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LISC ANNOUNCES $100K GRANT FROM NINA MASON PULLIAM CHARITABLE TRUST

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LISC Indianapolis has received a grant totaling $100,000 from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. The grant will be used to expand the Centers for Working Families’ Bridges to Success program to provide bridge employment skills training. Built on a model developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Centers for Working Families (CWF) provides people with the tools they need to increase their income, reduce expenses, and build wealth for their families. The CWF network in Indianapolis is composed of eight neighborhood-based centers that transition families from living paycheck to paycheck to investing in their future. The Bridges for Success … Continued

LISC ANNOUNCES $100K GRANT FROM NINA MASON PULLIAM CHARITABLE TRUST

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For Immediate Release: December 11, 2015 LISC ANNOUNCES $100K GRANT FROM NINA MASON PULLIAM CHARITABLE TRUST Indianapolis, Ind. – LISC Indianapolis has received a grant totaling $100,000 from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. The grant will be used to expand the Centers for Working Families’ Bridges to Success program to provide bridge employment skills training. Built on a model developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Centers for Working Families (CWF) provides people with the tools they need to increase their income, reduce expenses, and build wealth for their families. The CWF network in Indianapolis is composed of eight neighborhood-based … Continued

Southside Indy Begins Quality of Life Plan

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The boundaries of productivity and progress on the Southside of Indianapolis have expanded through the unique partnership of Fifth Third Bank, Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and University of Indianapolis. These three entities have partnered to bring an extraordinary Quality of Life Plan to the south side of the city. The proposed focus area covers 4.25 square miles and is bounded by 1-65, I-465 and Raymond and Meridian streets. The area primarily includes University Heights, Gateway Community Alliance, South Village, Friends of Garfield Park and Garfield Park Neighborhood Association. LISC and UIndy are heavily involved in supporting this area’s Quality … Continued

Obama’s Ivy Tech Visit Spotlights Community Development Partnerships

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  It’s exciting to see President Obama celebrating the work of a great partner to LISC like Ivy Tech. The President’s highlighting of the impact that a community college can have on a community has been reflected in how Ivy Tech has been part of local comprehensive community development efforts. The Ivy Tech campus is located in the Mid-North Quality of Life neighborhood, and the college has joined with residents and organizations like the Indianapolis Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Mapleton-Fall Creek CDC, and Near North Development in implementing many community improvement goals. Three years ago, LISC invested $11.2 Million in Federal New Market … Continued

Southside Indy Begins Quality of Life Process

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LISC, INHP, Fifth Third Bank, the City of Indianapolis and University of Indianapolis have partnered to bring a quality of life plan to the south side of the city. The focus area is bound by 1-65 and I-465 and Raymond and Meridian streets. Revitalization efforts will seek to decrease high rates of unemployment and poverty, reduce the amount of abandoned and vacant homes and storefronts, and spur community development and neighborhood engagement. Fifth Third Bank has pledged a $100,000 Strengthening Our Communities grant and LISC and UIndy have committed to raise $70,000 to support an intense study and launch the … Continued

Building Sustainable Communities: Southeast Indianapolis

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New research connects LISC investments in low-income communities to direct gains in employment and income Southeast Indianapolis was one of four areas nationwide chosen for an in-depth case study of neighborhoods in LISC’s Building Sustainable Communities program. The research shows that these neighborhoods saw a 9% increase in job creation, median income, and other economic and education indicators of growth beyond that of similar areas without long-term LISC investment. To learn more, visit the LISC national website, read the Summary Report or the Full Report.

