MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP
///////// When I first accepted the role of LISC Bay Area Executive Director, I was deeply motivated to center people and communities in the work of community development. When we give neighborhood residents, business owners, and community leaders a clear voice in their future and the resources they need to realize it, entire communities thrive.
Throughout 2022, this simple truth was elevated across the breadth of our work at LISC Bay Area. From the powerful collective vision for 7th Street Thrives in Oakland to our successful distribution of $60 million in loans through Partnership for the Bay’s Future, our strategy of working with rather than for communities is achieving great impact.
Along the way, I’ve been truly inspired by our team, advisors and partners who show up every day in a spirit of collectivism, joy, and care. I’m so grateful to the LISC Bay Area staff who are thoughtful and passionate champions for community, racial equity, and innovation.
Now, we face the threat of a looming recession and anxieties about the economy. Yet this is not a time to shrink from bold action. Quite the contrary, access to capital and the capacity to navigate complex systems of community development, affordable housing, and financial planning will be even more critical for small business owners, community-centered developers, resident-led coalitions, and others in our ecosystem. Our work in 2023 will build on the momentum of the Partnership, continue to center racial equity in everything we do, and explore deeper work in housing preservation and cultural commercial corridor initiatives.
We know that creating a Bay Area where every person and unique neighborhood thrives will require many people, institutions, and systems working together. We are proud to be the connective tissue between them. Thanks for being a part of the LISC Bay Area community.
In solidarity,
Cindy Wu Executive Director LISC Bay Area
PORTRAITS OF IMPACT
Faith and Housing: A Higher Calling
BY PASTOR AGEE, FRIENDSHIP CHRISTIAN CENTER
Growing up, I joke that I was one of Oakland’s problem children. Divine intervention helped put me on a better path, one that took me to Bible College. When my wife and I graduated, God sent us back to Oakland where we had both been born and raised. This was in the early nineties, at the height of the crack cocaine crisis in the neighborhoods where we had grown up. That’s why we started Friendship Christian Center with a focus on drug addiction treatment in addition to providing pastoral care for our community.
About five years ago, we began talking about the local housing crisis. Too many members of our Church were being pushed out of Oakland because of the rising costs of housing. We would hear from our Church elders that they were making difficult choices between paying rent or paying for healthcare, paying their mortgage or putting food on the table. We didn’t know much of anything about housing development but we knew that providing safe, affordable homes for our seniors would be our highest possible calling. We began to dream that our Church could serve our community and address the critical issue of housing at the same time.
Because our Church had low debt and high equity in our property, we qualified for a pre-development loan from LISC Bay Area. They’ve been a valuable partner ever since.
Most recently, I graduated from their Faith and Housing cohort program. This year long program exceeded my expectations. When I began, I felt like a fish out of water as a developer but I emerged feeling I’d gained a comprehensive understanding for how we can contribute to the supply of affordable housing for our neighbors. Every single trainer or presenter had a wealth of expertise to share, and I loved being part of the cohort with pastors and faith leaders who are all looking to be part of solving the housing crisis.
This May, we’ll begin construction on the future home of the Friendship Senior Housing
Site and we hope to welcome our first residents by May 2024. I hope many more churches will do the same thing- and I know that LISC Bay Area will be there to help. Just imagining the happy faces of seniors at peace, knowing they have a safe and secure place to live, is all the proof of concept I need.
Collectivism and Revival in West Oakland
BY NONI SESSION, EAST BAY PERMANENT REAL ESTATE COOPERATIVE
I’m a third-generation West Oaklander who is deeply committed to preserving and protecting what makes my neighborhood special. Being a part of East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative and working on the 7th Street Commercial Corridor is just one way that I’m working to bring to life our community’s dreams for collective prosperity, community control, and cultural power.
Our Esther’s Orbit Room project is a cultural revival project focused on activating a landmark of West Oakland as a cultural center with cooperative businesses and housing for artists. For the first time in more than a decade, jazz is back in the neighborhood and our events are re-activating local residents and business owners. And that’s even before we’ve broken ground on three new parcels of land that we’ve acquired. The collaborative process we used to develop our business plan for this project is one that we will adapt to bolster a whole pipeline of small business development in our community.
Having LISC Bay Area as a core partner brings a level of credibility to our work on Corridor. Their expertise and their reputation have created a softer landing for our bold vision and built bridges to investment for our mission. They share our belief that economic development projects that focus solely or too narrowly on housing are incomplete. Neighborhoods need a robust ecosystem that supports the full range of needs of people, families, and business so that people can create permanence and stability.
Our process together has been slow and thoughtful- taking the time to engage local business owners and center the community so that our development projects meet their needs. Our approach is building the core elements needed to foster stability, permanence, and sovereignty.
I’m beginning this year so inspired and hopeful; I can hardly contain it. Gentrification is not a done deal for West Oakland. With partners like LISC and our commitment to collectivism and community empowerment, we know that revival of our home is more than possible
Park Activation as Community Activation
BY MIRA MANICKAM-SHIRLEY, FRIENDS OF SAN ANTONIO PARK
“We built a coalition of parents, organizational leaders, residents, and business owners.”
I’m a mom of twins who is passionate about environmental education and grassroots organizing. After leaving an organization I had founded to engage girls of color in surfing, I was looking for ways to get more involved in my community and meet more of my neighbors.
