With support from the
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), four non-profit service organizations in the region have opened LISC Financial Opportunity Centers (FOC), or grant-funded programs that will bolster employment, financial and public benefits counseling services offered to low-income individuals and families. LISC, a national organization, has invested more than $9 billion in cities across the U.S., including more than $32 million in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Region.
The FOCs underscore its commitment to enhancing Queen City communities and beyond.
"Financial opportunity centers are part of LISC's Sustainable Communities approach to comprehensive community development," says Kathy Schwab, executive director of LISC Greater Cincinnati & Northern Kentucky. "We can't help communities recover from economic distress if we don't help families achieve financial stability."
In 2010, LISC was awarded a $4.2 million grant from a federal initiative called the Social Innovation Fund. Cincinnati was on the list of the cities to receive a share of such funding, and, as Schwab explains, research pointed LISC GCNKY to the following four non-profits:
• Brighton Center (awarded $145,000), which champions family support and services
• Cincinnati Works (awarded $100,000), which champions employment services
• Santa Maria Community Services (awarded $145,000), which advocates the revitalization of Price Hill
• Urban League of Greater Cincinnati (awarded $125,000), which advocates self-efficiency and entrepreneurship while engaging African-American and other at-risk populations
"This grant allows them to provide more services and achieve greater success," Schwab says. "These particular groups understand the concept of financial opportunity centers and are willing to adapt to this business model."
She says FOCs tie into LISC's definition of comprehensive community development.
"It isn't just about bricks and mortar. It's about the overall health of the community," she says. "People need jobs, people have health issues, people need good schools and green places to play … that's the comprehensiveness of it."
Wonda Winkler is associate operating officer at Brighton Center. She says the LISC grant will help the center bundle its services in a more deep and meaningful way.
"It's more than just helping people get a job," she says. "It's about also helping them understand their budget and understand what kind of resources are out there as they look toward financial stability.
"The more people are building assets - for example, home ownership - the more invested they are in their community."
Writer: Rich Shivener
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