An article in Bloomberg highlights MacKenzie Scott’s recent unrestricted grant-making to nonprofits, including a $65 million gift to LISC. Unrestricted gifts like this, in addition to Scott’s 2020 donation of $40 million, allow LISC to intensify and build upon its work with a more flexible and innovative approach. As our CEO Michael Pugh noted to Bloomberg, “the ability to have unrestricted giving like this frankly allows us to unlock and tap into the American Dream for everyday Americans across our country.”

“It is time not only to invest more, but also invest differently, in the well-being of American workers, especially the significant pool of untapped talent that already exists,” said LISC CEO Maurice A. Jones and Citi EVP Ed Skyler in a joint op ed published in USA Today. They urge employers and nonprofits to look closely at the success of community-based Bridges to Career Opportunities programs as a model for helping unemployed and underemployed workers break down barriers to quality jobs, while helping businesses fill millions of open positions that they need for growth. Citi Foundation has partnered with LISC on a $10 million grant to fuel 40 Bridges programs across the country.

Chicago, like so many cities in the U.S., has jobs that need filling, and would-be workers who need the skills to build careers. A must-read article from Chicago’s WBEZ dives deep into how community organizations like the Jane Addams Resource Corp, our longtime partner and manager of a LISC-backed Bridges to Career Opportunities program, connect people with the technical and soft skills needed to land, and grow in, good, 21st-century manufacturing jobs.

In an op-ed for the Richmond Times-Dispatch, LISC CEO Maurice A. Jones and Howard Kern, president and CEO of Sentara Healthcare, describe how their new $100 million will take aim at the social determinants of health in Virginia. Investing in housing, job training and placement, education and transportation, among other requisites of a healthy life, are key to closing the life expectancy gap and creating a strong economy, they argue. Now is the time for corporations, nonprofits and charitable organizations to play leadership roles in making those investments a reality.

A Conversation on Collaborating to Eliminate Food Deserts

LISC Jacksonville executive director Janet Owens recently spoke with WJCT, the area’s NPR affiliate, about the city’s incentive plan to eliminate food deserts and what it will take to make that happen. Owens, who was honored with a OneJax Humanitarian Award in April for her years of service to the city, discussed how that plan will need to a range of interconnected resources. It isn’t just about adding more groceries stores, she said. Partners need to come together to close the gap on the deeper issues that prevent neighborhoods from moving forward, like housing, economic development and employment.

Check out our top three reads of the week. They cover the challenges and opportunities facing American communities right now. This week, we’re reading an excerpt from Alexander Garvin's latest book, contemplating what constitutes a “good job” and learning about health equity in rural America.