2025 Year in Review LISC ANNUAL REPORT
Message from Leadership
Kristen Baker Executive Director
2025 marked a significant milestone for LISC as we celebrated 25 years of impact in Greater Cincinnati. For me personally, it has been an honor to be part of this journey for 15 of those years; years that have reinforced my belief in the power of this organization to deliver meaningful change. LISC continues to demonstrate a unique ability to connect national expertise, capital, and innovation with local priorities, ensuring that our neighborhoods have access to the resources they need to thrive.
Our commitment to community development is both steady and impactful. Since 2000, LISC Greater Cincinnati has invested more than $272 million, leveraging nearly $900 million in total development bringing critical resources into communities that have long been underserved. In 2025, we continued this momentum, deploying over $11 million in grants, loans, and equity to support a more vibrant and inclusive region.
The challenges facing our communities are complex, but our approach remains clear: we bring partners together, align around shared goals, and translate vision into action. This work is only possible because of the dedication and collaboration of our funders, partners, and stakeholders. I am deeply grateful for your continued support and proud of what we have achieved together in 2025.
By the Numbers
Impact is the heartbeat of a Community Development Financial Institution. It’s how we turn capital into opportunity and hope into progress.
IMPACT SINCE 2000
$272M
invested
$867B
leveraged
affordable homes and apartments built, maintained, and/or restored
2M
square feet of commercial and community space developed
Our Impact Stories
Siblings Preserve Family Home with 60 Years of Memories with Help From LISC
For decades, one Cincinnati home has held the laughter, sacrifices, and memories of a family determined to stay rooted together. Siblings Elizabeth Turner and Michael Brown grew up running its halls, shaped by a mother who worked multiple jobs to give her children a place to belong. It was more than a house—it was their foundation.
But after their mother passed, that foundation felt uncertain. Like many families, they faced complicated questions about ownership and inheritance that threatened to put their shared legacy at risk.
With support from LISC and its Heirs’ Property Initiative, the family found a path forward. Working alongside the Legal Aid Society of Southwest Ohio, Turner and her sisters resolved long-standing title issues and created a clear plan for the home’s future. Today, the house remains secure and is positioned to pass seamlessly to Brown and, one day, to the next generation.
Their story reflects a broader challenge. Across Ohio, thousands of families risk losing homes and generational wealth due to unclear property titles. Through its work, LISC is helping families not only protect what they have built, but hold onto the stories, stability, and sense of home that matter most.
Legacy Preserved: Cincinnati Resident Protects Family Home with Support from Hamilton County and LISC
When Ms. Smoot purchased her home in 2023, she wasn’t just buying a house, she was carrying forward a family legacy. Built in 1936, the home had sheltered generations before her. It held memories, history, and a deep sense of belonging. But like many aging homes in Hamilton County, it also came with hidden challenges that threatened its future.
Outdated systems, safety concerns, and costly repairs put that legacy at risk. For Ms. Smoot, finding the resources to fix it all felt out of reach until a simple message in a family group chat changed everything.
Through a Hamilton County program supported by LISC, and with guidance from Working In Neighborhoods, she found a path forward. With hands-on support and an easy, accessible process, Ms. Smoot was able to secure critical repairs. Habitat for Humanity of Greater Cincinnati helped bring those repairs to life with care, coordination, and respect for her time and needs.
Today, her home is safer, more efficient, and renewed. Just as important, it still feels like home.
“I’m proud,” Ms. Smoot says. “I look at my house, my street and I know I belong here.”
Through investments like these, LISC is helping families preserve not just houses, but the pride, stability, and legacy they represent.
LISC-Supported Training Strengthens Home-Based Childcare Business
Cortnee Barnes has spent 16 years building The Tot Spot Childcare Center, a trusted home-based program in Cincinnati serving children from eight weeks to eight years old. Located near the community where she was born and raised, her center reflects a strong commitment to local families.
Barnes began with just five children per shift and steadily expanded to a capacity of 12. As her program grew, she recognized the need to shift her mindset from “child care as a passion to child care as a business.”
That transformation was supported by 4C for Children, a nonprofit childcare resource and referral agency. With support from LISC and Procter & Gamble, 4C for Children offered an 11-week training program designed to help providers strengthen their business practices.
Through the training, Barnes gained strategies to improve operations and grow sustainably. Today, she continues to elevate her work—strengthening her role not only as a caregiver, but as a business owner.
LISC Greater Cincinnati Celebrates 25 Years of Impact
Since 2000, LISC Greater Cincinnati has invested $272 million in our region, leveraging an additional $879 million in development to create 3,477 affordable homes and 2.2 million square feet of commercial and community space. These investments have not only increased access to safe, quality housing, but have also helped strengthen neighborhood economies, support small businesses, and expand opportunities for families to thrive.
Over the past 25 years, this work has contributed to more vibrant and equitable communities across Hamilton County by fostering local leadership, encouraging sustainable development, and creating spaces where residents can live, work, and connect. The impact extends beyond bricks and mortar and reflects a long-term commitment to partnership, innovation, and community-driven solutions.
This milestone is not just an opportunity to reflect on what has been accomplished. It is also a moment to look ahead. Together with our partners, we remain committed to advancing affordable housing, strengthening neighborhood vitality, and creating pathways to opportunity for all residents.
Watch the video to hear directly from founders, supporters, and partners and explore our work and vision for the future.
Our Funders
2025 Private Sector Support
Jena Bradley
Fifth Third Bank
Fifth Third Foundation
First Financial Foundation
Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Guardian Savings Bank
Huntington
Steven Kenat
KeyBank Foundation
McCloy Family Foundation
P&G Fund of the Greater Cincinnati Foundation
PNC Foundation
Truist Financial Corp.
U.S. Bank Foundation
Union Savings Bank
United Way of Greater Cincinnati
2025 Public Sector Support
City of Cincinnati
Hamilton County
State of Ohio
TO OUR FUNDERS From our inception in in 2000, LISC has invested millions of dollars in Greater Cincinnati. None of our work could happen without our steadfast funders. Some of you have been with us from the very beginning, and many more have joined over the past 25 years to carry our mission forward. Your commitment is the foundation of this work. You believe in the power of LISC and continue to invest in that vision to build a brighter future for our region.
Our Team
Thank you to our Local Advisory Committee and staff, your commitment is what makes this impact possible.”
Local Advisory Committee
Robert Killins Greater Cincinnati Foundation, Chair
Luke Blocher Cincinnati Development Fund
Elizabeth Blume Blume Community Partners
Robert Brinkley Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland
Sister Sally Duffy Sisters of Charity
Steve Kenat SHP
Matthew Long United Way of Greater Cincinnati
Justin Marshall Fifth Third Bank
Roddell McCullough First Financial Bank
Angela Rahman Hamilton County
Hammad Siddiqi Fifth Third Bank
Ron Stubblefield Greater Cincinnati Foundation
Robie K. Suggs Warsaw Federal
Alicia B. Townsend U.S. Bank
Kenneth Webb Republic Bank
Meredith Whitehead The Cedric Group
LISC Staff
Kristen Baker Executive Director
Valerie Daley Director of Programs
Taren Kinebrew Program Officer
LaChé Roach Senior Program Officer
Julie McGuire Assistant Program Officer
