March 2019
Dear Friend:
 
I’m pleased to announce that two San Diego-based nonprofit agencies have been awarded new funding by LISC National and the Citi Foundation to help connect unemployed and under-employed job seekers to quality jobs.
 
Known as the “Bridges to Career Opportunities Initiative,” the program provides $360,000 over three years, along with technical support to help candidates increase their incomes, improve their credit and raise their standard of living.
 
The local nonprofits are the International Rescue Committee (IRC), which helps new immigrants make the transition to life in San Diego; and the San Diego Housing Commission (SDHC), which works with low- and moderate-income residents to offer affordable housing and career pathways.
 
Specific services offered include skills training and career development, as well as personal finance coaching and continuing education courses to strengthen math and reading skills. 
 
This new funding is part of a $10 million, three-year national effort by the Citi Foundation and LISC National to help spur economic opportunity for thousands of families and individuals here in San Diego.
 
We thank you, Citi Foundation! 
Ricardo Flores
Executive Director
Updates
Community Organizations in San Diego Receive Funding Through the Citi Foundation and LISC to Help Train Workers for Growing Job Sectors
SAN DIEGO - The Citi Foundation and the Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) today announced new funding through the Bridges to Career Opportunities initiative (Bridges) to help connect unemployed and underemployed people in San Diego to quality jobs in growth industries.

Two local nonprofits have been awarded $360,000 over three years and technical support to provide services that help job seekers increase their incomes, improve their credit and raise their standards of living.
San Diego Latino Film Fest
LISC San Diego sponsored a screening of "Soy Cuba" at the 26th annual San Diego Latino Film Festival.

We want to congratulate Ethan Van Thillo, Executive Director of the Media Arts Center (and LISC AmeriCorps alumni) for another successful festival!
News from National
SchoolBuild Webinar Series
All About Location: Choosing the Right Site for your Charter School

Location is an important component of setting your charter school up for success. Whether you are expanding an existing school or starting a new school, there are so many different elements to consider when choosing the right location. Ultimately, your location should be embraced by your school community, meet current and future student demand, all while providing a safe, stimulating, and high-quality environment where students are learning.

Join us on March 28th to learn what to consider when selecting the right site for your charter school. Charter school leaders, CFOs, facility managers, board members, and those who would like to start their own charter school in the future are all welcome.

Date & Time
Thursday, March 28th from 11:00am – 12:00pm PST

Please email schoolbuild@lisc.org with any questions.
LISC Grows: Welcome LISC Atlanta & LISC Charlotte
Dale Royal, a community developer with 30 years’ experience bringing economic development, affordable housing and transportation opportunities to underserved neighborhoods, will be the inaugural executive director of LISC’s newest office in Atlanta, GA. LISC has already invested $18 million in Atlanta for workforce and youth development projects, and our SBA lending affiliate, immito, has just closed its first transformative loan in the city. Royal’s arrival will take that commitment to another level, leveraging his expertise in connecting communities with the capital to help them flourish.
With initial funding from the city, foundations and banks, the new LISC Charlotte office opened its doors last week and announced its first program activity—a $25,000 capacity-building grant for Historic West End Partners, a high-impact local nonprofit. LISC Charlotte expects to invest at least $25 million to promote economic opportunity in the city’s neighborhoods over the next few years. “Our goal is to fund plans and programs that help close the opportunity gap in Charlotte,” said Ralphine Caldwell, LISC Charlotte’s first executive director.
LISC AmeriCorps
AmeriCorps Week 2019
During AmeriCorps Week, LISC Rural hosted LISC AmeriCorps members from across the country in Jackson, Mississippi.

Members received leadership development training. Some of the favorite workshops were cultural competency and public speaking.

AmeriCorps members went on community tours and attended the Mississippi Civil Rights Museum. Learning about community development from a rural perspective was moving.
Member Profiles
A Few Minutes with...
Norma Chavez-Peterson
Executive Director
ACLU San Diego & Imperial Counties 

With more than 20 years of leadership in San Diego’s civil rights community, Norma Chávez-Peterson knows what it takes to defend those individuals and causes whose rights have been violated.

In many ways, that on-going struggle has been led by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), a national non-partisan, non-profit organization whose roots go back nearly a century.

Under her guidance, the ACLU’s San Diego-based staff has grown to some 41 professionals, including the addition of an office in Imperial County a year ago.

A San Diego State University graduate, Chávez-Peterson was named ACLU’s executive director in 2013 after being the organizing director and then associate director. Then as now, her priorities include the causes of immigrant rights, criminal justice reform, and police accountability.