
We assist individuals and groups with preservation questions and issues through our Circuit Rider program and award Historic Preservation Technical Assistance Grants to non-profit organizations and municipalities. The Trust's easement program protects historic building facades across the state and we educate citizens about Connecticut's historic resources and ways to preserve and maintain them. We also advocate before the state legislature each year for community planning, historic districts, and funding for historic preservation grant programs.
Corporation for Supportive Housing
Janice Elliott, Southern New England Director
203-789-0826
snep@csh.org
129 Church Street, Suite 608
New Haven, CT 06510
http://www.csh.org
"CSH helps communities create permanent housing with services to prevent and end homelessness."
Hartford Community Loan Fund
Rex Fowler, Executive Director
Tel: 860 296-7005
R.Fowler@hartfordloans.org
434 Franklin Avenue
Hartford, CT 06114
http://www.hartfordloans.org
The Hartford Community Loan Fund, a private not-for-profit organization, was founded with the belief that individuals and neighborhoods both thrive when they are invested in, when hope is no longer deferred, and when dreams become realities. Since their inception in 1997 (formerly the South Hartford Initiative) they have facilitated over $15 million of investments in the hopes and dreams of entrepreneurs, homeowners, and community leaders in Hartford’s southern neighborhoods. They have provided critical funding to more than 60 small businesses and helped rehabilitate more than 150 homes in the south end. In 2007 they began investing in the hopes of residents, business owners, and neighborhood leaders throughout the rest of Hartford.
Hartford Economic Development Corporation (HEDCO)
Sam Hamilton, Executive Director
860-527-1301
hedco@snet.net
15 Lewis St., Suite 204
Hartford, CT 06103
http://www.hedco-ghbdc.com
HEDCo & GHBDC work in tandem to stimulate economic development in the Hartford Metropolitan Area by collaborating with concerned public and private organizations to help start, finance, retain, and recruit small businesses within the region's core city, Hartford, and its fifty-seven surrounding cities and towns. HEDCo provides its small business clientele with business support needs that would be otherwise un-met or under-served. HEDCo efficiently partners with GHBDC to foster the community relationships crucial to sustained and broad-based economic growth and to provide small businesses throughout the region with alternative financing.HEDCo hires, retains and develops an experienced, professional staff, who individually understand client and local market needs and collectively provide successful development outcomes.
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving (HFPG)
Linda J. Kelly, President
(860) 548-1888
10 Columbus Boulevard, 8th Floor
Hartford, CT 06106
http://www.hfpg.org
Founded in 1925, the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving is the community foundation for the 29-town Capitol Region. Devoted to enhancing the quality of life in the region, the Foundation provides grants and other support to a broad range of nonprofit organizations, helps donors make effective charitable giving decisions, and brings people together to discuss important community issues. For more information about the Foundation, call 860-548-1888 or visit www.hfpg.org.
Partnership for Strong Communities
Diane Randall, Director
Tel: 860-244-0066
diane@ctpartnershiphousing.com
at The Lyceum
227 Lawrence Street
Hartford, CT 06106
The Partnership for Strong Communities is dedicated to raising public
awareness and advancing solutions to end chronic homelessness, create affordable housing and build healthy and economically vital communities. The Partnership's goal is to educate the public about the human and financial costs of homelessness and the lack of affordable housing. The Partnership promotes proven solutions that enhance the lives of people who have been homeless, foster the growth of communities and more effectively use public and private resources.
The Partnership for Strong Communities is a program of the Melville
Charitable Trust--a Connecticut-based foundation dedicated to finding
and fighting the causes of homelessness. The Trust has recently
purchased and renovated The Lyceum, a historic structure that has
provided a common ground for policymakers, teachers, researchers and
other scholars as they devise strategies to fight homelessness and
develop housing for workers and their families. The Partnership for
Strong Communities is located at The Lyceum and provides oversight for The Lyceum Resource and Conference Center.