In 1995, the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) introduced Rural LISC, an organization aimed at extending LISC's community development efforts beyond urban areas to include rural communities. Rural LISC collaborates with over 140 rural community-based organizations and five financial intermediaries, aiding them in identifying local challenges and opportunities and providing tailored support. Their efforts assist rural communities in more than 2,400 counties across 49 states and Puerto Rico.
Rural LISC aims to support rural community-based organizations through programs and collaborations in the following areas:
- creative capital – loans, grants, and other financial support opportunities to assist small businesses, housing, and community development projects
- broadband & infrastructure – strategies and efforts to expand affordable and reliable broadband internet infrastructure to rural communities
- workforce & small business - efforts to build stronger community ecosystems that focus on workforce development programs, wealth building strategies, and small business solutions
- disaster solutions – includes focus on small business preparedness and recovery, support for community-based recovery efforts, technical assistance to LISC network partners to support their participation of local disaster-related recovery efforts
- housing – Rural LISC provides financial, technical, and knowledge-based resources to support community based efforts to rebuild and repurpose outdated infrastructure and buildings to increase development of higher quality and affordable housing in rural communities
Resources
Rural LISC Fact Sheet (2022) - PDF
Rural LISC News
Rural LISC Seminar