Local Initiatives Support Corporation
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) Kalamazoo is a local office of the nation’s leading community development support organization, working in Kalamazoo neighborhoods. We help make neighborhoods stronger!
We believe that everyone should have the right to live in safe, prosperous neighbourhoods full of opportunities. Since 1988, LISC Kalamazoo has been working towards this vision by providing funding, financing, and technical assistance to community development corporations, nonprofit developers, and policy and advocacy organizations in Kalamazoo. With LISC’s support, community developers have been able to and will continue to provide affordable housing, spark economic development, and increase access to high-quality education, transportation, and other crucial resources.
LISC Kalamazoo works to identify and evaluate different approaches to organizing its work in community development. The overall goal of this effort is to provide participants with both the tools and the insights on how to make critical choices regarding how, when, and why an organization would want to work collaboratively with others to design, manage, or implement a comprehensive community development strategy.
Strategies We Pursue
- Equip talent in underinvested communities with the skills and credentials to compete successfully for quality income and wealth opportunities.
- Invest in businesses, housing and other community infrastructure to catalyze economic, health, safety and educational mobility for individuals and communities.
- Drive local, regional, and national policy and system changes that foster broadly shared prosperity and well-being.
Kalamazoo LISC invests in these elements:
- Expanding investment in housing and other real estate
- Increasing family income and wealth
- Stimulating economic development
- Providing technical assistance
- Supporting healthy and safe environments and lifestyles, and
- Placing AmeriCorps Members with our partners.
Together, with residents and partners, LISC Kalamazoo forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across our community; making the greater Kalamazoo area a great place to live, work, visit, do business and raise families.
Kalamazoo Office
201 W. Kalamazoo Ave, Room 310
Kalamazoo, MI 49007
Chuck Vliek, Director
cvliek@lisc.org
(269) 459-4120
LISC National Headquarters
28 Liberty Street, Floor 34
New York, NY 10005
Phone: (212) 455-9800
Fax: (212) 682-5929
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