Year in Review:
2019
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Table of Contents Our Work Impact
Housing 6
7 9
Transit Oriented Development Next Level Housing
Health and Resiliency 10 11 12 13
Male Engagement Network Green Homes Project The LISC Way Building Resilience
Economic Opportunity 15 17 18 17 19 20
Sports and Fitness Boston Builds Credit Financial Opportunity Centers Supporting Small Business Pitch Contest
Housing
Our Mission LISC is one of the country’s largest community development support organizations, but we have deep local roots, having invested more than $300 million in Massachusetts communities over 35 years. We prioritize equity in our investments, from affordable housing and quality schools to growing business and connecting community with financing, technical assistance and resources to build capacity and stability.
Capacity Building 21 22 22 23 23 24 25
Supporting CDCs Story Slam Opportunity Zones Sports and Fitness Local Advisory Committee Our Supporters CITC
Investing in People, Places, Enterprises, and Systems
W
e are honored to share some of the highlights of 2019 and showcase the incredible work we have done with our partners in our Year in Review report.
This year we celebrated the renewal of our twenty-year partnership through the Harvard Local Housing Collaborative, launched a series of conversations on Next Level housing Solutions, saw an investment of capital from Partners HealthCare in our impactful transitoriented development loan fund, entered a new phase of our Green and Healthy housing work, had the ability to more than double the amount of capital going to minority-owned small businesses through our pitch contest and so much more. We see residents and community businesses being displaced due to rapid neighborhood change and increased housing costs. We have been doing so much, yet we know it has not been enough. In 2019, LISC took the challenge head on to be a strategic investor, capacity builder, advisor, convener, and innovator through collaboration with our long-term partners as well as new ones. We brought together area leaders to discuss Next Level Housing Solutions and we continue to find ways LISC’s deep local roots and national resources can plug critical funding gaps and be a thought-leader and through-partner towards progress in Massachusetts based on what we have learned in our work locally since 1981 and based on what we continue to learn through LISC-nationwide. We thank our funders and supporters. We could not move forward the incredible work of our community development corporations, public-and private-sector partners tackling the housing crisis, minority and women owned business opportunities, and preparedness and resiliency in the face of climate change without them. Though we achieved so much to be proud of with our partners in 2019, there is much more we are eager to share with you in 2020. Please know that LISC is here and do not hesitate to reach out to us or our team about the work you read about in the pages that follow or other ways we may support your work, vision, or community. Sincerely,
Karen Kelleher, Executive Director
Elizabeth Gruber, Board Chair
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Our Work Housing
Health and Resiliency
We fund and seek to increase access to safe affordable housing.
We work for healthier, more resilient buildings and communities.
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Our approach is comprehensive and—most important—rooted in what neighbors want for themselves, their families, and the places they call home.
Economic Opportunity
We support local entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Capacity Building
We support, fund, and train community building organizations.
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Invested in Massachusetts Communities in 2019
150
$15.1 million
$286 million
We worked with
partners in 2019
Invested in community revitalization since 1981
How we work
LISC is in more places than any other community development organization. We engage local leaders and neighbors and brings local issues to state and national policy leaders.
3 National Affiliates
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35 Office Locations Atlanta, GA Boston, MA Buffalo, NY Charlotte, NC Chicago, IL Cincinnati, OH Denver, CO Detroit, MI Duluth, MN Flint, MI Fowler, CO Hartford, CT Honolulu, HI
Houston, TX Indianapolis, IN Jacksonville, FL Kalamazoo, MI Kansas City, MO Los Angeles, CA Milwaukee, WI Minneapolis/St. Paul, MN New York, NY Newark, NJ Peoria, IL Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ Pittsburgh, PA Providence, RI Richmond, VA San Antonio, TX San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA Seattle, WA Toledo, OH Washington, DC
Housing
We invest in every phase of development, from conception to construction. We provide comprehensive support to our community partners and the projects they develop.
Harvard Local Housing Collaborative Harvard University recently renewed its twenty year partnership with LISC with a $10 million investment in local affordable housing projects through the Harvard Local Housing Collaborative. The collaborative invested in Nuestra Comunidad's Bartlett Station, which is transforming a formerly noxious bus yard into more than 300 new homes. The site includes 142 affordable units, a gym, healthy food market and commercial and community spaces.
Through the collaborative we supported Bartlett Station at predevelopment and construction phases.
