LISC & Coalition Partners Awarded
$2 Billion via National Clean Investment Fund

Have you heard the big news?! LISC is one of five organizations leading Power Forward Communities, a new coalition investing in green housing and jobs to support economic opportunity and climate resilience.

On April 4th, the EPA awarded the coalition $2 billion to implement a decarbonization strategy that also lifts up under-resourced communities—making housing more affordable, expanding employment, mitigating climate impacts and improving local health.

Photo Credit: Resonant Energy

A Gateway for Possibilities: Resident Leadership and Community Ownership

Now in its 10th year, the Community Connectors program has provided training and small grants to dozens of residents to execute projects, events, and campaigns to identify and address community needs. In a recent spotlight by LISC Institute for Community Power, previous Community Connector managers and graduates Iliana Dominguez-Franco, Derrick Pratt, and Sonja Bingham expressed the value of resident leaders in community development:

“They serve as the most effective feedback loop. To get the kind of feedback that you get from a group of Connectors is equivalent to a year-long process for each and every project. You have to get out there, survey people, analyze results, and that takes time. With Connectors, because they are community members and have extensive relationships in the community, we can very quickly find out what people want.”  

- Iliana Dominguez-Franco, former Community Connector Manager, APM

New Partnership with the Asian American Chamber of Commerce

The Asian American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Philadelphia (AACCGP) is now a LISC Philadelphia Business Development Organization Network partner!  

Among many services, the AACCGP provides Asian and non-Asian businesses with access to startup and working capital, opportunities for networking with corporations, and technical support for business growth. Under this partnership, the AACCGP will receive funding to outreach and connect entrepreneurs to the Verizon Small Business Digital Ready online platform for business development training tools, coaching, networking, and periodic grants. 

The Non-Profit Preservation Initiative

Since spring 2023, The Non-Profit Preservation Initiative (NPPI) is scaling LISC's support to non-profit affordable housing providers to preserve and protect affordable housing options for some of Philadelphia's most economically challenged individuals and families. Now in Year 2, LISC and our partners remain grateful for TD Bank's major investment in communities and residents.

Year 1 of the initiative closed out in February 2024 and resulted in the following:

• $383,000 in grants and $610,000 in low or 0% interest loans deployed to 9 nonprofit partners. 
• 712 affordable rental units supported. 
• 240 individuals in 100 households connected to eviction prevention, housing stability, & economic mobility resources. 
• $26.3 million leveraged for preservation of long-term affordability. 

2024 PACDC Gala and Awards Ceremony for Community Development Excellence

Save the Date! On May 30, 2024, the Philadelphia Association of Community Development Corporations (PACDC) is hosting its annual gala and awards ceremony at University of the Arts Dorrance Hamilton Hall. Tickets go on sale this month.

Congratulations to all of the winners and blue ribbon finalists!

Lifetime Achievement Winner

• Eva Gladstein, Formerly City of Philadelphia

Rising Star Winners

• Cheryl Wiltshire, North 5th Street Revitalization Project
• Daria Williams, The Enterprise Center 
• Rosaline Yang, Philadelphia Chinatown Development Corporation 

Blue Ribbon Finalists

• North10 Philadelphia 
• Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia 
• Frankford CDC  
• The Latino Equitable Development Collective
• Impact Services Corporation
• Lancaster Avenue 21st Century Business Association CDC

Farewell and Congratulations, Stephanie Etienne!

In February, we bid farewell to Stephanie Etienne, Program Officer for Equitable Neighborhoods. We wish Stephanie success in her next steps working for the Mayor's Office of Policy Planning!