A Resilient Houston: Building the New Normal
MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP
In 2021, LISC Houston continued to forge resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity in Houston, despite on-going social and economic impacts caused by the pandemic, in order to help neighbors build communities through investments in people, places and businesses. LISC Houston undertook these investments through a citywide and neighborhood deep approach focused on our thirteen GO Neighborhoods, communities where LISC is investing in a resident-driven neighborhood based approach to revitalization. In 2021, LISC Houston reaffirmed our core programming by investing more than $10.7 million in our partners to build capacity and advance affordable real estate projects, digital literacy for our Financial Opportunity Centers, small businesses supports, and new football fields for local schools, to name just a few. Through partnership with key stakeholders, significant innovations including our largest lending deal on record for the office, a planning effort to develop strategies to promote BIPOC homeownership in Harris County, and convening a learning community focused on affordable housing preservation. We are proud to share our accomplishments for 2021 and look forward to the work ahead. Thank you for your commitment to Houston’s communities. Laura Jaramillo Executive Director
“Even as the world continues to recover from the pandemic, I’m so thankful to the LISC Houston staff, our partners and supporters for their hard work and dedication throughout 2021 in promoting equitable access to opportunity for all Houstonians.” –Laura Jaramillo
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
LISC Houston’s approach is comprehensive, impactful, and most importantly, focused on what neighbors want for themselves, their families and the places where they live. We invest in businesses, housing and other community infrastructure to catalyze economic, health, safety and educational mobility for individuals and communities while also developing the leadership and capacity of partners to advance our work together. In 2021, our work included:
PROGRAM UPDATE
Economic Development
LISC Houston supports a network of four Financial Opportunity Centers (FOC) and three Business Development Organizations (BDO) to create accessible opportunities for residents to find jobs that increase their income and financial health, while also growing businesses and rebuilding neighborhood economies through integrated strategies that develop people, places and businesses.
2021 Win
LISC Houston connected three community BDOs to a new platform from Verizon, which offers free business management classes and connects users with individual coaching and peer networking. Three groups in the Houston region, including one of our Financial Opportunity Centers, connected over 300 individuals to this resource in a four-month period.
clients served through four FOCs
people received employment coaching, resulting in 405 people accessing jobs
families received income supports coaching
people received one-on-one financial coaching resulting in:
- 1,326 clients increasing their credit scores
- 992 clients increasing net income
- 1,005 clients increasing their net worth
PROGRAM UPDATE
Great Opportunities (GO) Neighborhoods
GO Neighborhoods is a place-based comprehensive community development approach led by local residents and stakeholders to revitalize targeted neighborhoods, which LISC supports by providing a framework, investments and strategy support.
2021 Win
LISC Houston graduated 20 residents and community stakeholders from our 2021 Training for Trainers (T4T) program which strengthens the leadership skills of neighborhood leaders as well as their understanding of the social determinants of health so that they may develop other leaders at scale.
projects and events were completed in Comprehensive level GO Neighborhoods partner communities
impact projects and initiatives were completed in all GO Neighborhoods partner communities
was invested by LISC directly into partner communities
$81 million
was leveraged by partners = cash investment created by LISC grants and loans
active participants implementing Quality of Life Agreement projects, programs and policies
PROGRAM UPDATE
Real Estate Lending & Technical Assistance (TA)
Through Real Estate Lending & TA, LISC Houston provides loans, grants, and tax credit equity to assist community development organizations developing affordable housing and neighborhood improvements to advance projects important to community revitalization. LISC Houston also provides TA and capacity building to ensure these organizations are strong and have the resources to successfully carry out projects and programs.
2021 Win
LISC Houston originated $6.3 million in loans to finance the construction of a new 70,000 square foot facility for HOPE Clinic, Houston’s second-largest Federally Qualified Healthcare Center which provides linguistically and culturally competent care to Houston’s diverse Alief community. LISC’s investment will leverage an additional $25.9 million of funding including loans from CDFIs, New Markets Tax Credit Equity, philanthropic grants, and CDBG-DR funding from Harris County.
$7.6 million
in capital deployed through loans and recoverable grants
$216 million
leveraged by real estate projects
units of affordable housing were developed, preserved or under development ranging from mixed income, multi-family developments to single-family homeownership and rentals
nonprofit organizations were provided with technical assistance and capacity building through trainings and one-on-one support
BY THE NUMBERS
Since 1989, LISC Houston and its affiliates have invested:
resulting in:
affordable homes
leveraged for Houston communities
square feet of commercial, retail and community space
OUR FUNDERS
2021 Private Sector Support
Amegy Bank of Texas
BancorpSouth Bank
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Barlovento Foundation
BB&T, now Truist Bank
BBVA, now PNC Bank
Capital One
CenterPoint Energy Foundation
Citi Foundation
City of Houston Housing & Community Development Department
CL Overall Giving Account, a Fidelity Charitable donor-advised fund
CommunityBank of Texas
Episcopal Health Foundation
Foundation for Financial Planning
Frost Bank
Harris County Department of Economic Equity & Opportunity
Houston Endowment Inc.
Individual Donors
Journey Charitable Foundation
JPMorgan Chase Foundation
McPeek Foundation, a Fidelity Charitable donor-advised fund
MetLife Foundation
Northern Trust
Signal Giving Fund, a Fidelity Charitable donor-advised fund
State Farm
United Way of Greater Houston
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Verizon
Wells Fargo
STAFF & LOCAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE
LISC Houston Staff
Clare Boulet Deputy Director
Madeleine Chaisson Program Officer
Laura Jaramillo Executive Director
Catie Licalzi Program Officer
Dana Milling Program Officer
Sandylane Oquendo Program Officer
Local Advisory Committee
Robert Weylandt (Chair) J. P. Morgan Private Bank
Cassandra Silvernail (Vice Chair) Bank of America
Keiji Asakura Asakura Robinson
Peter Beard Greater Houston Partnership
Bill Fulton Kinder Institute for Urban Research
Shahara Wright Menchan The Wright Firm, PLLC
Ralph Miller PNC
Ray Miller City of Houston Housing and Community Development
Nicole Streeter Harris Health System
Michelle Taylor U.S. Airforce