Predevelopment $225K
Harvard Local Housing Collaborative Fund
$375K
Equitable Transit Oriented Development Fund
$825K
LISC
Construction $8.2M
New Market Tax Credits through LISC’s affiliate New Market Support Corporation (NMSC)
$8.8M
LIHTC Low Income Tax Credits through LISC’s affiliate National Equity Fund (NEF)
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Transit-Oriented Development
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uilding housing near subway, rail and bus lines better connects people and places to each other. Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) attracts businesses and jobs, maximizes existing infrastructure, and capitalizes on new investments. The Equitable TOD Accelerator Fund provides low-cost, flexible acquisition and pre-development financing for affordable and mixed-income housing on sites near transit stops. The Fund’s objective is to help community based organizations acquire sites to create or preserve affordability with limited equity investment.
Homes and Jobs on the Fairmount Line For years, the Fairmount Commuter Rail line ran through the Mattapan, Dorchester and Roxbury neighborhoods without stopping. Communitie members fought together for transit equity and access, and now are served by new rail stops. These stops include Uphams Corner in Dorchester, where Indigo Block will provide 80 affordable homes and hundreds of jobs. LISC invested in the development with $400,000 from the Equitable TOD Accelerator Fund and $6.5 million of New Market Tax Credits (NMTC) through our affiliate New Market Support Corporation (NMSC). Job Creation at Indigo Block
Indigo Block in Dorchester will have an immense economic development impact on the Upham’s Corner area. One tenant, The Boston Public Health Commission, will train 125 people per year through their kitchen training and laundry service training programs. In the 7-year NMTC period, they plan to place 570 people who face significant barriers to entry into jobs with career ladders, training opportunities, and living wages.
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Preserving Affordability
Paul Grogan and Soni Gupta from The Boston Foundation and Karen Kelleher, the Executive Director of LISC Boston, on their way to the groundbreaking of The Residences at Fairmount Station. The new residences are 27 units of housing with pre-development financing through the Fund.
22 loans 1,097 affordable units 133,000 square feet 0 defaults
The fund invested in The Neighborhood Developers' (TND) purchase of this existing 32 unit building in Chelsea (below). The project will create new affordable units and protect current residents from displacement due to rising rents.
181 Chestnut St, Chelsea
Leveraging Private Investment
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n 2019, Partners HealthCare joined The Boston Foundation and the Hyams Foundation as investors increasing the capacity of the TOD Fund. LISC is increasingly partnering with healthcare providers because as much as 80% of health outcomes are determined by social and environmental factors such as access to affordable housing, economic stability, access to healthy food, and opportunities for recreation.
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ext Level Housing Solutions is a series of facilitated conversations to confront the issues inhibiting equitable housing production and preservation. The series engages participants to build the solutions and crosssector coalitions needed to meaningfully address the multifaceted housing crisis. Discussion Topics • Tackling Income Inequality • Driving Racial Equity • Creative Policy Solutions • Creative Financing Solutions
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• Aligning Leaders and Solutions Across Sectors • Building Urgency and Political Will
Health and Resiliency
Building Healthy Communities The Male Engagement Network (MEN): Making Connections is a network of neighborhood-based organizations in Roxbury, Dorchester, and Mattapan working together on the wellbeing and success of men of color. The network does this by focusing attention and resources on the social stressors that obstruct their potential. In addition to a focus on health and making connections, network partners support each other’s efforts in the areas of financial health, housing stability, and overall mental wellbeing. This work is supported by Movember and the Prevention Institute.
At the LISC Story Slam Jerome Daye, cofounder of Breakfast IV Brothers, a monthly breakfast gathering that prioritizes dialogue for community members and especially men of color, told a story of having to decide whether to continue leading the breakfasts when his co-founder moved away from Boston. He ultimately did, citing the power of the experience he and participants have being fed by the breakfast and the energy and support that comes from the gathering. Breakfast IV Brothers is a founding member of M.E.N
To learn more about the LISC Story Slam see page 22.
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Green Homes Project
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he Green Retrofit Initiative has supported the green affordable housing life cycle, from construction and rehab to long term operations, for over a decade.This year's highlights include our Passive House Advocacy, first Building Operator Certification (BOC®) training, and the kickoff of our climate resiliency program. To reflect our support of both high performance new construction and rehabs, we are updating our name to the Green Homes Project.
"LISC's Passive House Forum inspired Mass CEC to create its Passive House Design Challenge, which is currently
supporting 540 new high-performance, healthy and affordable homes." -Beverly Craig
Senior Program Manager, MassCEC
From Contruction to Maintenance Our first Building Operator Certification (BOC®) training helped 20 affordable housing maintenance professionals advance their skills ensuring the energy efficient operation of buildings.
