Philadelphia
3.28.2018
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LISC Stories
Story of the Year
Helping Philadelphians find good job opportunities is a key component of Philadelphia LISC’s mission. To that end, in 2017 it provided a $1.2 million business loan to enable First Step Staffing to expand to Philadelphia. A nonprofit social enterprise based in Atlanta, First Step has a stellar track record in securing steady income for people transitioning out of homelessness, including veterans, people who have been incarcerated and others with significant barriers to employment.
In Philadelphia, where the poverty rate is the highest of the nation’s largest cities, First Step aims to employ 500 women and men experiencing homelessness in the first 12 months of operation and grow to serve more than 1,000 by year three. The agency provides wrap-around support services, such as job coaching and transportation, which increase job retention and support clients’ wellbeing.
This type of rapid employment program is new for Philadelphia, and it took a complex network of partners, including the City, philanthropies, and other leading homeless services providers, to bring First Step to Philadelphia.
First Step’s impressive record suggests that the work was well worth it: last year alone, in its home base of Atlanta, the organization helped 3,384 homeless or at-risk people find jobs. By employing men and women in warehouse, packaging, and manufacturing jobs, First Step will help meet the needs of Philadelphia employers and fuel local and regional economic development at the same time.
LISC’s investment was part of $4.85 million in loans from a total of four Community Development Finance Institutions (CDFIs), an important link in a chain of financing that helped First Step acquire a Philadelphia-based staffing firm in 2017. By working together in this way, LISC and other CDFIs multiply their impact while reducing risk for each individual organization.
First Step has also found a welcoming home in the Kensington neighborhood, where LISC has long supported community revitalization, and the agency is housed in the building of Impact Services, a LISC partner dedicated to helping people with significant barriers to employment. Together, they are building on Impact’s legacy, and connecting people with the opportunity they need to succeed.
Photo credit: Courtesy First Step Staffing
Since 1981
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2017 Funders
Private Sector Support
- 5601 Foods LLC
- Bank of America Charitable Foundation
- Barra Foundation
- Broadnu Enterprises
- Citizens Bank
- Drexel University
- ESPN
- Fresh Grocer
- Housing Alliance of Pennsylvania
- James Hartling
- Knight Foundation
- Kresge Foundation
- National Equity Fund
- NFL Foundation
- Panaphil Foundation
- Pew Charitable Trusts
- The Philadelphia Foundation
- PNC Bank
- Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
- Santander Bank Foundation
- Scattergood Foundation
- State Farm
- Surdna Foundation
- TD Bank North Charitable Foundation
- United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey
- Uphill Foundation
- Walmart Foundation
- Wells Fargo Bank
- William Penn Foundation
Public Sector Support
- City of Philadelphia Commerce Department
- City of Philadelphia Division of Housing and Community Development
- Corporation for National and Community Service
- Mayor’s Fund for Philadelphia
- Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development
- Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency
- U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
- U.S. Department of the Treasury’s CDFI Fund
Executive Director: Andrew Frishkoff
718 Arch Street, Suite 500-S
Philadelphia, PA 19106