Funder in the Spotlight:
Panorama of downtown Esparto, in California's Central Valley, taken near the new hardware store, with the train depot and a multi-family housing site in background. Rural LISC partner Mercy Housing California is helping to develop this community with Bank of America support.

Children get an educational boost in the After School Program of Rural LISC's partner, Boys, Girls, Adults CDC, in Marvell, Phillips County, AR.  They are pictured here with the CDC director.

Bank of America has been a major contributor to Rural LISC’s community development work since its inception in 1995.  During the last five years, Bank of America has committed $1.25 million in multi-year grant funds to Rural LISC.  This support has been vital to Rural LISC’s Building Sustainable Communities program among the 60 Partner CDCs it supports, 39 of which operate in Bank of America service areas across 19 states.   Each CDC has developed strategies around the program’s five goals:  1) Expanding Investment in Housing and Other Real Estate; 2)  Increasing Family Income and Wealth; 3) Stimulating Economic Development; 4) Improving Access to Quality Education; and 5) Supporting Healthy Environments and Lifestyles.   The results have been significant.  

Bank of America market states where Rural LISC operates (highlighted in green).

Rural LISC’s operations are overseen by a 22 member Advisory Committee, chaired for the past 10 years by Stephen B. Fitzgerald, Program Director for the Bank of America Charitable Foundation.  He is pictured to the left delivering the opening address at the 2008 Rural LISC Annual Seminar in Washington, D.C.

Rural LISC matches and leverages Bank of America funds to provide continuing financial and technical assistance to its Partner CDCs.  During the last five years alone, Rural LISC raised $3.9 million in private funds and another 10 million in public grant funds.  With the help of Bank of America funds, Rural LISC is able to provide its CDC partners with: 

• Grants, recoverable grants, below market rate loans and guarantees, plus access to equity generated by federal Low Income Housing and New Markets Tax Credits.
• Technical assistance and training delivered by staff, consultants and CDC peers.
• An annual multi-day educational Seminar where CDCs attend training sessions, network and develop mentoring relationships with peers, and view CDC work in the field. 
• A website with up-to-date information about the program and Partner CDCs served, and links to other sources of information relevant to rural community developers.  
• Rural e-News, a monthly newsletter emailed to Partner CDCs and a network of more than 1,700 rural community developers across all 50 states.