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Driving Impact:
Passive House
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n 2019 we continued to promote Passive House, a high performance energy standard with measurable health benefits, in new affordable housing construction. Here’s how our collaborative approach has worked to increase the use of Passive House in affordable housing. What's Next?
Identify New Practice
We're always scanning the field to find what's next in green housing. In 2020 we're focusing on making building preparations for climate change a standard practice.
Passive House, a high performance energy standard with health and resilience benefits, was identified as a promising way to build efficient, healthy homes.
Scale and Grow MassSave Passive House trainings and incentives are now available. We also provide ongoing trainings as well as meeting with our Energy Cohort to continue to drive the adoption of Passive House. We continue to promote the adoption of Passive House, balancing the cost with the scarcity of existing affordable housing subsidy.
Research and Design
Pilot Our Passive House Forum brought the discussion to 300 industry stakeholders with the help of our many cosponsors and lead sponsor Mass Housing. This forum inspired the implementation of MassCEC's Passive House Design Challenge, which incentivised eight affordable housing developers to pilot Passive House Projects.
We partnered with experts in the implementation of Passive House and brainstormed ways to make it more available for builders. At the same time we researched existing promising practices and lifted them up.
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Are we ready for the impact of climate change? What's Next?
Resilience in Affordable Housing Research and Design
At our Resiliency Forum in 2019 we heard from national and local resiliency experts and multifamily affordable housing developers about how they are preparing buildings and communities for extreme heat, flooding, power outages, and other climate change-related disasters. Preparing for the unexpected is more important than ever, and related plans can be adapted to changing conditions and site-specific needs.
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Scale and Grow
n partnership with MassHousing, HUD, and TheFunders’ Network, we started piloting Climate Resiliency and Emergency Preparedness Planning grants in 2019. This expanding focus on resiliency will enable us to support affordable housing owners in planning protection for their properties- and communities located in flood zones-, heat islands and other vulnerable areas.
Our green initiatives are driving sustainability and resiliency in affordable housing
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Rebuilding Local Fields
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he NFL Foundation Grassroots Program with LISC provides neighborhood-based organizations with financial and technical assistance to improve local football fields. The program is a partnership of the National Football League Foundation, which provides funding, and LISC, which provides technical assistance and manages the program. Locally, LISC Boston has worked with community partners to resurface 11 football fields, investing over $1.5 million in local communities from Dorchester and Chelsea to Mattapan and Lynn since 1998.
Madison Park Athletic Complex
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n May 2019, we announced a grant to Madison Park High School and Athletic Complex for a new synthetic turf football field thanks in part to a $250,000 grant from the New England Patriots through the NFL Foundation Grassroots Program. The grant from the Patriots, the NFL Foundation, and LISC to the Fund for Parks and Recreation in Boston will benefit area high schools and residents from the neighboring communities of Roxbury, the South End, Fenway, Mission Hill, and Jamaica Plains. With the funding, the City is able to move forward with its plans to renovate the worn, current field for use by individuals, schools, sports leagues, and community recreation.
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Vicente's Supermarket in Brockton is working with its neighbor the Brockton Neighborhood Health Center to bring nutrition education to patients with diabetes and other health issues.
The health center was financed through the LISC Healthy Futures Fund.
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Economic Opportunity
Boston Builds Credit
We are entering the second year of our Boston Builds Credit (BBC) partnership with the United Way and the City of Boston's Office of Financial Empowerment. We have pledged to help 25,000 Boston residents attain a prime credit score by 2025. We aim to help the more than 30% of Boston residents with either unscored or poor credit scores.
At our one year convening Boston Medical Center Employee Rosemary Brown shared her experience with the Working Credit program, which was offered to her as an employee benefit through BBC.
Consumers with low or no credit will pay an average of $200,000 more in interest and fees during their lifetimes.
Credit Building for Entrepreneurs
Meet Jenny Geffrard, the new small business credit coach hired by our partner, the Ujima Project. We are proud to partner with the Boston Ujima Project to bring credit literacy to more Bostonians.
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Financial Opportunity Centers LISC Boston supports two local LISC Financial Opportunity Centers (or “FOCs”): Jewish Vocational Services (JVS Boston) and The Roxbury Center for Financial Empowerment. These FOCs provide career counseling, one-on-one financial coaching and education, and low-cost financial products to help build credit, savings and assets.
