LISC is among three of the country's largest community development and housing groups receiving a total of $83M in U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Section 4 capacity building funding. LISC will use its $28M allocation to support 480 community development corporations nationwide, focusing on affordable housing access in historically disinvested communities. The grant includes a three-to-one match commitment of $85 million.

By Matt Josephs, Senior Vice President of Policy

LISC’s Matt Josephs reflects on this year’s State of the Union speech, taking particular note of the president’s comments about affordable housing, child care, climate solutions and community safety. "Taken as a whole, the speech offered a strong and hopeful statement of purpose,” Josephs said, adding that it will take sustained leadership at all levels "to translate promising ideas into on-the-ground progress for families and communities.”

By Bevin Parker-Cerkez & Maggie-Leigh O’Neill with Nicole Barcliff

To support the struggling child care sector during and after the pandemic, Congress dedicated billions in child care relief funding under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The LISC Child Care and Early Learning team explores how minor but important changes in the administration of ARPA funding directed to child care programs can streamline deployment and make federal fund distribution more equitable.

By Rob Portman & Robert E. Rubin

The country needs a renewed commitment to affordable housing production programs, including expansion of the Low Income Housing Tax Credit and enactment of the Neighborhood Homes Investment Act, argue LISC board chair Robert E. Rubin and former U.S. senator Rob Portman in a joint op-ed in The Hill. "Fixing the chronic shortage of affordable and available housing for low-income renters and first-time homebuyers requires immediate intervention and long-term commitment,” they stress.

In an article in GovTech magazine, Madeline Frasier Cook, LISC’s vice president for community building and resilient solutions, discusses how community members must be part of public transit planning, and all facets of community life taken into account. Policy makers and local leaders promoting transit-oriented development should be “very explicit about investment in affordable housing, and calling out that [there has to be] access for everyone. They can’t be displacing people.”

By Mark Kudlowitz, LISC Senior Policy Director

Recent research highlights the importance and needs of nonprofit community development organizations. LISC’s Mark Kudlowitz examines how this data informs our work and the need for additional resources to support these groups’ abilities to help communities across the country.