Rural LISC advances community economic development by investing in the power of local partnerships.
2024: A Year in Review LISC ANNUAL REPORT
By working hand-in-hand with over 150 community-based organizations across all 50 states and in three U.S. territories, we amplify rural voices, align resources with local priorities, and deliver solutions that reflect the opportunities on the ground.
Message from Leadership
Nadia Villagrán Vice President and Rural LISC Director
By The Numbers
2024 Impact
$307MM
Direct equity, loans, & grants invested
29,751
Small businesses served by Rural LISC Business Development Organizations (BDOs)
$848MM
Total development impact in rural community development
3,062
Clients who received individual coaching through Rural LISC Financial Opportunity Center Network & the Employment and Financial Coaching Network
2,515
Affordable housing units developed and/or preserved
$1,270
Average monthly net income increase for Rural LISC Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) Network clients
192,352
Sq. ft. of commercial, industrial & community facilities developed and/or in development
$2MM
Total funding to support rural community safety work
500,000
Rural households supported with broadband infrastructure planning and digital skills
What does impact look like on the ground?
Our Impact Stories
Rural LISC strives to identify priorities and opportunities to meet local needs through integrated strategies and programs focused on access to capital, affordable housing, digital opportunity, financial prosperity, small business, and workforce development. Our work is built on a foundation of technical assistance (TA) & various capacity building strategies.
By focusing on these areas, Rural LISC ensures that our integrated strategies and programs are tailored to meet local needs. Through collaboration and resource aggregation, we empower rural areas to thrive and achieve sustainable growth. Rural LISC resources are integrated and are proven to leverage funding and partnerships for continued community development. A holistic and comprehensive approach is taken with every community.
Here are the 2024 highlights of this work in action:
2024 Rural Seminar
USDA Rural Partners Network (RPN) & Rural LISC
Rural LISC served as a technical assistance contractor to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Partners Network initiative since 2023.
In 2024, our team supported federal investment in projects such as infrastructure planning and workforce development implementation, leading to business growth and follow-on private investment.
Through on-the-ground in-person and virtual engagements with Rural Development, Community Network hosts and community stakeholders, we helped RPN successfully administer a community focused and coordinated technical assistance (TA) program.
Rural LISC helped communities apply for more than $10MM in grants, $4MM of which was awarded. Our TA support ensures local stakeholders are equipped with the know-how to administer resources, comply with federal reporting requirements, and continue to build on the successes – which is what capacity building is all about.
Delta Economic Asset Building: Walton Family Foundation & Rural LISC
The continued partnership between Rural LISC, the Walton Family Foundation, and lead partners in the Mississippi/Arkansas Delta directly served more than 650 individuals through initiatives focused on affordable housing development, pathways to homeownership, workforce development, small business support, and access to capital.
More than 50 units of affordable housing are being created across Jefferson and Phillips Counties in Arkansas and Coahoma County in Mississippi, and 50 new families will become homeowners as a result of these investments in local capacity and community-driven development.
East Texas Empowering East Texas: Collaboration and Connectivity
Rural LISC, the East Texas Council of Governments (COG), the Deep East Texas COG and the T.L.L. Temple Foundation jointly hosted International Economic Development Council (IEDC) Economic Recovery Corps Fellow, Arianne Shipley, in 2024.
Reporting to Rural LISC, Arianne spearheaded a collaborative to unify a collective strategy for infrastructure and workforce initiatives across East Texas. Several grant wins for both COGs, and new, dedicated staff, along with engagement with the Just Transition Fund, Communities Unlimited, and Center on Rural Innovation, has advanced the work to better understand challenges and assets, explore regional partnership opportunities, and align strategies to prepare for upcoming funding opportunities.
This innovative initiative was awarded the 2024 Excellence Award for Regional or Cross-Border Partnerships by IEDC.
Resources to Connect: LISC Broadband Help Hub Makes TA Awards Nationwide
Rural LISC’s digital opportunity programs have supported more than 110 rural partners in 31 states and Puerto Rico since 2020.
In 2024, LISC launched the Broadband Help Hub, which delivers information and insights that empower rural and urban local leaders representing more than a half million households across more than 30 counties or neighborhoods to bring new broadband connections or to use the internet to improve their lives.
Project partners received support to design strategies to leverage technology to advance neighborhood and community-based initiatives and to develop funding proposals that will lead to new or expanded broadband deployments.
