Who We Are

Our Mission

We, LISC Charlotte, envision Charlotte as a strong, vibrant, and inclusive community, a great city to live, work, open a business, and raise a family. 

Our goal is to make this a reality by opening opportunities and a fair future to everyone. The foundation to this lies in equity, measured both in terms of economics and key quality of life components such as health, housing, employment and wealth.

 As the local office of LISC, a nationwide community development organization, we are in a unique position as a catalyst to spark change for the better. In just three years, we are already having a visible impact in key areas including housing and development. 

• We bring together considerable resources from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors for the betterment of Charlotte’s economy and the health, safety and education of its citizens.
• We channel financing and energy to help key sectors, by investing in communities, neighborhoods, families and citizens alike – including small businesses, housing, and wellness. 
• We forge alliances and partnerships to unite our determination and energies to uplift our city. We drive local, regional, policy, and systemic changes to promote prosperity and well-being. 

The Challenge 

Charlotte is a dynamic region with a rapidly growing economy. Its rise as a key banking and corporate center is one reason the population in the Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia area has mushroomed three-fold since 1960 – and some 20% in the last decade to 2020 alone. United Nations projections point to Charlotte as the fastest growing U.S. metropolitan area through 2030. 

Rapid growth has brought a unique set of economic and social challenges as well as strain. While some have prospered, many Charlotteans are squeezed; some have been left behind in the wake of the city’s growth. Consider: The region’s GDP of $194 billion is up 58% since 2010 and greater Charlotte is the headquarters of nearly 20 of the Fortune 1000. And yet, a joint Harvard-University of California study ranking upward mobility in the 50 largest U.S. metropolitan areas placed Charlotte last – the 50th. 

Our Initiatives 

We know change and a better, more inclusive way is within our reach. Since opening in 2019, LISC Charlotte has targeted critical sectors and initiatives where we focus our energy and efforts to make this happen. 

Housing

LISC Charlotte is the fund administrator of the $53 million Charlotte Housing Opportunity Investment Fund (CHOIF) that consists of private and philanthropic investments to boost the city’s effort to build more affordable housing. CHOIF works to supplement the city’s push to build more homes for low- and middle-income Charlotteans.

Small Business

We drive entrepreneurship through our work with key community development organizations in the metropolitan area. We help fund small business loans and provide technical assistance. We help entrepreneurs qualify for city programs that spur business. During the height of the pandemic in 2020, LISC Charlotte worked tirelessly to get lifeblood capital to backstop small businesses that were rattled by COVID-19 and the slowing of the city’s economy. LISC Charlotte partnered with the city of Charlotte to facilitate distribution of emergency capital through the $1 million Micro Business Relief Fund (MBRF). We have identified and tracked small businesses in the city’s African-American and Latinx communities for additional help both during the pandemic and beyond. 

Community Building

Since our launch, LISC Charlotte has been a facilitator to help residents build partnerships with corporations and city agencies to improve their neighborhoods. Starting in 2019, our primary focus has been the city's Historic West End, including the target neighborhoods of Beatties Ford Park, Biddleville, and Slater Ridge. We see our role as a catalyst, liaison, and partner, one that brings key community development organizations together such as Aspire Community Capital, For the Struggle, national nonprofits such as the National Institute of Minority Economic Development and corporate partners including Lowe’s and Fifth Third.