What LISC Chicago does

LISC Chicago is a local office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) founded in 1979 and headquartered at 28 Liberty Street, New York. LISC Chicago operates as part of LISC's 37-office national network, working in the Chicago region to deploy flexible capital, technical assistance, and capacity-building resources to local nonprofit developers, small businesses, charter schools, and community-based organizations serving under-resourced communities. The organization's core products span four pillars: Lending (flexible loans to projects in low-income areas), Capacity Building (strategic support and grants for local community groups), Impact Notes (impact investment instruments for institutional and individual investors), and Investment Companies (equity investments through wholly-owned affiliates LISC Fund Management, NEF, and Broadstreet). Underlying technology consists of a CDFI lending, grants administration, and impact tracking platform supporting the national office network.

LISC Chicago's business model is that of a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit CDFI. Revenue is generated through transaction fees on lending, equity returns from investment affiliates, and — most importantly — recurring grants and philanthropic contributions from corporations, foundations, and individual donors. Capital is supplied by a concentrated set of major institutional funders including JPMorganChase, MacKenzie Scott, Wells Fargo, the MacArthur and Ford Foundations, Citi, Bank of America, and The Chicago Community Trust. Since 1979, LISC has invested $38 billion ($1.8B grants, $7B loans, $29B equity) catalyzing $102 billion in total development, 506,000+ affordable homes, and 82.5 million square feet of retail, community, and educational space. LISC holds an AA- credit rating from S&P — a first for the CDFI industry — and has been named to the ImpactAssets 50 for ten consecutive years. LISC Chicago, as a local office, is staffed by 1–10 employees per the firmographic record, serving the Chicago region with capital deployment, technical assistance, and program services including the Financial Opportunity Center network and Sports & Youth Development initiatives funded by partners such as DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation.

Name

LISC Chicago

Legal name

Local Initiatives Support Corporation

Website

https://lisc.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

LISC Chicago is a local office of LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation), a national nonprofit CDFI founded in 1979. It deploys flexible loans, equity, grants, and technical assistance to nonprofit developers, small businesses, and community organizations serving under-resourced Chicago communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Development Financial Services

NAICS

Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Savings Institution, Federally Chartered (6035)

akta.pro primary industry

Community Development Credit Unions (CDCUs) (FSABAEAC)

Keywords

• Community development lending
• Affordable housing finance
• CDFI financial services
• Community capacity building
• Impact investment notes

Headquarters

HQ city

Chicago

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Lending: LISC provides flexible loans to local nonprofit developers, small businesses, and service providers who may not be able to get credit in the conventional marketplace. Loans have financed affordable housing, supermarkets, schools, health centers, and other vital community projects.
2. Grants and Philanthropic Capital: LISC receives grants and charitable contributions from corporations, foundations, and individual donors to support community development programs, capacity building, and operations.
3. Equity Investments: LISC provides equity primarily through its investment companies to projects in housing, retail, commercial centers, opportunity zones, small businesses, and cultural districts.
4. Capacity Building: LISC provides strategic and organizational support for local community groups through on-the-ground staff and technical assistance, including capacity building grants that support community partners' operations.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

LISC Chicago is the local Chicago office of the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), a national nonprofit Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) founded in 1979. It provides flexible loans, equity investments, grants, and technical assistance to nonprofit developers, small businesses, and community organizations serving under-resourced neighborhoods in the Chicago region. Its offerings are bundled as a package of capital plus capacity-building support delivered through a coordinated national network.

Product overview

LISC operates as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) providing a comprehensive suite of financial products and services to build resilient communities. The core offerings include Lending (flexible loans for community projects), Capacity Building (strategic support and grants for community organizations), Impact Notes (impact investment products), and Investment Companies (equity investments through affiliates including LISC Fund Management, NEF, and Broadstreet). These financial products are complemented by program services such as the Financial Opportunity Center (FOC) network offering financial coaching, the LISC Institute for Community Power providing training, and a Resource Library with educational materials. Since 1979, LISC has invested $38 billion in total, leveraging grants ($1.8 billion), loans ($7 billion), and equity ($29 billion) to create more than 506,000 affordable homes, 82.5 million square feet of retail/community/educational space, and support tens of thousands in employment.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Rural LISC: National program focused on rural community development serving 2,400 rural counties across 49 states and Puerto Rico
• Financial Opportunity Center®
• LISC AmeriCorps
• HBCU Internship Program
• Power Forward Communities

Products and services

• Lending (Flexible Loans)

