The Local Initiatives Support Corporation is a US non-profit community development financial institution that supports community development initiatives in 35 cities and across 2,100 rural counties in 44 states. Created in 1979 from a conversation between Ford Foundation executives to answer how to most effectively help America’s declining cities, LISC was created to “identify competent leaders in communities around the nation and give them as much money and support as possible.“

LISC provides housing development loans – preservation, predevelopment, acquisition, construction, bridge, and permanent – in addition to working capital for nonprofit borrowers. Since 1987, LISC’s Los Angeles office has invested $871 million into local communities, helping create over 10,515 affordable homes and apartments. Learn more about their affordable housing loans here.