LISC Rhode Island values its roles of investor, intermediary and convener to build resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity in Rhode Island. Part of fulfilling that role includes our Leadership Forums, where partners discuss questions that affect our work with members of State leadership who have insight into key issues. For last fall’s Leadership Forum we hosted David Cicilline, who had just celebrated his first 100 days at The Rhode Island Foundation after four terms as a U.S. Congressman. He spoke to a packed crowd about his agenda, the Foundation’s priorities, and how partnerships can help move our mission forward.

The shoulder-to-shoulder crowd represented partners working to improve affordable housing options, health equity, child care facilities, job opportunities, wealth equity, food security – all areas where LISC invests time and funding to create communities where people can thrive. The room was filled with state leaders, advocates, and non-profit leaders who are dedicated to improving the lives of residents.

The work can seem overwhelming, but taking stock of the progress is an important part of moving forward. Together, we’ve made progress on many fronts – from housing to workforce and entrepreneurial development, to improving and creating child care opportunities and advancing health equity.

The momentum in housing is clear, but there’s a long way to go. This year, there is a dramatically increased pipeline – made possible in part by grant funding to LISC from Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Rhode Island Housing, the Rhode Island Foundation and others. This flexible resource had a catalytic effect that went beyond our expectations and allowed us to leverage larger national and federal tools to invest in Rhode Island. The results have been substantial. In the past 18 months, we have invested – or committed to invest -- $110M in the State – surpassing previous amounts by nearly four-fold.

There has been dramatic movement to improve the condition and availability of child care in Rhode Island. After a bond was passed in March 2021 to approve funding for child care facilities, LISC has provided high touch and high-quality technical assistance to child care providers and dispersed just under $15M in much needed resources. The positive effect will quickly be felt by parents, child care providers, and employers.

Workforce development initiatives and LISC’s Financial Opportunity Centers have greatly expanded their reach. LISC welcomed new partners like the Jane Addams Resource Corporation which is dedicated to training and identifying living wage career pathways. These vital providers currently do the hard one-to-one work to change lives and improve wealth equity. It’s important to take a minute to understand that having a good job is not only transformative for the individual, but also their family and their community.

And there’s been important progress made to advance health equity. The Health Equity Zone system is revolutionizing the way communities address health equity with positive results. Rhode Island is leading this movement to embrace place-based, resident-led initiatives and other communities are intrigued by the benefits. Rhode Island is leading the movement to embrace place-based, resident-led initiatives as a way of improving health equity and community engagement and is now being recognized by health departments nationally as a methodology for improving health outcomes.