Quantifiable outcome

• 506,000+ affordable homes and apartments created
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• LISC Fund ManagementcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLISC's investment company that helps bridge the gap between investors and projects in under-resourced communities. One of LISC's core affiliates.
• NEF (National Equity Fund)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLISC affiliate providing equity investments to community development projects across the country.
• BroadstreetcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLISC affiliate that helps bring capital to underserved communities through impact investing solutions.
• Enterprise Community PartnersflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnterprise Community Partners collaborated with LISC and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to publish 'What's Possible: Investing NOW for Prosperous, Sustainable Neighborhoods,' a guidebook to equitable green investing and community development.
• Federal Reserve Bank of New YorkflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with LISC and Enterprise Community Partners to publish 'What's Possible: Investing NOW for Prosperous, Sustainable Neighborhoods,' addressing equitable development and climate solutions.
• Civic BuildersflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerExperienced charter school facilities developer that partnered with LISC to assemble $44 million in NMTC allocation for Comp Sci High in the Bronx.
• SER Jobs for ProgressflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerReceived a $4.8 million construction loan and $8 million NMTC allocation from LISC to create a 52,000 sq ft Workforce Opportunity Center in San Antonio, TX.
• TransUnioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLISC and TransUnion are creating stronger local financial ecosystems through pilot partnerships between Financial Opportunity Centers and community financial institutions, developing specially designed financial products for credit-constrained individuals.
• Build Wealth (Twin Cities FOC Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFOC partner in Twin Cities that teamed with LISC and a local credit union to launch a credit-building account, with pilot members increasing credit scores by an average of 54 points.
• CAPI (Twin Cities FOC Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFOC partner in Twin Cities that partnered with LISC and a local credit union on a credit-building account product launched in late 2025.
• Inclusive Action for the City (IAC) — Los AngelescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity development financial institution and Entrepreneurs of Color Fund partner in Los Angeles providing micro-loans to small businesses, with a focus on food vendors.
• ROC USAflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Rural LISC to help manufactured housing residents purchase their parks. ROC USA's expertise combined with over $2 million in Rural LISC financing helped residents of two Washington State mobile home communities purchase their parks.
• Next CitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with LISC to publish 'Equitable Pathways to Small Business Recovery' — a playbook offering a framework for pursuing equitable pathways to small business success.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Living Cities: Collaborative of major foundations, CDFIs, and corporate funders focused on closing racial income and wealth gaps in cities. A listed top-all-time grantor to LISC and a direct collaborator, while also operating its own blended-capital programs targeting overlapping geographies and outcomes.
• NeighborWorks America: Federally chartered nonprofit that funds and trains a national network of community-based affordable housing and community development organizations. Competes for the same philanthropic, federal, and corporate dollars and addresses overlapping community development outcomes.
• Opportunity Finance Network: National membership organization and intermediary for CDFIs; LISC is one of its largest members. While an intermediary rather than a direct lender, OFN funnels capital to the same borrowers as LISC and competes for federal CDFI Fund awards and impact investor capital.
• Reinvestment Fund: Pennsylvania-based CDFI that deploys capital into affordable housing, charter schools, small business, and community facilities in low-income areas. Operates the same mixed lending-plus-grants-plus-equity model as LISC and competes directly for foundation and federal CDFI Fund allocations.
• Enterprise Community Partners: National nonprofit CDFI and affordable housing developer with the same multi-product model (lending, equity, grants, capacity building). Co-authored LISC's 'What's Possible' publication with the NY Fed, indicating overlapping investor/funder networks and competitive overlap in green and equitable community development.
• Capital Impact Partners: National CDFI headquartered in the DC area, providing loans and capacity building for community development projects including charter schools, health centers, and affordable housing. Highly comparable product set and target borrower profile to LISC.
• Coastal Enterprises Inc. (CEI): One of the largest and longest-standing U.S. CDFIs, focused on rural and small business lending in underserved geographies. Operates a comparable mixed lending + equity model and is regularly recognized alongside LISC on the ImpactAssets 50.
• Low Income Investment Fund (LIIF): National CDFI specializing in financing for charter schools, early childhood education, and community facilities for low-income communities. Directly co-invested with LISC in Comp Sci High NMTC deal and competes for the same foundation + NMTC capital.

Broad incumbents

• Habitat for Humanity International: Large nonprofit affordable housing organization with a national footprint and extensive funder/developer network. Less directly competitive on financial products, but draws on the same corporate, faith-based, and philanthropic capital pools LISC relies on.

Others

• National Equity Fund (NEF): Wholly-owned LISC subsidiary providing equity capital for affordable housing tax credit projects. Included as an adjacent affiliate; not a competitor but illustrates LISC's structural model of housing related CDFIs/spinouts in the broader ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/liscchicago
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/localinitiatives
• Facebookfacebook.com/lisc.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/local-initiatives-support-corporation-lisc
• Instagraminstagram.com/lisc_hq

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about LISC Chicago