With the Holiday Season at hand, there is so much for which to be grateful!  We’re particularly thankful for all our great partners and communities that continue to work together to improve all of San Diego’s neighborhoods.  We know 2015 will hold out incredible promise as we continue to collaborate to build a better San Diego.

LISC San Diego wishes you all a wonderful and enjoyable Holiday Season!  Please enjoy our holiday video message.

Sincerely,

Edward Lopez
Executive Director, LISC San Diego

Do people really live better in the places where LISC works? The answer is yes. In this first report to evaluate outcomes from our Building Sustainable Communities strategy, we found a clear correlation between increased LISC investments and improvements in income and employment. What’s more, we see a hopeful sense of resiliency in these places, as they hold their ground when faced with intense economic challenges that have decimated similar communities.

Measuring these kinds of quality-of-life gains is critical.
It has not all been smooth sailing, of course. We can see that progress is typically slow, and gains are sometimes uneven. But, at a time when economic inequality is deepening across the country, we see comprehensive community development beginning to bridge that gap. Over time, troubled neighborhoods can, in fact, become good places to live, work, do business and raise families.  Read The Study

San Diego Housing Nonprofits Supported by Citi and LISC

Thanks to the support of Citi and the Citi Foundation, LISC was proud to offer the 2014 California Housing Development Training Institute (HDTI) program.  HDTI is an intensive, two-week long program that walks project managers through the key development stages and critical financial issues of affordable housing development.  A combination of presentations, case studies and group exercises allow participants to negotiate a typical housing deal while drawing upon all skill areas.  The Citi's support enabled 45 affordable housing professionals from across California to participate.

Year in Review

2014 was another terrific year for LISC San Diego's lending efforts!

• We were proud to support the San Diego Housing Commission’s San Diego Square project; a 156-unit, senior citizen, development which will extend the affordability of those units for 30+ more years.
• And we were pleased to help Space 4 Arts acquire a new site that, when the project is completed, will result in an affordable and permanent artists live/work and arts center in the Sherman Heights community.
• More recently, LISC San Diego provided a $2.25 million acquisition loan supporting the acquisition of a 20-unit apartment building by City Heights Community Development Corporation.  This loan will facilitate the rehabilitation, and lock in lower rents for the 20-unit, garden style apartments, located in City Heights, for decades to come.

Latest News

Capital to spur development along commercial corridors and expand access to fresh food in food deserts - With a $5 million award from the CDFI Fund, part of the U.S. Treasury Department, LISC will spur economic growth along retail corridors in low-income neighborhoods and expand access to fresh food in entrenched food deserts. "The goal is to build economic opportunities, create jobs, and improve residents overall quality of life," says Elise Balboni, LISC Senior VP for lending.  Read more.

LISC rolls out a new national initiative to make arts and culture investments in low-income areas - LISC has launched a national effort to drive millions of dollars into arts-related businesses and cultural activities that will help transform some of America’s most distressed neighborhoods into safe, vibrant places of economic opportunity.  Learn more.

New LISC Publication:  2014 Charter School Facility Finance Landscape - LISC's 2014 Charter School Facility Finance Landscape is the most comprehensive source for information on how charter schools fund real estate projects.  The fourth edition of the Landscape study surveys charter school financing options from foundations and other nonprofit financing organizations as well as a description of the tax-exempt bond market. Revised and updated for 2014.  Click here.

Since 2011 LISC San Diego has supported a network of Financial Opportunity Centers (FOCs) throughout San Diego County.  Through an integrated service delivery model, FOCs help people find jobs, increase earnings, and reduce expenses.  And our FOCs make an impact!

The San Diego Union-Tribune recently ran an opinion piece LISC submitted describing the impacts and differences our FOCs are making in our neighborhoods.  Please read.  The piece coincided with the LISC national FOC Conference which San Diego hosted in early December - over 150 FOC professionals from across the country joined us at a great conference.

