MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP
///////// At LISC, we work with residents and partners to close systemic gaps in health, wealth and opportunity and advance racial equity so that people and places can thrive.
In 2022, the changing economic climate sharpened our commitment to this work through increasing housing options, investing in neighborhoods, and bolstering the community development ecosystem.
In 2022, LISC Greater Cincinnati invested $18.6 million and leveraged $33.9 million in impact-focused investments, from affordable housing to critical capacity building of community development corporations.
In Walnut Hills we supported Paramount Launch, the long-planned revitalization of a former grocery store and surrounding vacant buildings by the Model Group and Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation. This $30 million development will provide space for nonprofit partners like MORTAR, along with 56 new rental apartments, anchoring the neighborhood business district.
We are doubling down on housing affordability. From supporting homeownership programs to building capacity of BIPOC real estate developers to leading the implementation of Housing Our Future, LISC Greater Cincinnati is at the forefront of changing the trajectory of housing in our region to bring shared prosperity for all.
We cannot do this work alone. On behalf of our partners and stakeholders, thank you for your support of LISC Greater Cincinnati. Now more than ever we must multiply our investments into equity and opportunity for all.
Kristen Baker Executive Director LISC Greater Cincinnati
PORTRAITS OF IMPACT
IN 2022, we worked with partners and members of the community to expand our impact in the Greater Cincinnati area.
SAFEGROWTH
Building Safer Neighborhoods with SafeGrowth
In 2022, LISC Greater Cincinnati’s Safety Coordinators partnered with the team at SafeGrowth® and the Cincinnati Police Department to create three neighborhood safety action teams in Avondale, West End, and Price Hill. The SafeGrowth® philosophy recognizes that we all have an equally important role to play in making safer and more vibrant places. The goal is to create empowered neighborhoods that are resistant to crime with residents engaged in planning and the implementation of solutions.
Through intensive training, teams completed a neighborhood diagnosis, crime and problem analysis, and quality of life assessment. They identified a specific problem within their neighborhood and then developed a plan to resolve the problem. Presentations of team plans strengthened the commitment of community partners, including the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden and the Cincinnati Recreation Commission, to play an active part in solutions. The teams continue to meet monthly to discuss successes and challenges and look forward to expanding the program into new neighborhoods in the future.
Read more about the process from Janelle, Avondale’s Safety Coordinator, in her blog post here.
HOUSING
LISC Bolsters the Capacity of Non-Profit Community Developers
In 2022, LISC Greater Cincinnati provided grants totaling more than $450,000 in Section 4 funding to eight Greater Cincinnati community development corporations and community housing development corporations to support affordable housing activities that benefit lower-income communities. Here are just a few highlights from grant funding deployed by LISC Greater Cincinnati in 2022:
- Working in Neighborhoods (WIN) supported staff outreach efforts to engage tenants in the Port’s CARE Homes properties. WIN provides a financial assessment and counseling to those seeking to purchase or rent a home and just celebrated their first completed home sale.
- Homesteading and Urban Redevelopment Corporation (HURC) created 15 new homeownership opportunities through rehabbing and new construction in Lincoln Heights and Mt. Healthy.
- Price Hill Will (PHW) expanded its ability to provide equity-building opportunities to very low-income families through its innovative Homesteading Program, which now boasts 20 homes. They also provided capacity-building opportunities for Do It Yourself Darlin (DIYD), specialized classes on home repair and maintenance, open to the public.
- College Hill Community Urban Redevelopment Corp (College Hill CURC) supported the renovation of the Hollywood Apartments, including 34 naturally occurring affordable residential units and two commercial spaces. They were able to renovate, purchase needed new appliances, and address 400+ maintenance issues – all without raising rent for existing residents.
SMALL BUSINESS
Supporting Small Business
In 2022, LISC Greater Cincinnati provided nearly $200,000 in grants to support business development organizations (BDOs) such as MORTAR, Greater Cincinnati Microenterprise Initiative, and the Greater Cincinnati and NKY African American Chamber of Commerce. Through this funding, our BDO partners were able to directly assist more than 80 small businesses, nearly all BIPOC or woman-owned, as well as provide education, mentorship, loan and grant products and technical support to numerous other entrepreneurs and business owners.
