On Thursday, September 26, LISC Boston announced seven Massachusetts community development corporations (CDCs) will receive Opportunity Zone Impact Grants to seed inclusive investment in their communities (see the full announcement below). LISC launched the grant program to support the development and implementation of proactive, community-driven strategies for investment in neighborhoods with federally designated Opportunity Zones.

LISC Senior Program Officer Margaret Keaveny announced the awards at LISC's Opportunity Zones Discussion Forum where discussion leaders and attendees talked about whether and how OZ investments are being deployed in Massachusetts communities at the Dewitt Center. The center is adjacent to an Opportunity Zone where Madison Park CDC will use the grant it received to support community engagement and planning. In total, awards of up to $25,000 are going to CDCs in Somerville, in the Roxbury neighborhood of Boston, and in the Gateway Cities of Worcester, Revere, Brockton, Lawrence, and Holyoke.

OZ Impact Grant Award Recipients

• Lawrence CommunityWorks, Lawrence
• Madison Park Development Corporation, Boston
• Main South Community Development, Worcester
• The Neighborhood Developers, Revere
• NeighborWorks Housing Solutions of MA, Brockton
• One Holyoke Community Development, Holyoke
• Somerville Community Corporation, Somerville

See the Impact Grant Awards announcement below for more including project descriptions.
For the full recap of the Discussion Forum, see the Opportunity Zones Update below.

Also see the Good Business Standards used by the Boston Ujima Project and review Brockton's prospectus.