Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles (LISC LA) Awarded $100,000 Grant from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Los Angeles, California – December 7, 2021 – The Chan Zuckerberg Initiative (CZI) has awarded Local Initiatives Support Corporation Los Angeles (LISC LA) $100,000 as part of CZI’s 2021 Racial Equity Opportunity Fund – which recognizes organizations that support the economic and social well-being of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) individuals impacted by inequities and structural racism across science, education, criminal justice reform, housing, immigration, and community.
For over 40 years, LISC has worked with residents and partners to forge resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America – great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families. LISC LA’s team is spearheaded by Executive Director Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, whose leadership has not only supported basic needs for Los Angeles’ diverse communities but has also helped create equitable access to capital and resources for diverse-owned small businesses that are often left behind.
“Achieving true racial equity is the ultimate goal at LISC – but we can’t get there alone,” said Tunua Thrash-Ntuk, Executive Director of LISC LA. “I am incredibly grateful for this gift from CZI and we look forward to using it to continue our efforts to close the racial health, wealth and opportunity gaps in our community.”
During the COVID-19 pandemic, LISC LA created a number of transformational programs to provide BIPOC-owned businesses in Los Angeles with the tools and resources they need to survive as well as thrive. In 2020, LISC LA was selected by the City and County of Los Angeles to equitably administer the $100 million LA COVID-19 Regional Recovery Fund, providing a much-needed wave of financial relief to LA’s small business community.
Earlier this year, LISC LA announced The Black Economic Development Agenda (BEDA), its initiative to focus resources and programs on closing the racial wealth gap and empowering Black communities across Los Angeles County. Many of the BEDA programs will support the local economies of historically Black neighborhoods in Los Angeles by ensuring upward mobility is achievable through access to capital, affordable housing, and business and leadership development. Some of these programs include:
The Black Excellence Technical Assistance Initiative (BBET) is the first Black Business accelerator program providing Black-owned small businesses in the personal care industry - health, wellness, and beauty - with the support they need to take their businesses to the next level.
ASCEND LA provides diverse small businesses with access to the executive management education, capital, and market opportunities they need to stimulate business growth and job creation. In 2020, 60% of ASCEND LA graduates were African American, and 60% of the inaugural cohort have gone on to hire new employees or contractors to support their growth.
“LISC is thrilled and delighted by this recognition of our LA team’s work, which is so courageously and tenaciously led by Tunua Thrash-Ntuk,” said Annie Donovan Executive Vice President & COO of Local Initiatives Support Corporation. “She never strays from striving for greater equity in our work and in the world.”
In 2020, CZI set in motion an enterprise-wide effort to center racial equity in their work and committed to ensuring that racial equity is reflected across their grantmaking. CZI made a statement that they will lead with humility and ensure that BIPOC individuals have a stake in CZI’s initiatives and a voice in guiding them—shaping their work, challenging their assumptions, and improving the way they operate.
“When selecting organizations to award grants to, it was crucial to us to include organizations that work on housing specifically through capacity building and LISC LA does just that,” said Ruby Bolaria Shifrin, Director of Housing Affordability for CZI. “We are delighted to give this award to such a deserving organization.
Affordable housing preservation and development have been at the core of LISC LA’s work. Since its inception, LISC LA has leveraged $2.1 billion and deployed $855 million in grants and loans to support the development of over 10,000 affordable housing units and 1.9 million square feet of commercial space across the greater Los Angeles region, stabilizing both individual families and whole communities.
Throughout the pandemic, LISC LA has been a proud partner of Housing is Key, California’s COVID-19 rent relief program, where the organization has been working to connect renters, landlords, and homeowners with rent relief and other resources during this crisis.
Through groundbreaking projects and partnerships, LISC LA is committed to creating a more equitable, safe, and fair Los Angeles. To sign up for newsletters to stay up-to-date with LISC LA news and announcements, visit here.
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About LISC
With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America – great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families. Since 1979, LISC has invested $20 billion to build or rehab 400,500 affordable homes and apartments and develop 66.8 million square feet of retail, community and educational space. LISC LA’s mission is to work with local leaders to invest in housing, health, education, public safety, and employment – these basic needs must be tackled at once so that progress in one is not undermined by neglect in another.
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