Stories
Affordable Housing Loss Grows as ‘Qualified Contracts’ Sap Thousands of Housing Credit Units
LISC is pressing Congress and state housing officials to address the troubling effects of QCs, which reduce the amount of rental housing that is available to families with low incomes. " As a country, we can’t afford to let that continue,” write LISC’s Matt Josephs and Michael Skrebutenas, in a new commentary on the issue. "We can’t afford to subsidize affordable housing development for public good only to watch it slip away for private windfall."
Double Down on ‘Local’ to Empower Families and Communities
From pandemic relief to racial equity, success is as dependent on a strong social infrastructure in communities as it is on the dollars that flow through it, writes LISC President Denise Scott, in a new commentary. “To support just and resilient communities, we must invest in the capacity of place-based organizations to plan, execute, measure, adjust and sustain community development gains.”
In Praise of CDFIs, and Why We Need Them Now More Than Ever
LISC COO Annie Donovan knows her way around Community Development Financial Institutions. In the blog that follows, she offers an indispensable primer on how CDFIs work, the diverse ways and places they operate, and why they are imperative to building equitable and inclusive communities and helping close our country's racial wealth and opportunity gaps.
Building from the Bottom Up and the Middle Out: Biden Speaks to the Nation on Opportunity, Equity and Growth
Matt Josephs, LISC senior vice president for policy, takes a look at the president’s State of the Union address and what it might mean for efforts to bridge gaps in health, wealth and opportunity throughout the country.
Community Wise Podcast: A Conversation with Michelle de la Uz
In this episode, LISC's Interim CEO & President, Lisa L. Glover, interviews LISC board member, Michelle de la Uz who is also the Executive Director of the Fifth Avenue Committee in Brooklyn, NY. The conversation highlights the work of the Fifth Avenue Committee around COVID, environmental initiatives and climate change, community advocacy, and affordable housing. It’s a great conversation that celebrates the importance of community partnerships in an ever-changing urban landscape.
Congress Must Seize the Opportunity to Make Equitable Investments in People and Places
The Build Back Better Act is a sweeping package of investments to support underserved people and communities. LISC’s Matt Josephs takes a closer look at this historic opportunity for Congress to break down systemic barriers for people of color, while at the same time fueling an equitable economic recovery from the pandemic.