Rural Workforce Collaborative Models
Eighteen Rural Works partners were served by the workforce ecosystem program. Partners received nearly 300 hours of support through individual technical assistance, trainings, webinars, and conferences, focusing on ecosystem and collaboratives development, organizational capacity building, apprenticeships and work-based learning initiatives, skills-based hiring practices, opportunity youth engagement, and sector-specific career pathways identification.
The Walton Family Foundation, Aspen Forum for Community Solutions, Jobs For The Future, Georgia State University Health Policy Center, and the Arconic Foundation were key funders and collaborators in this initiative.
Rural Small Business Support through Mastercard, Verizon, Lowe’s, and American Express
Relaunched this year with support from Mastercard, Verizon, Lowe’s, and American Express, the Rural LISC Business Development Organizations (BDOs) Network provided one-on-one technical assistance, grants, and loans to support more than 29,000 small businesses.
Members of this network were invited to regular networking events and technical assistance webinars, given access to exclusive funding opportunities, and encouraged to share the challenges their clients face—including resilience amid growing disasters, limited access to small-dollar funding, and the increasing need for technology access and literacy.
Individual Wealth Building through LISC's Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) Network
Fifteen rural Financial Opportunity Center® (FOC) Network sites were supported through funding from General Motors, T.L.L. Temple, Fannie Mae, Lowe’s, and Department of Labor. More than 1,200 individuals were served by Rural FOC partners with integrated financial and employment coaching.
Among the individuals working closely with coaches, the majority had at least one positive outcome change. Program participants saw an average monthly net income increase of $1,270, an average credit score increase of 43 points, and/or an average increase of net worth of $12,050.
Wealth Generation through Rural LISC Employment and Financial Coaching Network (EFCN)
This year, the Rural Employment and Financial Coaching Network (EFCN) was launched, with funding support from General Motors. Twenty community-based employment and financial coaching organizations, were invited to participate in this pilot network, attending quarterly networking meetings, receiving individual fund development consultant support, and capacity building grants. Due to the initial success of this program, a regional EFCN was developed in northwest Ohio for 10 organizations in late fall, with support from the John Henry Eldred Jr. Foundation.
Healthy Housing Initiative
Since 2015, Rural LISC's Healthy Housing Initiative has provided 298 grants worth more than $4.8MM to 68 community-based partners across rural America, preventing or reducing health hazards within homes and promoting healthier living environments.
In 2024, Rural LISC awarded $530K to 29 grantees to support healthy housing programs and multi-benefit projects. This program collectively supported the production and/or preservation of 2,635 healthy, affordable homes. In total, these programs and projects served 4,266 individuals and created 76 jobs.
Community Safety
In collaboration with the LISC Safety & Justice program, twenty rural communities are participating in the Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative. The Rural Violent Crime Reduction Initiative (RVCRI), funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), supports collaborations between community engagement organizations and law enforcement to address violent crime.
The $2MM funding supports necessary equipment such as cameras and forensic tools, as well as awareness campaigns, suicide reduction efforts, and school-based violence deterrence. In addition to direct technical assistance from LISC Safety & Justice and the Rural LISC team, these sites participated in four knowledge sharing opportunities, virtual roundtables, and communities of practice gatherings.
Delta Philanthropy Forum
Over the last year, Rural LISC has supported the Delta Philanthropy Forum (DPF), a coalition of philanthropies committed to serving the Mississippi/Arkansas Delta.
DPF was formed so that members can come together and share learnings, align strategies, and leverage resources to improve their collective work in the Delta. This work is currently being funded by the Walton Family Foundation, Casey Family Programs, Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation, and Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. 18 funders focused on increasing investment in the MS/AR Delta.
Creative Capital Finances Preservation of Deeply Affordable Housing
In 2024, Rural LISC provided $1.88M in financing to Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation to allow the nonprofit to refinance a 35-unit affordable housing complex in Santa Paula, California that had reached the end of the compliance period for its low-income housing tax credits. 24 of the 35 units are affordable to households earning less than 50% of the Area Median Income. LISC utilized funds from its allocation of Capital Magnet Funds, which enable LISC to provide an interest rate below its standard rate.
Northstar Digital Literacy Program
Rural LISC provided access to digital skilling that, in 2024, engaged 540 unique users across 20 locations, delivered 1,648 total hours of digital literacy programming, including more than 1,000 hours dedicated to learning activities.
