Who We Are

LISC Virginia is one of 35 local offices of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national non-profit organization supporting community development in cities and rural areas throughout the county.

In 1979, when the Ford Foundation first conceived of LISC, it envisioned an “intermediary”—a smart and nimble non-profit that would connect hard-to-tap public and private resources with underinvested places and people working to access opportunities everyone of us deserves.

The premise was as simple then as it is now: government, foundations and for-profit companies have the capital; residents and local institutions understand the need; and LISC bridges the gap by offering the relationships and expertise to help community organizations attract the kinds of resources that allow them do their best work. While the components of our programming and our role continue to evolve and expand, for 40 years, our mission has remained the same.

We receive our funding from banks, corporations, foundations and government agencies. We, in turn, use that funding to provide financing (loans, grants and equity) and technical and management assistance to local partners and developers. Through our 35 local offices, a rural program that reaches more than 2,100 counties in 45 states, and LISC-founded affiliates and entities, we work with a vast network of community-based partners to make investments in housing, businesses, jobs, education, safety and health.

Our Model

We are on the ground

LISC is in more places than any other community development organization. We have staff, expertise and relationships in 35 local offices.

We listen

LISC engages local leaders and neighbors to plan, set goals and measure progress. We bring local issues to state and national policy leaders.

We innovate

LISC tests ground-breaking ideas locally and adapts them nationally for places as diverse as the Mississippi Delta and San Francisco Bay.

We leverage

LISC invests in distressed neighborhoods for maximum impact. Every dollar we invest attracts another $3 in private capital.

We see the big picture

LISC’s approach is comprehensive. We work on housing, businesses, jobs, education, health and safety in the same place at the same time.

We persevere

Markets go up and down, political winds shift, fads come and go. But LISC stays the course.

We have an impact

Our communities are better places to live, more people have jobs and incomes rise. See our results.