The “Grace” of Growing Up in Mutual Self-Help Housing: Q&A with Nadia Villagrán

In honor of Hispanic/Latinx Heritage Month, we spoke with Rural LISC's Nadia Villagran, to learn about her experience growing up in a mutual self-help community, and how it shaped her family's lives, her own world view and her career as a community developer and a Latina leader in rural California.

In Rural Texas, Seeding Small Businesses, and Generational Wealth, with the Help of Kiva—and a Kiva Trustee

Kiva loans supported by LISC are a lifeline of zero interest capital to dozens of micro-business owners in underserved places across the country. But just as critical to the loan’s success as an entrepreneur’s dreams and drive is the role of the Kiva trustee—a trusted, community-based partner who supports borrowers from application and business development all the way to loan repayment. Joseph Ceasar, founder and CEO of Legacy Institute for Financial Education in rural Lufkin, TX is an exemplary Kiva trustee, on a mission to bring financial know-how and stability and generational wealth-building back to his community.

Centering Students, Truth and Innovation

As students across the country return to school this month, the LISC Charter School Financing team reflects on the challenges facing its portfolio schools as they work to create authentically safe, empowering and anti-racist learning communities. It’s a journey that parallels our own at LISC as we enact our commitment to racial equity and justice, inclusivity and transparency.