LISC awards grants to three WyCo organizations

News Release

Greater Kansas City Local Initiative Support Corp (LISC) has announced the first round of 2013 grants to Kansas City area nonprofit organizations as a part of its successful mission to redevelop distressed urban-core neighborhoods.

Three Wyandotte County groups are receiving funding.

Downtown Shareholders - $130,000

(Two grants) To support the Self-Supporting Municipal Improvement District in Downtown Kansas City, Kan.  Funding will be used for costs associated with the district's cleaning and security ambassadors, and provide support for a full-time director at Downtown Shareholders, to coordinate the work of the SSMID and implementation of the updated Quality of Life Plan for Downtown Kansas City, Kan., with an emphasis on using the new transit center as an economic development catalyst and the completion of the "1,000 Rooftops Initiative."

CHWC, Inc. - $64,000

(Two grants) Will enable a full-time community organizer to continue implementing community safety and youth programming in St. Peter/Waterway neighborhood in Kansas City, Kan., as well as play an important role in ongoing housing and park development in the neighborhood.  Funding is also designated to partially fund the installation of lighting in Waterway Park.

KC Healthy Kids - $40,000

Grant to fund a full-time community organizer for the NeighborhoodsNOW community of Douglass-Sumner.  The organizer will coordinate a wide range of neighborhood activities with an emphasis on healthy food and lifestyles programming."

These grants represent our strong commitment to Kansas City neighborhoods and their vital future," said Julie Porter, Greater Kansas City LISC Executive Director. "In many cases, these grants provide for stable employment and critical operational expenses that are difficult to come by. In addition, the grants support programs and projects that would not be possible without our funding; and yet, they are the foundation to revitalizing neighborhoods."

Since 2006, LISC has been at the forefront of the shift to strategically focus resources into targeted neighborhoods for maximum impact. LISC provides a successful model for other collaborative efforts that want to make effective investments in the urban core.

A 2012 assessment of the LISC signature program, NeighborhoodsNOW, shows a positive link between comprehensive redevelopment efforts by LISC and the health and well-being among residents and neighborhoods.