Programs
LISC’s mission is to rebuild whole communities by supporting resident-led,
locally based organizations called community development corporations or CDCs.
LISC helps meet the needs of neighborhoods as they rebuild themselves into healthy,
thriving communities. To this end, LISC provides support for community
development organizations across Cleveland and Northeast Ohio in both financial
and technical assistance.
Organizations may apply for a myriad of opportunities,
including loans and grants for projects and programs, financial support through
the Northeast Ohio Operating Support Program, technical assistance through the
Organizational Development Initiative, support for reinvesting in commercial
corridors through the Re$tore Cleveland Program, and many more.
Operating Support
Program | Organizational Development Initiative | Re$tore Cleveland
Project Financing
Project Financing
Operating
Support Program
A study conducted for a collaborative of funders of community development corporations, including the Lily Endowment, Pew Charitable Trusts, John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and others [1], concluded that in cities where there were multi-year, multi-funder operating support programs, CDCs were more productive, better managed, and more effective at revitalizing their neighborhoods. LISC concurs with these findings and believes that an important component of a successful neighborhood revitalization program in Cuyahoga, Mahoning, Stark, Summit, and Trumbull counties is an operating support program that provides multi-year, core operating support grants to CDCs.
A study conducted for a collaborative of funders of community development corporations, including the Lily Endowment, Pew Charitable Trusts, John D. and Katherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and others [1], concluded that in cities where there were multi-year, multi-funder operating support programs, CDCs were more productive, better managed, and more effective at revitalizing their neighborhoods. LISC concurs with these findings and believes that an important component of a successful neighborhood revitalization program in Cuyahoga, Mahoning, Stark, Summit, and Trumbull counties is an operating support program that provides multi-year, core operating support grants to CDCs.
Organizational Development Initiative
An important part of a successful operating support program includes training and project-related technical assistance to the CDC boards and staffs and the communities in which they work. Training, coaching, and other capacity building activities are provided in a variety of ways, including retaining consultants to provide specific training or advice around areas of concern such as governance, fiscal management, human resources, planning, community involvement, networking, and program management. Other sources of training include workshops put on by state and national trade associations such as the Ohio CDC Association (Affordable Housing Development Workshops), Neighborhood Progress Inc., Ohio Department of Development (Fiscal Management), Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation (Project Management), and LISC (varied).
Re$tore Cleveland Program
The Re$tore Cleveland initiative started with $250,000 in seed money from LISC, Cleveland Neighborhood Development Corporation, and Neighborhood Progress Inc. The program works with local community development organizations in Cleveland to provide assistance and serve as a catalyst for commercial growth in neighborhoods. Merchants and community groups form a plan to revitalize main street corridors within their neighborhood in a variety of ways, including traffic-pattern studies, advice from marketing experts, streetscaping, and more. In 2002, four neighborhoods were targeted for this pilot project. In 2003, an additional 7 neighborhoods will participate in the program.
Project Financing
In its capacity as a “social investment banker” LISC has created a variety of financial tools adapted to the arena of community development. Those tools are as follows:
- Pre-Development Funding | One of the
most important components of a successful LISC program is being able to provide
high risk, upfront capital for projects in the early stages of their development.
These grants, known as recoverable grants, are used to cover specific predevelopment
costs associated with a real estate project. Typical predevelopment
costs could include: environmental reports, market studies, architectural
fees, legal fees, project consultants, options, appraisals, etc. They
are termed recoverable because LISC is repaid when (and if) the project moves
forward to completion. The average recoverable grant is $20,000.
- Construction & Permanent Financing |
LISC provides loans for CDC-sponsored projects including affordable housing,
homeownership projects, commercial and industrial buildings, and even facility
loans for child care centers, social service centers, etc. LISC will
subordinate its loan to conventional lenders to provide incentives to bring
private capital to distressed neighborhoods. The interest rate will
vary between 6.5% and 8%, depending upon the term of the loan. The maximum
loan amount is $2 million, although the average loan size is $250,000.
- Equity | Through its subsidiary, the National Equity Fund (NEF), LISC can provide equity for Low-Income Housing Tax Credit financed rental housing. NEF can also provide equity for historic tax credit projects or a combination of housing and historic credits. The Retail Initiative, another LISC subsidiary, provides equity to CDC-sponsored retail projects in which a grocery store is the anchor tenant.
[1] Other funders of the National Community Development Initiative include William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Prudential Insurance Co., Surdna Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Metropolitan Life Foundation, J.P. Morgan and Company, HUD, Banker’s Trust Co., Chase Manhattan Bank, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and Nations Bank.