Our FOCs do make a difference!  We help people find employment and build income: this year 344 FOC participants found jobs and 425 increased monthly net income by a median amount of $733. Additionally, FOC’s help people reduce debt and build savings for financial stability; this year 379 FOC participants increased household net worth by a median amount of $3,824.  And FOC’s help people build credit to access mainstream financial services; 324 participants increased their credit scores by a median amount of 36 points.

San Diego’s Financial Opportunity Centers are part of LISC’s larger, nationwide FOC network of over 70 centers. Nationally in 2014, LISC helped:

• 5,200 people placed in jobs
• 5,380 people improved their net income
• 4,260 people improved their net worth
• 4,220 people improved their credit score

LISC San Diego welcomes new small business development specialist Danny Fitzgerald to our staff.  Danny will be working with the entrepreneurs in Greater Logan Heights to help make their business dreams a reality.  He will be facilitating a series of workshops about starting, running, and growing a small business venture.  As LISC San Diego’s Small Business development specialist, Danny will assist in managing LISC San Diego’s Greater Logan Heights Micro-Enterprise (GLME) program.

GLME is an expansion of LISC San Diego’s ongoing economic development effort - focused on creating and developing micro & small businesses in the Building Sustainable Community neighborhood of Greater Logan Heights. As part of the program Danny will increase the capacity of local micro and small business owners to operate and grow their businesses by:

1. Helping to coordinate an open air community market, where community residents can get hands on experience in the operation of a retail business;
2. Create and coordinate a business development workshop training series for emerging entrepreneurs and established businesses;
3. Providing one on one TA and training to individual business owners, and the nascent BID supporting the commercial corridors within the community; and
4. Oversee an economic evaluation and assessment of the local business community in partnership with local businesses and nonprofit partners.

The small business development specialist position, and GLME program, is supported in part by a CDBG grant from the City of San Diego.

LISC San Diego is proud to host our 15th class of AmeriCorps members! Throughout the AmeriCorps service year, 11 members will serve at community-based nonprofits throughout the San Diego region. The members will work closely with local organizations and residents to address a neighborhood’s particular needs – from helping residents find jobs and improving their financial literacy to supporting innovation engagement efforts to help communities thrive. Jason Jarvinen, LISC San Diego Program Officer and Stacey Rapp, LISC National Program Director, recently held a 2-day training for the members to kick-off their year of service.

Members will be serving various San Diego neighbors by working with the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation, BAME Renaissance Community Development Corporation, Community HousingWorks, North County Lifeline, South Bay Community Services, The Salvation Army, Bayside Community Center, San Diego Second Chance, Townspeople, and the University of San Diego on programs that directly impact the quality of life in their communities.

Over the span of 20 years in San Diego, more than 250 LISC AmeriCorps members have contributed over 100,000 hours of service to San Diego communities.

San Diego Gas & Electric is the recipient of LISC San Diego’s Funder Highlight.

SDG&E is a proud part of the communities they serve.  Their almost 4700 employees live, work, and play in neighborhoods across San Diego and south Orange Counties.  Vested in the quality-of-life of our region, SDG&E and its employees give back and volunteer to improve their communities, everyday.

SDG&E supports approximately 600 community-based non-profit organization partners in San Diego and south Orange Counties whose programs serve underserved communities to:

• Inspire future leaders
• Develop youth stewards of our environment
• Improve emergency preparedness and safety
• Support economic development
• Help active duty military families and veterans, and
• Provide shelter, food, and other forms of social assistance to those most in need.

SDG&E assists these non-profit partners through its charitable giving, through their employees’ own giving and volunteerism, and through energy efficiency, customer assistance, and other customer programs.

In San Diego, and in partnership with LISC, San Diego Gas & Electric continues to demonstrate its commitment to the communities they serve.  To learn more.

LISC San Diego is extremely grateful to all of our supporters and partners.  We, and San Diego, are fortunate to have such great institutions, corporations, community groups and leaders - all working to make San Diego a better place!

LISC San Diego thanks our terrific supporters who help San Diego build stronger communities!

Happy Holidays!