Building the Capacity of the Community Development Field
First Responder Initiative: Importance of Diversified Funding Base
In April, LISC NYC hosted a roundtable in partnership with Capital One, Cause Effective and Con Edison, featuring a panel of nonprofit executive directors and board members that have successfully diversified their organizations’ funding bases during this tough economy.
The panelists told stories highlighting how they increased fundraising during the height of the recession. Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation was able to raise over $150,000 in the Spring of 2009 and broadened their network, making new friends that led them to a $10,000 grant from a private foundation. Pratt Area Community Council
told of their triumph of coming in 50% over their goal for their 45th Anniversary Celebration. The event highlighted the importance of our First Responder Initiative as we assist our CDC partners in changing their business models to have strong funding bases for a more sustainable future. Cause Effective created short videos of the panelists’ stories. View Cause Effective's Youtube videos here.
Featured panelists included: Michelle Neugebauer, Executive Director, Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation; Mariadele Priest, Vice President, Capital One Bank (Chair, Pratt Area Community Council); Damaris Reyes, Executive Director, Good Old Lower East Side (GOLES) and Patricia Swann, Senior Program Officer, The New York Community Trust, Moderator.
Cashin Fellows 2010
In June, LISC NYC welcomed twelve students for the fourth year of the Cashin Community Development Fellowship program. The Cashin Community Development Fellowship was established with a generous donation from LISC's former Director of Underwriting and now Board member Lisa Cashin and her husband Dick. Cashin Fellows are students and alumni of Prep for Prep
, a New York based program that places gifted minority students in some of the nation's most prestigious and academically rigorous independent schools. The fellowship aims to introduce the field of community development to this talented group and generate interest in the industry. This year, four Fellows will work in the LISC New York City and National offices and eight with LISC NYC's community-based nonprofit partners. Fellows gain experience in the community development field and are provided at no cost to the CDCs. Throughout the summer, the fellows participate in a training series, a guided neighborhood tour, and a mentoring program to further their professional development and interest in the field. At the culmination of their internships they deliver a final presentation outlining their work and the effects of the program on their professional goals. This year’s
Cashin Fellows will undertake projects including: development of a tourism incentive program, creation of green initiative resource guides, marketing retail areas to community merchants, and creation of innovation multimedia communications materials.
Resources for the FieldHome Depot Sponsors Green Initiatives in Bedford-Stuyvesant and East Harlem
LISC NYC is very pleased to have received funding from the Home Depot Foundation, to help “green” two affordable housing preservation projects. A grant of $40,000 will cover the cost of solar panels, to supply thermodynamic heat and host water, in a 52-unit residential building in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. Bridge Street Development Corporation
, a local LISC NYC partner, acquired the building at HUD foreclosure auction, and has stabilized and rehabilitated the formerly severely distressed property, in order to provide quality, affordable housing to its residents. A second, $10,000 grant will be used by Hope Community
, an East Harlem CDC, to support planning for the green rehab of sixty-three affordable rental apartments in five buildings. This scatter-site project – “Muscoota” – was developed forty years ago through “sweat equity” efforts and is Hope Community’s oldest project. LISC NYC is grateful to the Home Depot Foundation for helping us advance the goals of our Green Initiative: to reduce overall energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, while enhancing affordability for residents, by incorporating green and energy efficient features into housing projects wherever possible.
LISC NYC NewsDenise Scott Honored by the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS
On June 10th, the National Black Leadership Commission on AIDS (NBLCA) held its annual Choose Life Awards Gala at Gotham Hall. Among this year’s four honorees was LISC NYC’s own Denise Scott – who was selected for her commitment, as Managing Director of LISC’s NYC program and Vice President of National Equity Fund
, to the creation of supportive housing for people living with HIV/AIDS. In NYC, LISC and NEF have invested in a number of such projects, partnering with sponsors like West Side Federation for Senior and Supportive Housing, Black Veterans for Social Justice and Bowery Residents Committee
. This year’s other honorees were William Lucas, Vice President of PhRMA; George Grisham, President of 1199 SEIU; and Estelle, the Grammy-winning recording artist.
Weatherization Program Advances
We are excited to report that the joint venture partnership established by LISC and Enterprise – working with the City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development – to act as a temporary Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) sub-grantee under contract to New York State’s Div. of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR), is now up and running, and fully staffed.
Community Weatherization Partners LLC (CWP ) has seven staff members – five of them housed at LISC and two housed at Enterprise. At LISC, we welcome Sean Robin, Weatherization Director, Kirsty Greer and David Rozan, Production Coordinators, Wilbur Gonzales, Fiscal Coordinator, and Jessica Boykin, Data Manager.
Community Weatherization Partners, LLC (CWP), which is receiving $15 million in WAP funds authorized through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), will weatherize more than 2,000 units in formerly city-owned multifamily buildings that were redeveloped by community based organizations using LIHTC and other financing. CWP recently hit an important milestone when it ordered initial energy audits in the first two projects to enter the program – one in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and the other in East Harlem, comprising a total of 11 buildings and 155 units. CWP will request audits for another 900 units in 46 buildings over the next six weeks.
New Faces at LISC NYC
Aside from the new Weatherization team, several other new staff members have joined the LISC NYC team in the last six months:
- Adriane Gamble, who joined us in January 2010, is our Community Development Officer for Operations, overseeing operations and finance as well as LISC NYC’s initiative for youth aging out of the foster care system.
- Colleen Flynn came aboard in March as our Community Development Associate working on Capacity-Building and Fundraising.
- Nicholas Martinez just joined us in June as our Legal Community Development Associate, working with our General Counsel Lillyanne Alexander.
All three of these recent staff additions bring diverse skills and experience, and we are very pleased to welcome them to the LISC NYC team!
Spotlight on PolicyNYC Council Considers Prevailing Wage Bill for Building Service Workers
On Tues, May 11th, the NYC Council Finance Committee held a hearing on Intro 18-A, a bill introduced by Councilmember Melissa Mark-Viverito
. The bill would require building service workers to be paid a prevailing wage in buildings either owned or leased by persons or organizations receiving rent or financial assistance of more than $10,000 per year from the City of New York. While supportive of the goal of the legislation – ensuring that building service workers receive a decent wage – LISC NYC testified that the bill, as written, could have unintended negative effects on affordable housing projects. Many affordable housing projects receive tax abatements amounting to more than $10,000 per year, yet were not underwritten to support prevailing wages (which approximate union wage scale), and would be financially and administratively burdened by the requirements of this legislation.
Read our testimony.
For more information about LISC New York City, please visit our website.
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