LISC's Keep It Affordable Academy Program Application

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Keep It Affordable Academy: Description and Purpose

LISC LA is issuing this application in connection with its ongoing series of trainings for real estate developers with a specific focus on affordable housing. LISC LA is expanding its focus to include the preservation of unsubsidized affordable housing (also known as “naturally occurring affordable housing”) with a new program called the Keep It Affordable Academy (the Academy).


The Keep It Affordable Academy will help mission driven organizations preserve unsubsidized affordable housing in communities at high risk of experiencing displacement and gentrification by providing training and technical assistance to help grow organizations’ understanding of affordable housing preservation and financing.


The program’s goals are to:


  •        Accelerate and support the production and preservation of affordable housing;
  •        Train a cohort of affordable housing developers, community land trusts, advocates, elected officials, and municipalities on how to identify unsubsidized affordable housing, expiring HUD-financed properties, and LIHTC-financed properties in their neighborhood
  •        Help participants develop a preservation plan tailored to their community’s needs that includes acquisition and financing strategies;
  •        Work with cohort members to develop and advocate for policy solutions that advance affordable housing acquisition, preservation, asset building strategies, and community ownership models.

The Academy will primarily assist organizations that have a desire to engage in the acquisition and preservation of affordable housing, but have not been able to do this work in the past due to lack of information, funding, or in-house expertise. In particular, LISC LA is interested in applicants with expertise and experience in the following geographic areas: Pico Union, Koreatown, Long Beach, Inglewood, and Hawthorne. The Academy will include the following:
  • Development of a locally-focused preservation plan
  • Half-day workshops held once a month for 5 months beginning February 2021 covering topics such as:

o   Identifying At-Risk Properties

o   Acquisition Funding and Strategies

o   Predevelopment: Assessing Building Needs

o   Resident Engagement and Relocation

o   Legal and Policy Landscape

  •        Networking/Mentoring Opportunities
  •        Financial Structuring Consulting
  •        Support from LISC LA staff

Applicant Qualifications

The LISC LA Keep It Affordable Academy intends to serve affordable housing developers, community land trusts, and other organizations that want to expand their knowledge and capacity to preserve affordable housing. Qualified organizations will meet the following criteria:


  •        Demonstrate that Applicant is one of the following or in the process of becoming one of the following: not-for-profit; minority-led for-profit organization; tenant cooperative; tenant advocate group; community land trust; legal advocate; local government department.
  •        Mission alignment with building or preserving affordable housing;
  •        Demonstrated commitment to affordable housing within leadership of the organization;
  •        Capacity to project manage an acquisition (as demonstrated by a dedicated staff member to manage the project and an organization decision-making structure for undertaking development);
  •        Demonstrate that the Application has one or more people available (including dedicated staff member noted above) to attend all training sessions and actively participate in the technical assistance program.

Application and Program Schedule

Applications shall be received by LISC LA on or before January 14, 2021 provided, however, that LISC LA reserves the right to modify this application in writing by addendum and/or a replacement at any time without prior notice. Additionally, LISC LA reserves the opportunity to interview key staff and board members, if necessary before final selections are made.

Timeline

·        December 15, 2021 – Release of the RFP

·        January 14, 2021 – All responses must be received as instructed above by 5pm PST.

·        February 1, 2021 – LISC LA will inform all Applicants of their status

·        February 4, 2021 – Mandatory Information Session for all groups accepted into the program.

 

For consideration, submit your proposal to LISC LA through this form.

Please reach out to Carla Vasquez-Noriega at cvasqueznoriega@lisc.org or Alex Dawson at adawson@lisc.org if you have any questions.

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1. Basic Organization Information









II. Organization Snapshot






III. Organization Demographics
LISC seeks to collect certain data to measure and evaluate the extent to which we are achieving our mission and goals and to comply with the requirements of our funders, both public and private. Providing this data is optional, and you are under no obligation whatsoever to provide it.  However, if you are willing to provide the requested data, it will help us measure important statistics as we seek to fulfill our mission of working, together with partners, to forge resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America.

Please download and complete this form. Once complete, please upload below.

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IV. Project Information

If yes, please tell us more about one actual or prospective acquisition in your organization's pipeline. If not, please tell us about the type of projects your organization would like to pursue.










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