The program resulted in 579 digital badges earned by participants, showcasing acquired digital skills, and 263 awarded certifications, validating participant proficiency and readiness.
Our Funders
2024 Private Sector Support
The Aspen Institute
Bank of America
Capital One
John Eldred Jr. Foundation
Fannie Mae
Federal Home Loan Banks
General Motors
Housing Assistance Council
JPMorganChase
Land O'Lakes
Markle Foundation
MasterCard Impact Fund, with support from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth
Regions Foundation
Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Rural Community Assistance Corporation
TD Bank
T.L.L. Temple Foundation
U.S. Bank
U.S. Bank Foundation
Verizon
Walton Family Foundation
Wells Fargo
Woodforest National Bank
2024 Public Sector Support
U.S. Department of Agriculture
U.S. Department of Commerce via the New Growth Innovation Network
U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development
U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Department of Labor
Individual Donors
Alan Branson
Marcia Erickson
Ellen P. Glaessner
Lauren Turner
Delta Philanthropy Forum Funders
Carl B. & Florence E. King Foundation
Casey Family Foundation
Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
Walton Family Foundation
$9B
in total investment catalyzed from $3.11B in direct investment by Rural LISC. Thank you to our funders. Your generosity and commitment make this work possible.
Our Team
Rural LISC Staff
Nadia Villagrán Rural LISC Director & LISC VP Indio, CA
Emily Avery Deputy Director Swanton, OH
Erica Bradley Senior Program Officer, Fund Development Fowler, CO
Sabrina Diz Senior Program Officer, Fund Development Vero Beach, FL
Julianne Dunn Senior Program Officer Workforce & Financial Prosperity Kansas City, KS
Melaku Gebreselassie Director, Finance & Compliance Washington, D.C.
Chris Holden Program Officer Housing Keene, NH
John Juarez Senior Program Officer Lending Phoenix, AZ
Jason Li Program Assistant Finance Washington, D.C.
Corey Manns Program Officer, Workforce & Financial Prosperity Clyde, OH
Natalie Marek Program Assistant Norman, OK
Keegan McChesney Senior Program Officer, Housing & Capacity Building Seattle, WA
Tammie Nelson Program Officer, Finance & Compliance Fowler, CO
Sandylane Oquendo Senior Program Officer, Puerto Rico Houston, TX
Ephraim Palmero Program Officer, Small Business Indianapolis, IN
Stephanie Ross Assistant Program Officer, Finance Washington, IL
Dr. Moriah Shiddat Program Officer, Capacity Building Silver Spring, MD
Tiffany Taylor-Minor Director, Communications Richmond, VA
India Turner Assistant Program Officer, Economic Development Alexandria, VA
Christa Vinson Director Digital Access & Strategic Partnerships Charlotte, NC
Joshua Williams Assistant Program Officer, Digital Opportunity Houston, TX
In 2024, we were also joined by an incredible group of HBCU interns from LISC’s HBCU Internship Program. A huge thank you to our interns:
- Sambridhi Deo
- Erich Fischbacher
- Lauren Frank
- Lariel Green
- Izuchukwu Mba
- David Totty
LISC partners with HBCUs to offer paid internship opportunities to young people who historically have been disconnected from career pathways in the CDFI industry, yet who have the insight, life experience and motivation to help ramp up the effectiveness and impact of the industry.
Rural Advisory Committee
Marcia Erickson GROW South Dakota – RAC Chair
Alan Branson Hope Credit Union-Hope Enterprise Corp
Alicia Sebastian California Coalition for Rural Housing
Brenda McDaniel KY Highlands
Duane Yoder Garrett County CAA, Retired
Eileen Stenerson Wells Fargo, Retired
Ellen Glaessner TD Bank
Joaquin Cintron Vega Housing Authority of the City and County of Denver, CO
A special thank you to two Rural Advisory Committee members with a term ending in 2024:
Stephen Fitzgerald Bank of America Charitable Foundation, previous RAC Chair
James Stark Fayette County Community Action Agency
Katie Naftzger FHLBank Chicago
Laurel Brown Google
Lee Beaulac Beaulac Associates, LLC
Lydia Jackson Capital One
Michael Levine LISC, Retired
Stan Keasling, Consultant Retired
Sue Taylor Native American Development Corporation
Suzanne Anarde-Devenport Rural Community Assistance Corporation’s (RCAC)
