This year, the Coramino Fund, a nationwide partnership between LISC, Gran Coramino Tequila, and Kevin Hart to help entrepreneurs serving Black and Latino communities, awarded $10,000 grants to 50 businesses. For Pride Month, Coramino Fund grant recipients Thrive Cakery and Officiant NYC shared how cookie sales and personalized ceremonies support the LGBTQ+ community year-round.

A $405,000 acquisition loan from LISC supported by Starbucks made it possible for entrepreneur Ruben Perez to purchase a mixed-use property in Chicago. LISC financing is helping Perez build equity in commercial real estate and serve the low- and medium-income area of the city through his business Guerrero Produce.

In the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, one South Minneapolis community convulsed in pain and suffered massive destruction. On Juneteenth this year, it celebrated the fruition of a project that speaks volumes about community agency and ownership, and how support from intermediaries, including LISC, can be profoundly transformative in building back stronger, and more equitably, than ever before.

Building Inclusive and Healthy Neighborhoods, Block by Block: Findings from 11 Neighborhoods Nationwide

LISC + Brookings Metro

A new report from Brookings Metro examines LISC’s community-centered economic inclusion initiative, which centers neighborhoods as the key setting for driving strong regional economies. The lessons in this report make one thing clear: To truly transform the prosperity and well-being of entire cities and regions, it’s past time to abandon top-down or “trickle-down” approaches and embrace the actionable, community-rooted models that have demonstrated impact in cities and neighborhoods nationwide.  Image courtesy of Jana River Medlock Photography

In a wide-ranging interview with Denver Fredericks, host of the Business of Giving podcast, LISC CEO Michael T. Pugh describes the pillars of LISC's work investing in communities and what's on the horizon for the CDFI under his leadership. "[We] can be a real catalyst for economic development in communities," says Pugh. "And frankly the best is yet to come."

Jamie Schumacher, LISC Twin Cities Program Officer

In a blog from the Twin Cities, LISC’s Jamie Schumacher delves into the ways Asian American and Pacific Islander communities and their partners are leveraging arts and culture to build—and rebuild—authentic human connection, community and commerce.