Impact Stories
Homes:
WHERE LISC BEGINS
Strategic Plan Investment Goal: $5.2B 2025 Progress: $2.8B
A SAFE, DEPENDABLE PLACE TO LIVE—A HOME—IS AMONG THE MOST BASIC OF HUMAN NEEDS. It is where families rest, recover, and imagine a future. Yet in communities all across the country that foundation is increasingly fragile. Rising costs, aging housing stock, and access barriers leave too many people one crisis away from losing stability. Easing that struggle is LISC’s most urgent task, the cornerstone of our 2025–2027 strategic plan.
In 2025 LISC raised and deployed $2.8 billion to help build thousands of new homes affordable to low- and moderate-income households, while preserving the habitability and affordability of existing ones. Our work paired big-picture solutions—addressing bottlenecks in housing production—with targeted support that helps individual families remain safely housed for the long term.
Preparing builders to meet demand
Looking ahead, LISC is investing in the people who will build the next generation of affordable housing through 16 emerging developer programs across the country. In Washington State—where more than one million new homes are needed over the next 20 years—LISC Puget Sound’s Housing Accelerator Fellowship, supported by the Amazon, equips emerging developers with training, industry connections, and capital to accelerate active projects.
Twenty nonprofit and for-profit developers completed the 18-month program in 2025. Fellow Ismail Mohammad, owner of Plutus Development LLC, gained the tools to advance his first multifamily project after years of smaller-scale work. “With the help of my mentors, LISC, and the instructors,” he said, “I know I can do this.”
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With the help of my mentors, LISC, and the instructors, I know I can do this.”
Supporting today’s homeowners
For Memphis homeowner Marida Simpson, housing insecurity arrived quietly, through a broken heating system. She and her two children shivered through the winter of 2023-4. Last winter was different. A 3%-interest loan paid for new heating and cooling systems—and restored peace of mind. The 901 Homeowner Empowerment Loan Program (901HELP), a community partnership among the City of Memphis, LISC, Regions Bank, and Arnold Ventures, is one of seven innovative home-repair loan funds LISC supports nationwide.
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It’s not just about preaching but about making a tangible impact. The facility is real, and people are being positively affected.”
Extending faith-based missions through housing
LISC likewise comes alongside faith organizations that, led by love for their communities, want to turn their underused land into stable homes for low-income residents, but need technical assistance to make it happen.
In 2025, LISC New York helped New Covenant Faith & Miracle Arena find a mission-aligned development partner to build affordable housing in the South Bronx, where most residents are rent burdened. By dedicating a portion of its unused zoning capacity, the church made it possible to plan a 92-unit housing development on church property that already serves as a hub for worship, community gatherings, education, and daycare. Through its New York Land Opportunity Program, LISC will continue to assist New Covenant in attaining the approvals and financing it needs to get shovels in the ground.
On the West Coast, LISC Bay Area supports similar efforts through its Faith and Housing Program, a year-long technical assistance initiative. The program launched its fifth—and largest—cohort last year, working with 15 faith organizations. One participant, Gerald Agee, founder and senior pastor of Friendship Christian Center, joined the program in 2021 with a plan to redevelop church property in West Oakland.
That plan bore fruit last year with the completion of 50 apartments for low-income seniors. “We couldn’t have done this without the support of LISC’s Faith and Housing Program,” said Agee. The development allows longtime residents to age in place, near the community that sustains them, while its shared spaces and amenities open the door to broader neighborhood opportunity. “It’s not just about preaching but about making a tangible impact,” said Agee. “The facility is real, and people are being positively affected.” ■
Local Economies:
WHERE LIVELIHOODS ARE BUILT
Strategic Plan Investment Goal: $300M 2025 Progress: $180M
A HEALTHY LOCAL ECONOMY DOESN’T JUST GENERATE WEALTH—IT WIDENS OPPORTUNITY, BUILDS RESILENCE, AND HELPS PEOPLE MOVE FORWARD. LISC invests in community-level drivers of growth, meeting entrepreneurs and workers where they are and helping them turn effort into economic mobility.