In 2019, Citi Foundation and Citizens Bank supported our LISC Bridges-to-Career Opportunities (BCO) programs. These programs focus on providing career training and industry certifications. Program graduates include those entering the healthcare industry.
At the LISC Story Slam Horace participated in the Story Slam representing JVS’s Bridges to College and Careers Program. After taking part in the program, he was hired as an IT support representative at a large firm. For his story, Horace used a spoon as a prop to explain how important it is to persevere and chip away at challenges one spoonful at a time. That was a lesson he learned at JVS . Horace was awarded "The Loud and Proud" award by the audience. To learn more about the LISC Story Slam see page 22.
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Kiva Small Business Loans
iva brings afforable loans to entrepreneurs who would not K otherwise be able to borrow from traditional lenders. Kiva's model uses social underwriting- reviewing borrower's character and reputation- instead of credit scores to allow access to business capital. We have partnered with Kiva to establish a network of trustees, who help us sponsor entrepreneurs with our 1:1 funding match.
Community Driven Small Business Glass artist Tracy Barbosa has long been active in her community of New Bedford, spearheading public art projects and community events. When she wanted to expand her business local Kiva Trustee, CEDC New Bedford, sponsored her Kiva loan. She was able to secure a loan of $10,000 to help her hire an executive administrator and expand her custom glass business, Duende Glass Studio.
At the LISC Story Slam Teresa Thompson Maynard, the owner of Sweet Teez Bakery, shared how she created her business out of a love of baking. To get her business off the ground, Teresa was sponsored and supported by Commonwealth Kitchen and secured a Kiva Microloan through LISC. Story Slam attendees were treated to Sweet Teez’s cupcakes, brownies, and desserts as part of the event.
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To learn more about the LISC Story Slam see page 22.
4th Annual Pitch Contest
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his November we held our 4th Annual Local Founders Stage event, a small business pitch competition. Local Founders Stage was created in order to highlight the innovation that exists within communities of color and allow entrepreneurs the opportunity to showcase their business ideas and compete for cash prizes to support their business. This year we teamed up with the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA) to host the pitch contest during their Mass Black Expo. Our sponsor Citizen's Bank provided prizes for the winners in both early stage and growth stage categories.
"This competition allowed me to answer the kind of questions investors would be interested in. The prize money will help develop and implement a digital marketing strategy. Because of this contest, I know I am personally better prepared for more opportunities." -Paulette Ngachoko
Founder, Hapi African Gourmet 2nd place, Early Stage Competition
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Capacity Building
For over four decades, LISC has invested in and cultivated deep working relationships with Community Development Corporations (CDCs) in Boston and, over time, across the Commonwealth. We fund, support, and advise CDCs, shaping practices in the field with them and partnering to advance their work to improve communities. We leverage federal funding and private donations to support this work.
A Learning Community As a program of the Massachusetts Association of CDCs, the Mel King Institute for Community Building provides comprehensive training sessions and other programs for CDC staff and community development practitioners. This year, the Institute celebrated its 10th anniversary. LISC Boston is proud to be a co-founder, continued supporter, collaborator, and funder of the Institute.
LISC AmeriCorps
LISC's Americorps program has been building local community development talent for 25 years. Our members work with CDCs and nonprofit organizations to expand their capacity, develop new programs, and amplify their impact. During their service term, members receive training through the Mel King Institute. Many serve in the communities where they live. In 2019, LISC placed 8 members at 8 sites throughout the Commonwealth.
Member Spotlight: Jose Cedaino
As a resident of Somerville, Jose applied to be a LISC AmeriCorps member to join a nonprofit organization focused on helping people in his neighborhood. Originally from the Dominican Republic with a degree in business and years of experience working in hospitality management services, Jose helped Somerville Community Corporation expand their one-on-one financial coaching services in Spanish. He looks forward to trainings and what will be a new career for him in community development.
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The LISC Story Slam
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n November, we hosted our first annual LISC Story Slam where we handed the mic over to community members and listened to personal stories from residents, community members, and our non-profit partners. Their stories reflect the challenges and the joys that we experience and that our partners in community development experience every day. We have highlighted some of these stories throughout this report.
Opportunity Zones In Massachusetts...