Centered on Success

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Vince “Hoosier” first came to the Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center—long a partner with LISC in delivering much-need community services in West Indianapolis—at the start of 2011 after being laid off due to the economic downturn. He had been referred to the center by a friend, who suggested he enroll in a computer-training course with the hope of learning new skills that would help him get a job. “My first impression of the Mary Rigg Neighborhood Center was a really good one,” said Vince. “Everybody wanted to help me by any means they could. They wanted to hear my goals and … Continued

The Working Poor Should Be Better Off

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“The working poor should be better off than the non-working poor.” So says my good friend and tireless champion for the dispossessed, Gregg Keesling, who runs a very successful social enterprise employing ex-offenders here in Indianapolis. It’s a theme that resonates across the network of LISC-sponsored Financial Opportunity Centers (known as Centers for Working Families in Indianapolis). There’s much rhetoric about why the poor stay poor, but the FOCs are seeing people every day who work for living but seem to get nowhere. It’s a complicated dynamic – partly behavioral but mostly about lack of assets – social capital, educational attainment, … Continued

The State of Financial Security of Hoosier Families

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The Centers for Working Families is LISC’s platform in lifting up low-income families out of poverty and into the economic mainstream by helping families increase earnings and develop assets. The CWF program was featured as part of a guest blog on the Institute for Working Families website to show the need for both private and public sectors to come together and restore economic mobility to Hoosier families. From the Institute for Working Families Blog: GUEST BLOG: New Scorecard Confirms Nearly Half of Hoosiers in a Persistent State of Financial Insecurity By Anne Guthrie: Anne is the Center for Working Families (CWF) … Continued

Applying FOCUS Lessons Learned to Industrial Reuse

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Former industrial properties in the Midwest have frequently been overlooked by investors seeking business locations because they are seldom effectively marketed and/or are challenged by real or perceived deteriorating structures, fragmented ownership, environmental contamination, poor transportation access, and at times, antiquated utility infrastructure. In spite of these barriers, such sites represent a strategic opportunity to expand jobs at scale, especially when carefully chosen based on their opportunity to serve vibrant local economic sectors. By targeting investments on locations most able to accommodate the industry and employment sectors in which Indianapolis is strong, businesses can be attracted that will raise the … Continued

Centers For Working Families

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People living in the urban neighborhoods of Indianapolis need resources to help them get jobs, manage their finances, and gain access to credit, information, and services that can help them advance in life. That’s why LISC, with major support from the Central Indiana Community Foundation, became involved with the Centers for Working Families (CWFs): a national model developed by the Annie E. Casey Foundation to help the working poor develop, grow, and protect their assets. The CWF network in Indianapolis is composed of seven neighborhood-based centers that transition families from living paycheck to paycheck to investing in their future – … Continued

Neighborhood Visionary: Terri Garcia

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Education. Jobs. Affordable housing. These are just some of the things Southeast Community Services and Executive Director Terri Garcia bring to the Near Southeast side of Indianapolis. And for Terri it’s not just a job: it’s a labor of love. “I truly enjoy bringing positive change to Indianapolis’s Near Southeast side. And positive change in this community starts with education. But even though educating people is the foundation of our success stories, we don’t force it on people. We give our residents the tools they need to get educated; they have to take it upon themselves to use them.” A … Continued

Neighborhood Visionary: Phil Tom

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In 1978, Phil Tom came to Indianapolis with a job to do. He had just been named the new pastor at Westminster Presbyterian Church on the Near Eastside, and was excited about the opportunity. But when he arrived, he was surprised at how much the neighborhood had deteriorated. “When I first came to Westminister, there was lots of dilapidated, boarded-up housing. People were leaving the neighborhood, and it just wasn’t a great place to live. So some of us in the community took it upon ourselves to tackle the situation.” Phil and members of his church teamed up with Eastside … Continued

What’s Next for Neighborhoods: A Public Conversation on Jobs

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Buckingham Companies Presents “What’s Next for Neighborhoods: A Public Conversation about Jobs” Tuesday, August 14, 5:30 to 7 p.m. Indiana Landmarks Center Cook Theater 1201 Central Avenue According to the US Census for the period between 2006 and 2010, the average jobless rate in Indianapolis’ urban core was 17% compared to 10% in Marion County. The median household income was $29,000 compared to $43,000 in the county, and the poverty rate was more than double at 27.5%. When unemployment is high, people spend less, basic needs go unmet, local businesses suffer, and crime increases. Core urban neighborhoods are usually hit … Continued