2025: Year in Review LISC ANNUAL REPORT
Message from Leadership
Ramon Jacobson Executive Director
“NOW... GET BACK TO WORK.” That directive, to me and my LISC colleagues, issued by President Jimmy Carter himself, was our mantra through a long, challenging year in the DC region. Over a dozen years ago, the late President was in DC’s Ivy City with Habitat, LISC, Manna, and Mi Casa, and hundreds of volunteers assembled to turn vacant buildings into affordable homes. Jimmy and Rosalyn joined for a photo opp, then turned and told us what to do: work. Then, there he went as well, 84 years old and swinging a hammer in the rain - an unforgettable impression. We found community in the good work throughout the region, all year long. In the blazing sun, we broke ground with Manna in Shaw, and walked the Brightwood neighborhood with our Newsome Fellows, nonprofit leaders, and board members, sharing lessons and firsthand experience. We joined a range of partners for celebrations in Columbia Heights and Adams Morgan, and showcased the amazing transformation underway in Anacostia, delivering on a promise for community-centered development ahead of the opening of the 11th Street Bridge Park. We drew 175 people to a chilly early morning event in a strip mall in Seat Pleasant, and delivered new dollars in Cleveland Park and Fairfax, Virginia. These weren’t just units or dots on a map, but the moment when commitment and capital coalesced to create change. We know that the flip side of unprecedented is legacy and understanding that those who came before showed us a path forward. When President Carter passed in early 2025, we reflected on the work it takes to build a legacy, including housing and neighborhoods and, most importantly, purpose and certainty that positive change can happen. 2025 was full of challenges and change in this region. And it was full of work and community as well. Together, we can do great work.
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 1981
$673M
invested
$3.9B
leveraged
affordable homes and apartments built, maintained, and/or restored
3.7M
square feet of commercial and community space developed
Our Impact Stories
Connecting Communities and Capital (3C)
Small apartment buildings make up roughly a third of Washington, DC's housing stock. Their rents are $300-500 lower than comparable units in larger buildings, and over $1,000 less than those in newer developments.”
JUDY ESTEY SENIOR PROGRAM OFFICER LISC DC
At LISC DC, we know that healthy neighborhoods require far more than access to medical care. They need stable housing, economic opportunity, and the ability for residents to build—and keep—wealth in the communities they call home.
LISC DC, in partnership with The Coalition, is spearheading the “3C” initiative supporting small, locally owned rental properties—many owned by DC residents who invested in real estate as a pathway to financial stability. These owners frequently face barriers to affordable financing for critical capital improvements, putting both their properties and their long-term residents at risk.
“Small apartment buildings make up roughly a third of Washington, DC's housing stock. Their rents are $300-500 lower than comparable units in larger buildings, and over $1,000 less than those in newer developments.” -Judy Estey, Senior Program Officer, LISC DC
Our 3C work started in 2021 through a national pilot program funded by J.P. Morgan Chase. Since our initial investment in Missouri Avenue, a 10-unit building housing mostly low-income seniors in Ward 4, our 0% interest loan fund has financed 12 buildings throughout the District, preserving 269 units of affordable housing.
Monnie Gordon, tenant leader and long-time resident at Missouri Ave apartments, a LISC 3C initiative supported project.
Coalition Building in the Blue Line Corridor
Blue Line Corridor Coalition leaders and supporters at the official launch event for the Blue Line Corridor Coalition in October 2025..
In Maryland’s Prince George’s County, the Blue Line Corridor Coalition (BLCC) is “rehearsing the future” through community-led transformation by uniting partners, leveraging local assets, and advancing fair access for sustainable economic growth.
In partnership with The Capital Market (TCM) and supported by funders such as the Greater Washington Community Foundation, the State of Maryland, and Wells Fargo, the BLCC launched in October, welcoming 175 attendees to the Mini Plaza shopping center in Seat Pleasant. The full range of public and private stakeholders gathered around a pop-up cafe and interactive art installation to strengthen the relationships needed to drive community priorities forward around economic mobility, housing/real estate, and placemaking/storytelling.
Just months earlier, the public proclamation of the 20743 Coalition helped build the momentum which enabled the successful launch of the BLCC. In May, a historic MOU signing—facilitated by LISC and TCM—formalized partnership between the corridor’s three municipalities: the Town of Capitol Heights, the Town of Fairmount Heights, and the City of Seat Pleasant. Over 80 BLC stakeholders gathered to celebrate this pivotal step toward improving resident quality of life.
Stay up to date with the BLCC on BlueLineCC.org.
High Opportunity Homes in High Opportunity Areas
In our 4th decade, many original LISC neighborhoods have transformed from disinvestment to “high opportunity,” rich with amenities but often too expensive for low and moderate income households. During 2025, we celebrated several affordable projects in high opportunity neighborhoods, evidence of our commitment to shared prosperity.
