Program Summary:
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a community development support organization, serves 32 cities, regions and states, as well as approximately 70 rural areas across the country. Virtually everything LISC does is in conjunction with locally-based nonprofit community development corporations (CDCs). To strengthen CDCs all field offices make capacity-building grants (and sometimes loans, e.g., to bridge forthcoming payments or for working capital). About two-thirds of the offices provide support through a formal capacity building or organizational development program that involves funders and civic leaders in design, oversight and/or assessment. In addition to providing organizational assessments and funds to address growth needs, LISC provides consulting assistance, training (directly, with the help of specialists such as accountants and lawyers, and through scholarships), advice/coaching, and related assistance.
To enhance CDCs' productivity and organizational capacities and to ensure accountability for the use of resources, LISC primarily operates through local offices with staff on the ground who constantly interact with CDCs, their boards, their constituents, and other key partners and stakeholders such as public agencies, banks, and foundations. This facilitates the underwriting and monitoring of all financial commitments and the fashioning of programs responsive to specific local constraints and opportunities. Moreover, Local Advisory Committees, comprised of corporate and philanthropic funders, public agencies, experts and CDCs, oversee local programs and approve every funding award to CDCs.
At the national level, LISC offers the Organizational Development Initiative, a program that boosts its work through the field offices by: (1) networking and training staff for best practices transfer; (2) offering high-level training to CDCs in 20 topical areas (financial management and housing, and asset management are among the most popular); (3) conducting research and development to create new products (such as CapMap, an organizational diagnostic tool, and EAsy, a financial forecasting tool); (4) hosting seminars and webcasts on organizational development issues; (5) publishing and disseminating organizational development lessons and tools; (6) disseminating information on consultant resources; (7) providing on-site assistance for individual groups; (8) partnering with other organizations, agencies, and professionals to create national programs and resources delivered at relatively low cost; (9) consulting with funders and local LISC offices on the strategic development of successful capacity-building programs.
Where there is a "critical mass" of interest or need among its constituents, LISC creates a targeted program or product. For example, the Affordable Housing Preservation Initiative works to keep affordable rental properties safe, in good repair, and available to low-income families by providing support to local LISC offices, local government, housing authorities, and community development corporations. The Center for Commercial Revitalization (the "Center") acts as the national clearinghouse for information and resources to support local revitalization efforts. The primary responsibilities of the Center include the coordination and delivery of technical assistance to local LISC staff and community groups, the identification and provision of resources, and the cultivation of relationships that support the neighborhood business district revitalization movement.
Another special program, Community Investment Collaborative for Kids (CICK) is focused on capacity building for child care facilities and organizations supporting them. LISC also collaborates with NeighborWorks America and the Enterprise Foundation to offer training through the Consortium for Housing and Asset Management.
Locally, a large number of funders (cities and states, foundations and corporations) participate in planning and conducting LISC activities. Typically, local offices operate three-year capacity-building programs and review them at the end of each cycle. In addition, local offices' Local Advisory Committees, along with LISC management conduct an annual review of the overall program.
Each program has its own evaluation plan, focused on organizational capacity, organizational productivity, and actual impact at the community level. LISC evaluation uses CapMap, its own diagnostic tool that measures and tracks organizational capacity; in a growing number of cases, community outcome measures also are part of evaluation.
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Address:
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501 7th Avenue, 7th Floor
New York, NY 10018
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