Local Initiatives Support Corporation

LISC was an early advocate for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), which created by the Reagan Administration in the Tax Reform Act of 1986. In 1987, LISC launched the National Equity Fund (NEF) to syndicate LIHTC, raising $14.5 million in the first year.[14] In 1988 LISC raised $51 Million for affordable housing project through LIHTC, and $77 Million in 1990.[15][16] Although LIHTC was initially created as a temporary measure set to expire by 1989, its effectiveness prompted LISC and other organizations to advocate for its extension. In 1993, Congress granted LIHTC permanent status.[17][18] Once LIHTC achieved permanency, LISC and NEF launched a program to build $1.5 Billion dollars worth of affordable housing.[19]

In 1995 LISC launched Rural LISC, expanding beyond urban areas in an effort to spur rural economic and housing development. In its first year, Rural LISC supported 68 rural development organizations. Today, it partners with hundreds of organizations in over one thousand rural counties.[20][21]

In 1997 LISC partnered with the NFL to create and refurbish playing fields in low-income urban areas. In 1999, Clinton's Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin became the Chairman of the Board of LISC.[22] In 2002, with support from the Walton Family Foundation, LISC began financing charter schools.[21]

In 2007, under the leadership of CEO Michael Rubinger, LISC created a comprehensive community development strategy called Building Sustainable Communities (BSC), which featured five place-based goals.

Affordable housing is the largest LISC program area. While many LISC initiatives finance the construction of new homes,[23] others refurbish existing housing stock or help municipalities reclaim abandoned "Zombie Homes"[24][25]

LISC supports nationwide job training and financial literacy programs through a network of 71 Financial Opportunity Centers (FOCs). FOCs provide low-income individuals with personal career coaching and job placement programs, financial and credit literacy training and access to public benefits.[26][27][28]

LISC works with local governments and civic groups to finance the construction or redevelopment of retail corridors, arts center and civic institutions. Examples include:

• Washington, D.C.'s Howard Theatre [29]
• "The Platform," a non-profit co-working space in a formerly decrepit building in downtown Indianapolis.[30]
• Retail Corridor Development through the "MetroEdge" corridor program in Philadelphia's Fishtown neighborhood.[31]

LISC is a major financier of charter schools nationwide.[32] According to the LA Times, at least a dozen schools in California would run out of money without financing from LISC designed to cover shortfalls in state funding.[33] LISC's Schoolbuild Portal is an award-winning information resource for Charter Schools that want to finance facility improvements.[34]

LISC partners with the NFL in the "Grassroots" program, which has built or rehabilitated 269 youth and community football fields nationwide [35][36] In 2012, LISC launched the "Healthy Futures Fund" to create affordable housing units linked with health care and social services.[37] LISC's Community Safety Initiative works with police departments and local residents to improve police-community relations and reduce crime.[38][39]

In the 2010s, many of the neighborhoods LISC had been working in for decades became attractive to private development. Compounded with the effects of the Great Recession, this led to a national housing crisis, with market-rate rents becoming unaffordable to middle- and lower-income families in many major American cities. LISC offices responded to the crisis by working to preserve affordable housing and prevent displacement.[40][41][42]

In 2016, former Virginia Secretary of Commerce Maurice A. Jones became LISC's fourth CEO.[43] Under Jones' tenure, LISC began to focus resources on impact investing in an effort to attract private investors from diverse sectors to community development. In 2017, LISC became the first CDFI to enter the commercial bond market, raising $100MM from its initial offering of SustainAbility Bonds.[44][45] In 2018, LISC helped create the first impact investing funds focused on the creative economy.[46]