LISC Charlotte

Smaller Community Development Corporations (CDCs) are often overlooked due to their size,?however they serve as a foundation for great progress in communities. One key strength is that they are more closely connected to families and community members than other partners in the community development ecosystem. We appreciate working with CDCs like For the Struggle, Inc, West Side Community Land Trust (West Side CLT), and Historic West End Partners with the support of partners like Fifth Third Bank. Together, we are creating opportunities led by Charlotte residents. Check out this great listen below from William Taft, LISC SVP of Economic Development, to learn more about how smaller CDCs are impacting communities across the nation: https://lnkd.in/eyU_NYff #TogetherWeCanTogetherWeWill

We're excited to share receipt of an $8.75M award from Knight Foundation! The investment will support the Historic West End Partners launch of a cooperative grocery store owned and managed by West End residents, and to provide flexible capital to existing and new small businesses seeking to open or expand in the West End. Since our launch in 2019 to date, Knight Foundation has stood to be one of our key partners for driving economic and community development in Charlotte. Their partnership has helped our organization to collaborate with community leaders, businesses and residents. This new investment will help us to address long-desired access to fresh, healthy groceries, and to strengthen small businesses that add to the revitalization of neighborhoods. We sincerely appreciate this grant and look forward to the positive impacts it will make towards more equitable and thriving communities. Thank you Charles Thomas and Knight Foundation! #togetherwecantogetherwewill

This football season, four historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in Georgia and Alabama will debut refurbished football fields, thanks to a collaboration between Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the National Football League (NFL) Foundation. The refurbished football fields are made possible through grants totaling more than $6.5 million from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. This program was an invitational grant program designed to improve field quality, safety and accessibility for students and local community groups serving youth through football. Over the last 25 years, the collaboration between LISC and the NFL has refurbished hundreds of community football fields throughout the country. #TogtherWeCanTogtherWeWill Learn more about the The HBCU Invitational Field Refurbishment Program here: https://lnkd.in/eygH2VKV

The LISC Charlotte Developers Training Program focus group was a success! Those who participated shared and attended received and shared invaluable information amongst stakeholders within the real estate and community development and real estate industry. The information gathered will help be used to shape the training curriculum for our new developer training program, Real Estate Developer Incubator (REDi). We like to extend a big thank you to Diana L. Hilaire, MPS and R. F. Wilkins Consultants, Inc. and our LISC colleagues Monica L. Dean, M.Ed., M.P.P and Rhonda Lee Davis for helping to make this event possible. And, special thanks to our funding partners the City of Charlotte and Wells Fargo! #TogetherWeCanTogetherWeWill

We would be remiss if we didn’t recognize our partner Care Ring in celebration of National Community Health Worker (CWH) Awareness Week. Care Ring is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing health services for the uninsured, underinsured or those lacking access to affordable, high-quality preventive health care since 1955. Thank you Care Ring, and members of your team like Emilia Arispe, for the invaluable services you provide our Charlotte residents. Learn more about their incredible work below, including a collaboration for transportation services through support from the LISC Health Access Fund. #TogetherWeCanTogetherWeWill

The LISC Charlotte team would like to recognize Women’s Equality Day and highlight women globally that continue to push the envelope for DE&I. Our very own women including, Ralphine Caldwell , Chandra Scroggins, Hiba S. Salih and Azania Herron.?We stand alongside all women trailblazing paths outside and within the workplace.?

Beginning in the 1960s, urban renewal and the development of Interstates 277 and 77 razed neighborhoods or cut them off from the rest of the city. Founder of Historic West End Partners, J’Tanya Adams, has advocated for cultural preservation and economic development in Historic West End since HWEP inception in 2010. Our team at LISC Charlotte has had the privilege of working with HWEP to provide technical and capacity support that? aided in securing financing, which has served as a catalyst for HWEP to help restore commercial areas in Historic West End along Beatties Ford Road. The goal is to return them back to the centers of Black business and opportunity that they once were. Hence the name, “Thrive Hub.” The overall effort involves construction and renovation of buildings; efforts to attract more Black-owned business to the west side; establishment of small-business incubators and youth programs; opening markets and restaurants to improve access to healthy foods; and improved access to transportation that complements the Gold Line. Read the amazing article below to learn more! @Historicwestendpartners , #TogetherWeCanTogetherWeWill! https://lnkd.in/eMPf5QTU

?? A must-listen! LISC President + CEO Michael T. Pugh joined National Housing Conference CEO David Dworkin on NHC’s podcast for a lively discussion. They covered Pugh’s background, innovative housing projects in Detroit, Dallas, and Charlotte, and the critical work of promoting generational wealth and homeownership for underserved communities: https://lnkd.in/eCV7y8Py

The LISC Charlotte Developers Training Program focus group was a success! Those who participated shared and attended received and shared invaluable information amongst stakeholders within the real estate and community development and real estate industry. The information gathered will help be used to shape the training curriculum for our new developer training program, Real Estate Developer Incubator (REDi). We like to extend a big thank you to Diana L. Hilaire, MPS and R. F. Wilkins Consultants, Inc. and our LISC colleagues Monica L. Dean, M.Ed., M.P.P and Rhonda Lee Davis for helping to make this event possible. And, special thanks to our funding partners the City of Charlotte and Wells Fargo! #TogetherWeCanTogetherWeWill

LISC Charlotte would like to highlight Dionne Nelson Nelson on her recognition as a Charlotte Woman of the Year 2023 awardee. Through her determination and advocacy - Dionne drove the development of affordable housing units along the East Coast which promoted affordable housing solutions. Dionne, we thank you for your impact not only on the resident’s of Charlotte but the Queen City itself.