LISC Bay Area

Exciting news! LISC has teamed up with The DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation to kick off a new funding round for the Game On-Community Places to Play Initiative! Nonprofits nationwide are eligible to apply for grants of up to $100K to build or renovate sports facilities for youth in low-to-moderate income communities. Learn more and apply by August 15: https://www.lisc.org/our-initiatives/sports-recreation/game-on/

What if some of the most promising sites for new housing are already owned by community institutions?

A new Guardian article explores how faith-based organizations are using underutilized land to build housing, part of a growing “Yes in God’s Backyard” movement.

Our Faith and Housing work supports this exact model, helping organizations navigate development, access capital, and move projects forward.

As the region continues to face a deep housing shortage, partnerships like these are an important piece of the solution.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/29/yigby-churches-build-housing-amid-shortage

Putting the ‘lord’ in ‘landlord’: US churches step up to build housing amid shortage The ‘Yes in God’s Back Yard’ movement sees churches across the country develop their underutilized land into affordable housing

Meet Noni Session, executive director of West Oakland-based East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative (EB PREC), a land and housing investment fund helping lead the revitalization of the historic 7th Street Corridor, a stretch from Wood St. on the west to Brush St. on the east.

With support from LISC Bay Area and Kaiser Permanente, EB PREC has led the multi-year initiative 7th Street Thrives to improve infrastructure, lease commercial space, center collective community action, and restore cultural ownership in the area.

The initiative kicked off with the acquisition of Esther's Orbit Room, a historic arts and music venue. EB PREC celebrated a major project milestone in December, starting a year-long construction phase to renovate Esther’s Orbit Room into a community-owned arts and business ecosystem that honors the space’s cultural legacy.