Associating Associations: The Power of Convening

While many institutions are interested in enabling neighborhoods, they tend to focus on interventions and see convening as a means to their ends. An even more productive function could be to act as a neutral convener.

Visionary Leadership in Community Building

How do we create a culture, a way of being together that affirms our relatedness? Peter talks with Nicole Farkouh about visionary leadership, personal versus communal transformation and building community in organizations, neighborhoods and beyond.

Restorative Practices

How using the principles and practices of restorative justice builds capacity in communities and, in effect, gets justice out of courthouses and into neighborhoods.

REGISTRATION IS OPEN FOR the Open Streets Summit 2018 in New Orleans!

The Open Streets Project is partnering with Walk Bike Places and the City of Gretna to deliver an educational Open Streets Summit in Gretna and New Orleans, from September 15-16 2018. Summit Description The Summit will feature a behind the scenes tour of the City of Gretna’s inaugural open streets program, as well as breakout sessions, networking opportunities, and a World Café with open streets champions and organizers from across the continent. The Summit will provide inspiration and practical tips for both -novice and experienced- open streets organizers and supporters from public health, transportation, planning, public space, and policymaking fields....

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Open Streets Project Revamped

The Open Streets Project has undergone some changes over the last year. We bid a sad farewell to project co-founder, the Alliance for Biking & Walking, who are moving on to other things, and we happily welcomed a new partner, international Open Streets leader 8 80 Cities. We are excited for all the possibilities and energy this partnership will bring.

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A Grocery Store Stocks Fresh Food, and Jobs, in a Toledo Community That Can Use Both

Mark Zaitona, who immigrated from Iraq 20 years ago, has created three grocery stores—in Flint and Detroit, MI, and now in Toledo, OH—that bring fresh food, quality jobs and commercial vitality to communities deemed food deserts. An ABC news story profiles his latest enterprise and features Toledo LISC's Kim Cutcher (LISC has invested in two of the stores), who brought an $800,000 below-market loan to the project.

LISC CEO to Congress: Here’s What Opportunity Zones Need To Succeed

Maurice A. Jones testified before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress this week, urging its members to implement Opportunity Zones in ways that will truly benefit Americans in underinvested communities. The policy can spur billions in private investment in the country’s most distressed census tracts and play a major role in closing the opportunity gap, he said. But we need federal tax incentives and other strategies to help the program succeed.

Crowdfunding + LISC Give Small Businesses a Big Boost

Small businesses are a major dynamo of innovation and growth in our economy—they make up more than 99 percent of U.S. enterprises and create two out of every three new jobs. A partnership between LISC and the crowdfunding platform Kiva is connecting small business entrepreneurs across the country with the capital and knowhow they need to succeed.