We support small businesses with grants and loans, partner with on-the-ground business development organizations that help entrepreneurs succeed, and advance workforce training to equip community residents for in-demand, well-paying careers.
Backing small businesses that anchor communities
In 2025, LISC awarded $10,000 grants to 50 small businesses in a partnership with Kevin Hart’s Gran Coramino Tequila brand launched in 2022. Four grants went to business owners in Houston’s East End, a lively industrial and entertainment district where LISC Houston has worked for more than a decade. The funding sustained enterprises that contribute to the area’s distinctive character—a family-owned coffee shop, a mural-arts business, a record store, and a gift shop and apparel brand that celebrates modern Latina culture.
LISC also supported independent child care providers, whose businesses are essential to both local economies and working families. With support from Procter & Gamble, the Elevating Entrepreneurs in Child Care program funded local nonprofits to deliver technical assistance and flexible capital to 180 providers. Karin Wallace, a childcare provider from Battle Creek, Michigan, credits the individualized support of Southwest Child Care Resources as having helped her discover new ideas and tools to enhance her business operations. “This has been a blessing for so many providers,” Wallace shared. “It's not just the classes. It’s just bringing us together as a whole, as a community.”
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I feel more confident to make the moves I want in life. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll have my own company.”
Equipping individuals to fulfill their aspirations
In a multi-year partnership with Kaiser Permanente, LISC laid the economic foundations of community health by aiding efforts like the Spark Innovation Lab, a business incubator run by Sweet Auburn Works in Atlanta. For Syreeta Davis, founder of candle company Zaniyah Naturals, Spark was transformative. “It helped me pinpoint exactly who I’m talking to,” she said, “and build a voice for my company.”
LISC also ramped up access to training in the skilled trades, where wages are rising and demand remains strong, through 120 community-based partners in our Financial Opportunity Center® network. With support from the Lowe’s Foundation, LISC and our partner network helped build the workforce pipeline in critical pathways including construction, electrical, and HVAC. The impact of this work is evident in success stories like that of former hospitality worker Emily Moreno. Longtime LISC partner SER Metro-Detroit helped her gain financial acumen, earn carpentry certifications, and pivot her career to go to work for a custom cabinetmaker. Said Moreno, “I feel more confident to make the moves I want in life. Who knows? Maybe one day I’ll have my own company.” ■
Partners:
HOW THE WORK GETS DONE
Strategic Plan Investment Goal: $100M 2025 Progress: $25M
LISC’S WORK RELIES ON MORE THAN 1,400 LOCAL PARTNERS. These nonprofits know best what their communities need to flourish. They operate on tight budgets to deliver affordable housing, create jobs, and provide critical services to low- and moderate-income people.
It’s LISC’s job to support their stability and growth. Among our most important tools: a capacity-building program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) known as Section 4. In 2025 LISC supported hundreds of our partners with Section 4 grants to bolster staffing and technology, deepen expertise, take on new activities—and accomplish more for their communities.
More power to house
In predominantly rural Southwest Montana, LISC’s multi-year Section 4 support enabled the Human Resource Development Council of District IX (HRDC) to build staff capacity and improve internal systems. With augmented capabilities, HRDC tackled housing work that previously exceeded its programmatic reach. In 2025, HRDC completed the rehabilitation of 8 apartments for people living independently with disabilities in Livingston, Montana. Supporting the regional unhoused population, HRDC opened the first year-round purpose-built shelter in Bozeman and worked to prevent people from experiencing homelessness through a partnership to preserve and rehabilitate 50 subsidized apartments in Bozeman. Additionally, HRDC supported 155 new-construction Low-Income Housing Tax Credit apartments, with 1,303 in the pipeline. HRDC has made continued progress towards 36 homes for affordable homeownership in Gardiner, MT, and 8 to 9 in Bozeman. Strengthened capacity was especially critical in enabling HRDC to act on complex preservation opportunities. Building on past investments in West Yellowstone, HRDC and partners preserved an 18-unit workforce housing building and converted it into a co-op as permanently affordable housing—a model for future work—and expanded a scattered-site land trust from a pilot to a scalable strategy for secure, affordable homeownership.
