Programs
Mid South Delta LISC entered into a promising partnership with the
Enterprise Corporation of the Delta (ECD). With partial funding from ECD’s
Emerging Market Partnership program, LISC created the Delta Homeownership
Initiative. Using a model currently in use by a rural group in Indiana, CDCs in
this demonstration program will focus on qualifying and otherwise helping
families achieve homeownership while entering into partnerships with for-profit
contractors for the development phase.
Andy Saavedra was hired on staff to manage this new initiative and to provide
technical assistance for Louisiana CDCs. Saavedra opened a small satellite
office for Mid South Delta LISC in Tallulah, La.
The Delta Homeownership Initiative will seek to:
- Find potential home buyers, provide prepurchase homeownership counseling, work with homebuyers to clear up credit issues and work with homebuyers to hold on to their assets through a program of post-purchase counseling.
- Use tools available through state agencies, Rural Development, the Federal Home Loan Bank and others to help low-income families buy homes.
- Form partnerships between CDCs and private construction companies by helping CDCs deliver qualified purchasers, down-payment assistance, subsidized mortgages, construction-loan financing and other incentives to private builders.
- Create a fee-for-service structure from the private builder to the CDC that will provide CDCs with a revenue stream to insure their ability to produce low-income homebuyers and help families keep their assets.
LISC staff spends the majority of its time providing direct assistance to CDCs on development projects. This assistance includes helping CDC staff persons develop financing scenarios for housing projects, preparing applications to various federal, state and private entities to finance projects and programs, helping to develop new CDCs and applying for 501(c)3 status with the IRS, evaluating training needs of key staff persons, meeting with board and staff members to explain programs and/or do problem resolution and aid the CDC in monitoring construction activities.
In order to support Delta CDCs, LISC provides a variety of financial assistance to the groups and to their development projects including capacity building grants, project predevelopment grants, construction loans, site acquisition loans, lines-of-credit and loan guarantees.
LISC’s technical assistance on development projects gets its strength from a number of sources. LISC has access to a nationwide network of expertise and best practices, LISC’s offices on the ground in the Delta provide ready face-to-face, day-to-day assistance to groups, LISC staff has experience building affordable housing in the Delta, and LISC’s national network helps bring leveraging funds to the table in Delta development projects.
Financial Management Projects
The Financial Management
Projects recognizes the need to go beyond just training in order to build and
sustain CDC capacity to keep accurate and useful financial records. This project
will start by providing basic, targeted technical assistance to groups. In
the long range, it will create a network of CDC financial managers that will
meet regularly, be able to communicate amongst each other, create peer-to-peer
connections, and gain access to competent financial
experts.
Funded by the Winthrop
Rockefeller Foundation, the Organizational Excellence Initiative. The Initiative
works to expand the capacity and technical ability of community development
organizations to address the problems of housing, economic growth and community
development.
Working with individual CDCs, Mid
South Delta LISC used a capacity mapping tool (CapMap®) to "map" Delta CDCs in
basic competency areas and establish individualized targets for progressing
along a competency curve. Based on the aggregate picture of CDC capacity in the
Delta, Mid South Delta LISC training and technical assistance can be designed
and delivered more effectively. CapMap® also allows CDCs to set clear and
understandable goals for their own improvement.
Information gathered with CapMap® demonstrated a critical need to improve
internal financial management of Delta
CDCs.
Responding to this finding, LISC
designed and implemented the Financial Management Project, which helps isolated
rural CDCs get their financial books and reports in order. It creates a network
of financial staff from more than 20 CDCs, moves CDCs to the same financial
software, provides direct assistance to solve individual CDC problems, sponsors
quarterly meetings of the financial staff and creates opportunities for
peer-to-peer assistance.
Also as a result
of CapMap® findings, LISC has offered individualized technical assistance for
board development and help in formulating strategic plans for Delta
CDCs.
Training
Mid South Delta LISC offers ongoing Training and Technical Assistance Programs. Through 2002 more than 600 CDC staff participated in workshops on topics including the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, Property and Asset Management, Housing Finance and Deal Structuring, HOME implementation, computer training, and grant writing. LISC staff provides targeted training to Delta CDCs on a range of issues including organizational development, affordable housing development, economic development and community development.
At its annual conference of Delta CDCs, “Under One Roof: Building Communities in the Delta”, LISC brings together CDC leaders from across the Delta for training, networking, and celebrating their achievements.