A local arts organization – Eastside Arts Alliance- had received funding from LISC Bay Area to build a soccer field in the park, but the city ended up doing that through their parks and recreation budget. A group of local leaders and residents began to explore alternate uses for that funding.
We learned that the city of Oakland was undertaking a master planning process for our local park- San Antonio Park. However, when the community engagement process began, we learned that the planning process for the park was being driven by the Fire Department's desire to build a new fire station there. Because of this, the process had not been designed to center the vision and needs of local residents or business owners.
In conversation with LISC, we started to imagine the powerful potential that organizing the community to uplift a vision for the revival of the Park could have for the whole neighborhood. Out of this, Friends of San Antonio Park was born.
With the seed money, we built a coalition of parents, organizational leaders, residents, and business owners. We were able to halt the rushed, fire station-driven process to design a truly inclusive, community engagement process.
What emerged is a beautiful vision for San Antonio Park that includes a new library and community resilience center, more services for seniors and students, a renovated playground and safer facilities, and programming for neighborhood residents.
Based on the power of our organizing, we have been able to secure meetings with city department heads to begin addressing long-standing problems in our park. The city's master planning team is in the process of changing much of the language in the master plan to align with our community vision. This vision for the park has become part of a powerful agenda for safety in our community, championed by an even broader coalition of community leaders beyond Friends of San Antonio Park.
Together, we recently held an event with Oakland’s new mayor to celebrate our vision for neighborhood safety and resilience. At this meeting, the Mayor committed publicly to supporting the first stages for our San Antonio Park Community Library and Resilience Center in this year's city budget. Even more importantly, people living and working in our neighborhood have stronger relationships, greater trust, and more community pride.
I’m so proud of everything we’ve achieved so far. I hope that our partnership with LISC will continue and expand so that we can bring in the capital and capacities to make the San Antonio Park Library and Resilience Center a reality. Ultimately, the investment in our park-focused coalition is an investment in grassroots, community democracy for our neighborhoods.
BY THE NUMBERS 2022
$204 M
invested
square feet of commercial space
$914.4M
leveraged
affordable homes & apartments
OUR FUNDERS
2022 Private Sector Support
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Bank of the West
California Bank & Trust
Capital One
Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
Dignity Health
Sarah Clowes
Joseph M. Horiye
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Kaiser Permanente National Community Development Fund at the East Bay Community Foundation
MUFG Union Bank Foundation
PNC Foundation
Thayer Rosenberg
The San Francisco Foundation
Sobrato Foundation
State Farm
Ms. C. Augusta Stewart
Synchrony
U.S. Bank Foundation
Umpqua Bank Charitable Foundation
Verizon
Wells Fargo
Western Alliance Bank
Thank you to all the partners who make this work possible.”
2022 Public Sector Support
Alameda County Housing & Community Development Department
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
OUR TEAM 2022
Asha Rao, Senior Director of Investments
Favorite Bay Area Place: I could go on and on about Tilden Park in Berkeley- my family loves the variety it offers- beautiful trails, the little farm, and the steam train.
Superpower: Seeing the bigger picture out of small, disparate details
Bryant Duong, Assistant Program Officer
Favorite Bay Area Place: Oakland Chinatown; I grew up in the neighborhood and it didn't occur to me back then but as a child I was able to walk anywhere in the area without adult supervision. This allowed me to go to the library to play internet games, go to the flea market, and search for collectable trading cards with my cousins.
Superpower: Unyielding curiosity and empathy
Cindy Wu, Executive Director
Favorite Bay Area Place: Oakland Public Libraries.
Superpower: I am able to stay focused on values through turbulent times and calm times, to focus on equity as the guiding star.
Elizabeth Wampler, Deputy Director
Favorite Bay Area place: Friday nights at the OMCA (Oakland Museum of CA) - it's a place where people come together across race and class to dance together. There are always adorable children, and it makes me grateful to live in Oakland.
Superpower: Seeing the community development forest that we operate in, and understanding how the trees, birds, and mycorrhizal network all work together to sustain and grow the forest together.
Hellena Ruiz, Assistant Program Officer
Favorite Bay Area Place: Joaquin Miller Park, the large redwoods and the crisp air are two of my favorite things. The scenery is just magical.
Superpower: Relationship building: having clear and open communication has been essential throughout my career.
Rudy Licea, Officer Manager
Favorite Bay Area Place: Gregory's Gourmet Desserts; Those with a sweet tooth know.
Superpower: 'Support'. I bring it every day and give it freely.
Sally Smyth, Community Development Underwriter
Favorite Bay Area Place: Redwood Regional Park. Because you can spend a day hiking in redwoods, oaks, and bay laurel only a 15 min drive from downtown Oakland. Access to such magical open spaces so close to urban areas is part of what defines the Bay Area for me.
Superpower: I negotiate with empathy.
Sasha Werblin, Senior Program Officer
Favorite Bay Area Place: The Fireman’s Memorial has one of my favorite views of the Bay.
Superpower: Being a Connector.
Tia Hicks, Program Officer
Favorite Bay Area Place: I love Lake Merritt in Oakland because it encapsulates some of my favorite things: community, self-care, and nature.
Superpower: Relationship building and positive communication.