LISC Greater Cincinnati, in partnership with the City of Cincinnati, Cintrifuse, and Main Street Ventures launched the Cincinnati Entrepreneur Resource Network, a website hub to facilitate the connection between entrepreneurs and services such as access to funding, business counseling, mentoring, and physical space for their business.
FAMILY INCOME & WEALTH BUILDING
Supporting Financial Wellness and Wealth Creation
LISC Greater Cincinnati’s Financial Opportunity Centers (FOCs) supported community members access good jobs, increase income, and build wealth to close the racial health, wealth, and opportunity gaps. In 2022, FOCs served 556 clients, including 127 clients who received services for the first time.
Using an integrated service model that includes financial coaching, employment coaching, and income supports, FOCs achieved the following:
- Increased net monthly income by an average of $1,200
- Increased net worth by an average of $20,600
- Increased savings by an average of $2,100
- Increased their credit score by an average of 85 points
Learn more about how the Brighton Center’s Center for Employment Training is connecting unemployed and underemployed people to career and training pathways by taking into account all that can stand in the way of landing, and keeping, a good-paying job through Tasha’s story.
Santa Maria Community Services’ Workforce Development Program provides financial literacy, education, access to income support, and employment services for those who are economically disadvantaged in Price Hill.
CAPACITY BUILDING & ENGAGEMENT
Transforming Communities
LISC Greater Cincinnati supported resident-led partnerships between local funders and neighborhood nonprofits working collectively for the transformation of communities in Greater Cincinnati through Place Matters, a place-based initiative in its 16th year.
In 2022, Place Matters lead organizations leveraged more than $148 million in investment and engaged 8,220 partners and volunteers in seven communities in the Cincinnati region.
Our collective work is empowering people, transforming places, supporting economic opportunity, and driving systems change in Avondale, Covington, Madisonville, Price Hill, Walnut Hills, Newport, and the West End. To learn more about how two women are forging the way in community development, read the reflections of Rachel Hastings from Price Hill Will and Alexis Kidd-Zaffer from Seven Hills Neighborhood Houses.
BY THE NUMBERS 2022
$18.6 M
invested
square feet of commercial space
3
centers supported through our FOC program
$33.9 M
leveraged
affordable homes & apartments
clients placed in jobs
OUR FUNDERS
2022 DONORS
Jena Bradley
Capital One
The Capital One Fund, a fund of Tides Foundation
Cincinnati Development Fund
First Financial Bank & Ohio Capital Impact Corporation
The Greater Cincinnati Foundation
The Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr Foundation
Huntington
Steven Kenat
Robert Killins Jr.
Roddell McCullough
PNC Foundation
Jacob G. Schmidlapp Trust, Fifth Third Bank, Trustee
Robie Suggs
U.S. Bank Foundation
Union Savings Bank & Guardian Savings Bank
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
We cannot do this work alone. On behalf of our partners and stakeholders, thank you for your support of LISC Greater Cincinnati”
OUR TEAM
LISC Cincinnati Team
Kristen Baker, Executive Director
Valerie Daley, Senior Program Officer
Jeanine Colozza, Senior Program Officer
Taren Kinebrew, Program Officer
Julie McGuire, Program Assistant
Local Advisory Board
Robert Killins, Jr., Chair Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Eric Avner Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile, Jr. Foundation
Luke Blocher Cincinnati Development Fund
Elizabeth Blume Blume Community Partners
Brett Bonfield Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
Jena Bradley United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Sr. Sally Duffy Sisters of Charity
Courtney Falato JPMorgan Chase
Mary Francis Interact for Health
Kathryn Gibbons Community Volunteer
Steve Johns Hamilton County
Steve Kenat Community Volunteer
Justin Marshall Fifth Third Bank
Chandra Matthews-Smith United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Roddell McCullough First Financial Bank
Jeanne Schroer Catalytic Development Funding Corp. of Northern Kentucky
Hammad Siddiqi PNC Foundation
Alena Speed HomeBase
Robie K. Suggs Warsaw Federal
Alicia B. Townsend U.S. Bank
Kenneth Webb Republic Bank
Gail Williams Union Savings Bank
Chuck Winger Community Volunteer