98% of participating families successfully transitioned to stable, unsubsidized housing.
More power to serve
Across the country in Charlotte, North Carolina, LISC Section 4 funding fortified Charlotte Family Housing’s operational capacity to deliver its Springboard to Stability program for families experiencing homelessness. Section 4 support funded the staffing, program management, and partner coordination needed to ensure families in shelter have consistent, day-to-day access to counseling, guidance, and integrated services at critical points in their stabilization process.
This enhanced capacity allowed Charlotte Family Housing to align shelter-based counseling with workforce development and self-sufficiency training provided through external partners; launch a nine-week summer enrichment program for children in transitional shelters; and redesign a credits program that incentivizes progress in financial literacy, employment, and housing.
Thanks to this refined service model, families experienced measurable gains in housing stability and overall well-being. Ninety-eight percent of participating families successfully transitioned to stable, unsubsidized housing. ■
Sustainability
INVESTING IN COMMUNITY RESILIENCE
Strategic Plan Investment Goal: $104M 2025 Progress: $430M
A COMMUNITY’S HOMES, BUSINESSES, AND INFASTRUCTURE MUST BE BUILT TO BE DURABLE, OPERATE EFFICIENTLY, AND REMAIN AFFORDABLE OVER TIME—because people depend on them every day. In our first year, LISC exceeded its $104 million goal, demonstrating both the scale of need and the opportunity to deliver practical, cost-saving solutions in communities nationwide. We are now building on this momentum to expand our reach and deepen our impact—continuing to invest in projects and programs that lower operating costs, improve performance, and strengthen long-term stability, while helping communities navigate natural disasters and economic shocks.
Lending for affordable power
In 2025, LISC financing expanded access to renewable solar energy as a tool for long-term resilience, reducing utility bills and strengthening local power systems.
We made two working-capital loans totaling $1.5 million to Unity Solar Group, an Illinois-based small business committed to serving customers for whom upfront cost is a barrier. Through the Illinois Solar for All program, Unity provides solar installations to low- and moderate-income households with no upfront costs and guaranteed savings. LISC’s flexible financing, made possible by support from Fifth Third Bank and Wells Fargo, helped the growing company manage its own upfront expenses as projects move through approval and installation, enabling it to scale both residential and commercial installations.
LISC also marshalled $5.4 million for solar infrastructure serving affordable housing providers in the Washington, DC, area. The financing supports the installation of 1.26 MW of solar capacity across six properties, including five affordable multifamily buildings and a church. Once complete, the project will enable the nonprofit Community Sustainability Partners to sell discounted electricity to property owners and generate revenue through Solar Renewable Energy Credits—cutting long-term operating costs for community-serving institutions.
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With limited resources, every setback hits hard, making recovery a challenge we can’t face alone.”
Supporting businesses to withstand and recover
Resilience is tested in times of crisis. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) estimates that 40% of small business fail after a disaster, with an additional 25% closing within one year. These business closings have ripple effects for local economies. In 2025 LISC deepened its work helping entrepreneurs navigate that risk and rebound after disaster strikes.
We turned to our trusted partners—local business development organizations—to build resilience in the sector. LISC’s three-year, $5 million initiative supports 25 organizations across Chicago, Detroit, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico, strengthening their capacity to provide forward-looking resilience planning, risk mitigation, and technical assistance. To date, they have delivered thousands of hours of technical assistance to more than 1,300 small businesses, reinforcing local economic stability and future readiness.
When wildfires tore through Los Angeles neighborhoods and commercial corridors, LISC Los Angeles responded quickly. With support from Wells Fargo, we provided $1.5 million in recovery grants and targeted advising to support 150 fire-impacted small businesses, from home-based enterprises to restaurants and retail stores. Said one LA grantee, owner of a creative production company, “With limited resources, every setback hits hard, making recovery a challenge we can’t face alone.” ■