LISC to Pilot Green Jobs Program and Micro Equity Fund for BIPOC Entrepreneurs

LISC Boston announced two pilot programs last week targeting racial wealth, health, and opportunity gaps in Massachusetts.

BOSTON, MA, November 18, 2021 – Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Boston announced two new Massachusetts pilot programs that are part of Project 10X, a nationwide, 10-year, $1 billion investment by LISC and its partners in eliminating racial wealth, health and opportunity gaps.  LISC Executive Vice President for Programs Denise Scott highlighted the need for this work in Massachusetts saying, “We know that the wealth gap between Black and Latino families and white families in Massachusetts is actually far greater than 10X, and that the life expectancy gap between some communities of color and white communities in Massachusetts is far more than 10 years.  Stats like these are why LISC’s commitment to eliminating racial inequities is at the forefront of our work in the Commonwealth.”

The LISC National Innovation Challenge has awarded LISC Boston $150,000 to center climate and racial equity in their workforce programming through the launch of a new “Bridges to Green Jobs” pilot.  With this funding, LISC and the Roxbury Center for Financial Empowerment will provide industry-specific technical training to community members interested in weatherization careers, a rapidly expanding field in Massachusetts and elsewhere.  LISC expects to graduate 45 Bridges to Green Jobs program participants in four cohorts during the program’s first year, placing them in jobs and setting them on a path to living-wage jobs with career ladders in the expanding green jobs industry.

And, LISC will pilot a Micro Equity financing product for BIPOC entrepreneurs in Massachusetts to address the growth capital gap for small, established BIPOC-owned businesses who lack access to debt, equity or “friends and family” capital.  This $1 million pilot fund will launch in the first quarter of 2022, and is 75% committed with local impact funders.  LISC Boston Executive Director Karen Kelleher said,“We’re partnering with funders who are eager to take action to address the $500 million annual capital gap faced by Massachusetts entrepreneurs of color.  This innovative fund will pilot an alternative model of growth capital that meets small businesses where they are, providing the risk tolerance of equity without loss of control, risk of personal financial ruin or a high cost of capital.”

The announcements were made at the 2021 LISC Story Slam, which took place Wednesday November 10, 2021 – for virtual and in-person audiences at the Artists for Humanity Epicenter in South Boston.  The annual event celebrates community development in Massachusetts and the people who inspire, advance and lead it, by lifting up their stories and their work.  The event was hosted by writer and storytelling maven Theresa Okokon, who co-hosts the nationally televised Stories from the Stage on WGBH, and featured personal stories told by Jodi-Tatiana Charles, Maria Espinosa, Donald Osgood, Sr., and Zahirah Truth.  LISC also honored DHCD Undersecretary Jennifer Maddox with its 2021 Community Impact Award and the members of the Massachusetts Equitable PPP Access Initiative with its 2021 Community Leadership Award at the event.

LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) – LISC is an investor, capacity builder, advisor, convener and an innovator. 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.  LISC is the largest community development financial institution in the country, but has deep roots in Massachusetts, where it opened its first local office in 1981, and has invested over $414 million. LISC Boston prioritizes equity in all its investments and initiatives, and works with local leaders to invest in housing, health, small business, public safety, climate justice and employment in communities throughout the Commonwealth. For more, visit www.lisc.org/Boston

Project 10X - Project 10X is a decade-long, $1 billion initiative of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation to bridge racial gaps in health, wealth and opportunity and build a more broadly shared American prosperity. Through Project 10X, LISC will invest in businesses, community organizations, developers and projects that catalyze gains for people of color and contribute to growth in the communities where they live. The initiative’s name reflects its chief purpose: to directly address the estimated tenfold difference in wealth between Black and White residents in the U.S., which has been worsening in recent years. That wealth gap is indicative of more pervasive challenges as well, from poorer health and shorter lifespans to increased risks of eviction and incarceration among people of color.  For more, visit: About Project 10X

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