138 zones 79 communities
Impact Grants
18% rural 48% gateway cities
In 2019, LISC awarded Opportunity Zone Impact Grants to seed inclusive investment in seven Massachusetts communities. LISC launched the grant program to support the development and implementation of proactive, communitydriven strategies for investment in neighborhoods with federally designated Opportunity Zones. Five of the grants went to Gateway Cities (Lawrence, Worcester, Revere, Brockton, and Holyoke), one to Somerville and one to the Boston neighborhood of Roxbury.
At an Opportunity Zones discussion we held with our partners BECMA and the Ujima Project, we focused on how the program could be utilized in Dorchester.
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Our Local Advisory Comittee Chair
Elizabeth Gruber, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
Members
Patricia Belden, President, POAH Communities Timothy Burrill, Vice President, Community Development Market Manager, Citizens Bank Tracy Corley, Transit Oriented Development Fellow, MassINC Sheila Dillon, Director, City of Boston Department of Neighborhood Development Joe Kriesberg, President & CEO, MA Association of Community Development Corporations Lisa Joyner, Community Development Manager, TD Bank Katherine Lacy, Member, Board of Directors, Clipper Ship Foundation Richard Manson, Vice President, LISC Nancy McCafferty, Senior Relationship Manager, Massachusetts Housing Partnership Alana Murphy, Director of Policy, MA Department of Housing and Community Development Richard Thal, Executive Director, Jamaica Plain Neighborhood Development Corporation Antonio Torres, Relationship Manager, Mass Housing Soni Gupta, Director of Neighborhoods and Housing, The Boston Foundation
Our local advisory board members explore work and collaboration spaces at the Fairmount Innovation Lab, an incubator for minority owned businesses in Dorchester.
New Member Spotlight Meet our newest board member, Tracy Corley, Transit Oriented Development Fellow at MassINC. Tracy recently invited LISC Boston Executive Director Karen Kelleher onto her podcast, Gateways, to discuss the impact of opportunity zones on community development.
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Our Supporters Thank you to our funders and supporters who make all of our work possible
AAFCPAs Bank of America Charitable Foundation Patricia Belden Black Economic Council of Massachusetts (BECMA) Boston Capital Foundation The Boston Foundation Boston Private Brookline Bank Capital One Citi Foundation Citizens Bank City of Boston Howard Cohen Commonwealth of Massachusetts Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)
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Davis Square Architects, Inc. Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) Keri Nicole Dillman Edward M. Doherty Energy Foundation Federal Reserve Bank of Boston Funders' Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities Grove Hall Trust Ramon Greenberg Harvard University The Hyams Foundation JPMorgan Chase Kevin P. Martin & Associates Klein Hornig, LLP Massachusetts Clean Energy Center Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources (DOER) Massachusetts Growth Capital Corporation MassDevelopment MassHousing Massachusetts Housing Investment Corporation Massachusetts Housing Partnership Metropolitan Area Planning Council Movember and Prevention Institute Northeastern University Partners HealthCare People's United Bank People's United Community Foundation of Eastern Massachusetts Preservation Of Affordable Housing, Inc. Santander Bank, N.A. David Ray Deborah Silva Richard Thal TD Bank, N.A. TD Charitable Foundation U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Washington Trust Charitable Foundation
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Webster Bank WinnCompanies
CITC
(Community investment Tax Credit) #CDCsWork
The Community Investment Tax Credit program allows donors to double their impact by providing them with a 50% refundable state tax credit. This program supports a broad array of community and economic development activities which are determined in partnership with the local community. LISC is one of two community support organizations working through the CITC program to build the capacity of certified community development corporations (CDCs) across the Commonwealth. CITC support of LISC helps us provide programs, financing, trainings, and other support for CDCs. CITC contributions may be applied to a particular community, project, or overall programs at the request of a donor. This donor program is open to individuals, nonprofit organizations, and corporations. Donors may utilize this program even if they have no tax liability or if they live outside of Massachusetts, in which case they are eligible to receive a refund in the amount of the credit. The minimum contribution is $1,000. Credits are available on a firstcome, first-served basis. For more information and instructions for how to donate, visit www.lisc.org/Boston/CITC or call 617.410.4343. Icons from the Noun Project by: Made by Made Edwin PM Mat fine Iconforyou Smalllike P Thanga Vignesh
Photography by LISC Staff &: Darlene DeVita Studio: pp. 1,3,8,11,16,18,24
Jeffrey Stevensen Photography: pp. 3
Llyr Johansen for MassINC: pp. 23
LISC Year in Review Design by: Jamie Kelleher
75 Kneeland St, Boston, MA 02111 www.lisc.org/boston BostonLISC@lisc.org 617-338-0411