SAINT PAUL, MN: Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Twin Cities is requesting applications for a second round of the transformational initiative aimed at supporting emerging 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.
Seven to ten developers of color will be chosen to participate in the 2022 Program, and each will receive a $20,000 - $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. An informational session about the 2022 Developers of Color application process will be held on June 22 at 1 pm. Contact Gretchen Nicholls at gnicholls@lisc.org to register.
This initiative will go beyond training to provide equity and resources for the implementation of an actual development project. It will offer developers significant financial and technical resources, including funding for predevelopment and project management support and access to equity and permanent financing to help fill financial gaps.
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 the ability for financing, and increasing readiness to attract equity.
“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 from the McKnight Foundation, the Jay & Rose Phillips Family Foundation of MN, MN Housing, Sand Companies, Dominium, Associated Bank, Weis Builders, Midwest One Bank, National Equity Fund, 1335 Foundation, Sunrise Banks, and Alatus.
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.
Developers of color can fill out an application and submit it by Friday, July 15, 2022. Click here to access the application. More information is available by contacting Gretchen Nicholls at gnicholls@lisc.org
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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.