An article in NewsOne, an online news outlet run by Urban One, Inc., the country's largest African American media organization, delves into LISC's internship program placing students from HBCUs with community development financial institutions. The program is a "win-win," says LISC president Denise Scott in the piece, because it exposes interested students to the field of community development which, in turn, is "looking for young leaders with all kinds of different skill sets to step into this industry."
The excerpt below was originally published on NewsOne:
HBCU Students Get Needed Boost From Industry Partners
By Donovan Dooley
As many are well aware, the importance of HBCU talent cannot be understated. Companies and organizations across the country are continuing to come to these institutions for the best exposure to young, intelligent, Black talent.
This now includes organizations in the Community Development industry, such as the Local Initiatives Support Corporation. The organization recently launched a new internship program for students at HBCUs to help bridge the opportunity gap for students of color—offering community development mentorship and experience that gives young people a leg up when entering the workforce.
Over the next two years, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation’s National HBCU Talent Development program is placing 40 students in part-time intern positions with Local Initiatives Support Corporation offices and other community development financial institutions. Interns will support initiatives, from marketing to finance to community engagement, while also participating in leadership and national networking events.
The Citi Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation fund the program. It is specifically designed to address national disparities in internships, with White students significantly more likely to gain paid versus unpaid positions than Black students. The Local Initiatives Support Corporation internship pays $25/hour up to $15,000 for the academic year.
“Talent is everywhere but opportunity is not. This program is a part of our work to address systemic racial barriers that keep young people from gaining the experience and the connections that they need to compete for good jobs,” said Local Initiatives Support Corporation President Denise Scott in a NewsOne exclusive. “We know a lot of folks come out of school having earned a degree and are still kind of stuck in terms of their ability to advance a career.”
Community development financial institutions are a critical link to providing access to capital and services that communities need. They also Identify sources of capital and align capital with a community vision while empowering the community to participate in that investment. Some examples of work community development financial institutions would be executing programs in housing development, workforce development, small business capital, and building schools in communities.