Three important new federal funding awards will help LISC build the capacity of community-based organizations, while also attracting tens of millions of dollars in private capital to small businesses and economic development projects. Taken as a whole, they illustrate the importance of connecting policy and program expertise to maximize community development resources and create more opportunities for families to thrive.
For those of us in community development finance, the federal government is one of our most important funding partners. It’s why LISC works closely with policymakers at 17 different federal agencies on strategies that strengthen communities and make our economy work better for everyone—regardless of race, age, gender or zip code.
Over the last few weeks, we have been gratified to obtain three new sources of federal funding to drive expanded local impact. The awards will help LISC build the capacity of community-based organizations, while also attracting tens of millions of dollars in private capital to small businesses and economic development projects.
These public programs are particularly valuable right now, after a year that dramatically exposed our nation’s deep racial and socio-economic inequities. LISC will leverage these resources to support work that catalyzes economic opportunity for BIPOC and other underserved communities, and thereby support broader economic growth as well.
New Markets Tax Credits
Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department’s CDFI Fund announced its latest round of New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) allocations, including $65 million for LISC. This brings our total allocation to nearly $1.2 billion since the program’s inception—the largest total of any awardee.
Over the years, we have leveraged NMTCs to finance new community health centers, manufacturing facilities, arts and entertainment businesses, office buildings, retail, schools, social services centers and even a children’s museum. All of these projects create community assets and job opportunities in neighborhoods that have experienced widespread disinvestment and high rates of unemployment. With our latest award, we will continue to focus on projects that bring critical assets to disinvested communities.
Economic Mobility Corps
AmeriCorps and the CDFI Fund awarded LISC almost $1 million under a new program dubbed the Economic Mobility Corps. We were one of only three organizations to be funded, and we will use the grant to place 61 new AmeriCorps members at community development financial institutions (CDFIs) throughout the country, including those serving rural areas and areas of persistent poverty, so these CDFIs can expand their capacity to provide financial services to the clients they serve.
This funding builds on the long-standing success of LISC’s AmeriCorps program, which has connected more than 3,100 AmeriCorps members with community-based nonprofits over the last 25 years. It is another way for us to strengthen the economic infrastructure of communities, so more families can access opportunities.
SNAP Employment & Training
With more than $1.4 million in new funding from the USDA, LISC will help workforce development organizations become third-party providers under the SNAP Employment & Training program, which offers participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) food program access to job training and related services. This national grant expands our long history of support for this work, particularly through our LISC Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) partners and Bridges to Career Opportunities program. And, it builds on the efforts of our LISC Rhode Island team, which administers SNAP Employment and Training funds for that state.
By building the capacity of our FOC/Bridges sites and other partners to become third-party providers, we can help them access an important federal funding source that will allow them sustain and grow their impact.
Looked at together, these three awards illustrate the importance of connecting policy and program expertise to maximize community development resources. (You can read more about our Policy Priorities 2021-2022 to see how.) At LISC, our teams work together to highlight on-the-ground innovation throughout the country and help connect the dots for officials, so they can see the ways that even modest, efficient public investments can drive outsized impact.
We are enormously grateful for the confidence of federal policymakers and their ongoing support. We share the same goals to build a broadly shared prosperity—one that creates opportunities for families and communities to thrive.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lisa L. Glover, Interim LISC President & CEO
Lisa Glover is the former executive vice president at U.S. Bank, retiring in March, 2020. In her 34 years at U.S. Bank, Glover led numerous enterprise efforts and has extensive banking experience. She held a variety of line operational roles, including management positions in commercial and consumer lending, contact center operations, and continuous improvement. Glover also held key leadership positions in internal audit, corporate compliance and risk, serving as the Chief Risk Officer for consumer banking. She served as the Director of Community Affairs for seven years, leading the Bank’s CRA, environmental, multicultural and corporate citizenship efforts. She is a certified risk professional, a chartered bank auditor and a certified internal auditor. Glover has a BBA from Iowa State University in Corporate Finance and a Masters of Library and Information Sciences from University of Wisconsin.