1979 LISC is organized by the Ford Foundation to identify and support 50 to 100 community groups worthy of financial support. By 2004, LISC had served more than 2,800 community development corporations (CDCs) nationwide.

1980 LISC is formally announced on May 23, funded by $10 million from the Ford Foundation and six major corporate donors and lenders. Mike Sviridoff is LISC’s first President.

1982 LISC establishes its first local "areas of concentration" in the South Bronx, Boston and Chicago, based on matching contributions from the private sector.

1984 With the opening of its California program, LISC begins to operate a truly coast-to-coast nationwide program.

1985 Paul S. Grogan succeeds Mike Sviridoff as LISC’s President.

1986 Boston LISC organizes a Neighborhood Development Support Collaborative, the first such local operating support fund for CDCs. This model has since been replicated in 22 cities across the country.

1987 Using the Federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit, LISC creates the National Equity Fund (NEF) with a total capitalization of $15 million;

1988 In partnership with the City of New York, LISC and 10 CDCs begin a massive citywide housing renovation program with the goal of creating 1,000 affordable apartments. Today, more than 20,000 apartments have been produced.

1989 The first national census of CDCs, by the National Congress for Community Economic Development (NCCED), identifies approximately 1,500 CDCs nationwide—a more than sevenfold increase over national estimates in the mid-1970s.

1990 LISC expands to 26 geographic program areas, supporting close to 800 CDCs.

1991 Fifteen foundations and corporations form the National Community Development Initiative (now Living Cities). It is the largest philanthropic collaborative in history, investing $500 million in community development corporations and intermediaries over the next 14 years.

1994 LISC’s new strategic plan calls for the "build-out" of the community development industry nationwide. LISC dedicates technical, financial, and organizational resources to new areas of community development including child care, community safety, organizational development and commercial revitalization.

1995 Rural LISC starts, aiming to demonstrate the value of investing in and through rural CDCs. In ten years it has provided Partner CDCs with close to $482 million, helping them develop better than 13,000 affordable homes and nearly two million square feet of commercial, industrial and community facilities, as well as assist 263 small businesses.

1997 Together with the National Football League Youth Football Fund, LISC starts the NFL Grassroots Program, an initiative to create safe and accessible playing fields in urban neighborhoods.

1998 Spearheaded by Rural LISC, a national coalition of 750 organizations launches Stand Up for Rural America, a campaign to help rural CDCs gain the attention, resources and policy support their work deserves.

1999 Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert E. Rubin becomes Chairman of LISC’s Board of Directors, and Michael Rubinger succeeds Paul S. Grogan as President.

2000 LISC provides start-up capital for the Community Development Trust, the nation’s first real estate investment trust created solely for the purpose of acquiring community development assets.

2001 State Farm Insurance Companies provides LISC with $25 million in grants and loans, the largest single corporate commitment in LISC’s history, to support CDCs’ growing commercial and retail activity.

2002 Supported by the Walton Family Foundation, LISC launches the Educational Facilities Financing Center (EFFC) to finance the building of charter school facilities in low-income communities.

2003 LISC starts a new affiliate—the New Markets Support Company—to invest New Markets Tax Credits in commercial projects such as retail storefronts, industrial and manufacturing buildings, artist space and museums. To date, LISC has received $155 million in investment authority and has invested in nine projects around the country.

2004 LISC has its strongest year ever with over $720 million in grants, loans and equity invested in CDCs and community projects.

2006 LISC begins implementation of its new Strategic Plan — Building Sustainable Communities — to create neighborhoods that are good places to live, do business, work and raise families. LISC establishes a new commercial markets advisory service to spur retail and commercial activity. LISC also establishes the Gulf Region Rebuilding Initiative to aid in the redevelopment of the hurricane-devastated Gulf Coast. LISC reaches $1 billion in neighborhood investment.

2007 LISC establishes a new program to support family income and wealth, centered around Centers for Working Families. LISC reaches $1.1 billion in neighborhood investment, our second consecutive billion-dollar year.

2008 Despite a severe economic downturn, LISC invested $826 million in grants, loans and equity in communities across the country. Green development and family asset building programs expand. Seventeen local LISC programs are fully implementing the Building Sustainable Communities approach.