In spring 2025, we celebrated new beginnings at Jubilee Housing’s EucKal Apartments, two affordable housing buildings in Adams Morgan. Nearby, Jubilee’s King Emmanuel Baptist (KEB) Church broke ground, alongside apartments for returning citizens and their families, featuring a first-of-its-kind aquaponics farm in DC that will serve as a workforce development model for residents.
We kicked off summer in the vibrant Columbia Heights neighborhood, where LISC partner Somerset Development replaced 80 units of outdated low-rise apartments with a new 125 unit state-of-the-art, amenity-rich affordable building. The site also added market-rate apartments, evidence that density can create opportunities to build for residents at all incomes. In the Shaw neighborhood, Manna broke ground on S Street Village, including 90 new affordable apartments plus a new sanctuary for the church that launched Manna almost 50 years ago.
We closed the year by joining The Community Builders for the ribbon cutting of a new five-story, 142-unit, fully affordable multifamily building at Park Morton. Located in the Park View neighborhood near restaurants, schools, and transit, Park Morton replaced fully depreciated public housing units with what will eventually deliver 500 units of affordable housing.
LISC signed onto all of these projects’ visions early on, often providing the first pieces of capital, which are the hardest to secure. “Often these projects take years, or in the case of Park Morton, over a decade, to come to fruition,” said Melanie Stern, Director of Lending and Investment. “LISC is proud to have supported our partners and these projects when they were just a glimmer of an idea, and to now celebrate these buildings becoming homes.”
Groundbreaking for Manna, Inc.’s S Street Village.
2025 Newsome Fellows Build Capacity of Nonprofits Across the Region
2026 Newsome Fellows and 3 cohorts of fellowship alumni gathered at the 2026 Fellowship celebration and close-out event.
In 2025, seven aspiring and mid-career professionals joined the LISC DC team, forming the sixth cohort of the Oramenta Newsome Community Development Fellowship. Bringing a wide range of skills and a passion for community development, each fellow was matched with a nonprofit partner to work on initiatives ranging from resident engagement to advocacy to coalition building. This year’s nonprofit partners included: Bread for the City, Wesley Housing, So Others Might Eat (SOME), Montgomery Housing Partnership, The Coalition, and Mi Casa, Inc.
Our fellows engaged or supported over 300 residents across the DC metro area. Anaiya Moore, a fellow at Wesley Housing, expanded outreach, streamlined services, and fostered stronger community partnerships, resulting in 5 new residents receiving critical resources, 20 community surveys conducted, and 5 community events. Pablo Espejo, fellow at Mi Casa, translated materials for co-op residents, evaluated processes, and drove the adoption of a new software.
The fellowship was developed in honor of Oramenta Newsome, who served as Executive Director of LISC DC for nearly 25 years. She dedicated decades to making Washington, DC a community-driven city that benefited neighborhood residents. With this fellowship, we are creating a lasting legacy and honoring Oramenta’s commitment to community development.
Our Funders
2025 Private Sector Support
AMCREF Community Capital LLC
Bank of America Charitable Foundation
Diane and Norman Bernstein Foundation
The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Coalition for Nonprofit Housing & Economic Development
Naomi & Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
Helen M. Cooluris Charitable Fund
England Family Foundation
Forbright Bank
Greater Washington Community Foundation
Morgan Stanley
The Morningstar Foundation
National Community Reinvestment Coalition
Wallace Newsome
PNC Foundation
Share Fund
Richard Snowdon
TD Bank
Truist Financial Corp.
Verizon
Wells Fargo
Peter Tatian
2025 Public Sector Support
AmeriCorps
District of Columbia Department of Housing and Community Development
State of Maryland
U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development
TO OUR FUNDERS Thank you for believing in the work and the people behind it. Your partnership gives LISC the flexibility to respond to the needs of our communities, invest deeply in local leadership, and help turn community vision into real change across the D.C. area.
Our Team
LISC DC Staff
Ramon Jacobson Executive Director
Bryan Franklin Deputy Director
Melanie Stern Director of Lending and Investment
Judy Estey Senior Program Officer
Rylan Collins Program Officer, Lending
Maurcus Robinson Program Officer
Ashley Rosado Program Officer
Yutzilt Tapia Vargas Digital Media Apprentice
Local Advisory Committee
Victor Burrola Wells Fargo
Donna F. Grigsby TD Bank U.S.
Nicolette Harris PNC Bank
Jimmie Jones Truist
Ellen McCarthy McCarthy Urban Associates
Alison McWilliams Naomi and Nehemiah Cohen Foundation
Gregory J. Melanson ZRG Partners
Samuel Parker Community Development Consultant
Robert Peck Gensler
Patty Rose Perry School Community Services
Mike Schwartz The Morris and Gwendolyn Cafritz Foundation
Peter Tatian Urban Institute
