SAINT PAUL, MN: Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Twin Cities has launched a new, transformational initiative aimed at supporting developers of color who are working to build assets and ownership in historically low-income neighborhoods and communities of color, aligning economic opportunity with place-based investments, and recognizing identity and culture as components of thriving social capital.
The Developers of Color Capacity Building Initiative aims to dismantle systemic disparities (including employment, poverty, housing, and wealth disparities) that exist for people of color in an industry that has historically thrived within systems of structural racism. The initiative will better support, position, and increase the number of developers of color who move beyond predevelopment to project completion. It will measure the outcomes of focusing attention and resources dedicated to building capacity, strengthening ability for financing, and increasing readiness to attract equity.
This initiative will go beyond training to provide equity and resources for implementation of an actual development project. It will offer significant financial and technical resources to developers, including funding for predevelopment and project management support, and access to equity and permanent financing to help fill financial gaps. Four to six developers of color will be chosen to participate in the 2021 Program, and each will receive a $50,000 grant to advance their project(s) and access to development services, such as project management, design, legal, brokerage, marketing, construction, and financing expertise.
“The times require transformative change. Transformative change requires new means of access to capital, technical expertise, and essential personal and professional networks. That is what LISC’s Developers of Color Initiative is all about,” said LISC Twin Cities Executive Director, Peter McLaughlin. “We seek to support the creation of a new generation of successful BIPOC developers in the Twin Cities who will have a lasting impact on the development ecosystem and the community as a whole.”
In addition to LISC Twin Cities, this initiative was made possible by the generous funding by the McKnight Foundation, Minneapolis Foundation, Wells Fargo Bank, US Bank, Dominium, Sand Companies, Target Foundation and an anonymous donor. Developers of color can fill out an application and submit it by Thursday, April 1, 2021.
By aligning economic opportunity with place-based investments, the Developers of Color Capacity Building Initiative will allow for an increase in the number of developers of color who move beyond predevelopment to project completion. Transformational change that disrupts systemic racism is essential to driving more social capital and ownership in historically low-income neighborhoods and communities of color.
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About LISC Twin Cities:
With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of
opportunity–great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families. Since 1988,
Twin Cities LISC has invested over $900 million to build or rehab 17,404 affordable homes
and apartments, developed 2.4 million square feet of retail, community and educational
space, and served over 7,500 families at Financial Opportunity Centers. To learn more,
visit tclisc.org or follow us on Twitter @LISC_TwinCities and Facebook @LISCTwinCities.