“A Gateway for Possibilities”: Resident Leadership and Community Ownership

LISC's Institute for Community Power has published a new Spotlight examining three leadership development programs designed and implemented by LISC and local partners for distinct communities in different parts of the country: Training the Trainers (T4T) in Houston; the Newark Resident Leadership Academy (NRLA); and Community Connectors in Philadelphia. Each group has leveraged the leadership program to inform and strengthen their work and, in turn, to serve their communities more effectively.

Extreme weather events can cause devastating property damage and economic loss. With a $500,000 grant from The Allstate Foundation, LISC will help six Houston nonprofit organizations better manage the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable communities—and help protect the regional economy in the process.

LISC’s Local Advisory Committees (LACs) serve as guides and champions for the organization’s many local offices and rural program. Women leaders from the finance, philanthropy, government and community development worlds bring a special—and especially important—set of skills and insights to this critical, behind-the-scenes part of our work to strengthen communities.

In collaboration with the Walmart Foundation, LISC announced funding to help eight community-based nonprofits increase access to healthy, affordable food in under-resourced communities. Located primarily across the Southeast region, grantees will undertake efforts ranging from farmer-led urban agriculture to mobile food markets to the establishment of a community food policy council.

Not really a top ten, because we heard and told so many great stories this year—of challenges overcome and impact made—that it would be impossible to pick that few. But here is a selection of our favorites from 2022 (okay, ten) in words, pictures and social media characters. They help narrate some of what happened over the past 12 months, and we think they're too good to miss!

Wells Fargo Foundation Awards $7.5 Million to LISC Houston to Expand Homeownership for Families of Color

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and local elected officials joined LISC Houston and the Harris County Homeownership Collaborative, or HCHC, on September 6th to announce the launch of a new initiative to expand homeownership opportunities for Black, Hispanic, and other underserved individuals and families.