Heirs' property issues have long been a leading cause of involuntary land loss, particularly among Black families. With a new $750,000 multiyear grant from the U.S. Bank Foundation Opportunity Fund, LISC will work with community-based organizations in Cincinnati and Cleveland to provide families with estate planning, legal support and financial counseling that can help clear up clouded property titles and preserve homes for future generations.

Black-owned businesses face systemic barriers to accessing capital and credit. In honor of Black Business Month, we’re sharing our favorite stories about the entrepreneurs we’ve worked with and who have benefitted from the funding partnerships that help break down the obstacles to progress and success.

In an opinion piece for the Cincinnati Enquirer, Kristen Baker, the executive director of LISC Greater Cincinnati highlights the holistic approach used by Cincinnati’s West End community that “can be a catalyst to guide investments that creates an equitable, safe, community that supports everyone.” Drawing from the experience of being a co-lead for the region’s West End Choice Neighborhoods Plan and 2020’s Housing Our Future playbook, Baker details how focusing on both investment and systems change will have the most impact.

This is the story of how a youth orchestra took root and flowered within a community development corporation, and has ended up helping transform a community and enriching a city. Music for Youth in Cincinnati—MyCincinnati—and the work of Price Hill Will are emblematic of the extraordinary power of home-grown arts and culture to leverage growth, connection and joy.

The fundamental role of LISC AmeriCorps members is to serve essential community needs. With the onslaught of the coronavirus epidemic, our members are adapting and devising creative new ways to help the rural and urban residents they work with handle the seismic social, economic and public health shocks of the crisis. (Photo: Americorps members in Jackson, MS in 2019; Member Cynthia Renteria is third from left.)

by Maurice A. Jones, LISC CEO and President

LISC is taking swift action in response to the coronavirus pandemic, to mitigate economic impact on residents in the hundreds of communities where we work. We are launching the LISC Rapid Relief and Resiliency Fund to assemble and deploy resources to our local partners, small businesses and residents who are being hit hardest. The Fund will deliver operating capital, emergency subsidies and IT support, as well as technical assistance, to keep our partners and their communities strong and functioning through this unprecedented situation.