Major Gift Will Support Community Development Agenda of National Nonprofit
5 Jun 2007 - LISC
Contact: Stephanie O’Keefe (LISC) |
For Immediate Release:June 5, 2007 |
LISC announces $5 million gift from Lisa and Dick Cashin. Prep for Prep, a youth leadership program, among the beneficiaries.
NEW YORK – Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), the nation’s leading community development support organization, today announced that it is receiving a $5 million gift from Lisa and Dick Cashin for general operating support over the next five years.
Lisa Cashin, LISC’s chief loan underwriter, will leave that position in June and become a member of the company’s national board of directors. Dick Cashin, her husband, is managing partner of One Equity Partners, the private equity business of JPMorgan Chase.
In addition to general operating support, the gift will be used in collaboration with Prep for Prep, a nonprofit that identifies talented minority students, prepares them for placement in independent schools, and provides a sense of community, peer support, post-placement services and leadership development opportunities. Starting this summer, 10 Prep for Prep students will receive financial internships at LISC and New York City community development corporations, where they will be assigned mentors, participate in workshops, and engage in the actual work of community revitalization. The Cashins are longtime supporters of Prep for Prep.
“Lisa has helped LISC earn its reputation as a place that delivers,” said LISC Board Chairman Robert E. Rubin, “and we are grateful to her and her husband for their contribution to the revitalization of communities, both urban and rural, all over America.”
Cashin has been LISC’s chief loan underwriter for the last 19 years. During her tenure, LISC’s loan activity has increased from roughly $13 million annually to $170 million. She has decided to leave her position as loan underwriter in June, but will maintain her ties to LISC as a member of its national board.
“Having worked closely with her for most of those 19 years, there is no single person more directly responsible for the high quality of our loan program and the outstanding performance of our portfolio than Lisa,” said Michael Rubinger, LISC’s president and CEO. “It’s difficult to express what an incredible loss this will be for all of us who have come to rely so heavily on her excellent judgment, outstanding technical knowledge, unwavering reliability and good humor.”
The Cashin gift comes at a key moment for LISC as it embarks on an ambitious sustainable communities strategy in which it will expand its traditional focus of working directly with community development corporations to developing partnerships with a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit organizations that support the larger issue of comprehensive community health and sustainability.
“Dick’s and my gift is both a direct result of my admiration for my fellow employees and an expression of confidence in the methods that LISC brings to revitalizing neighborhoods,” said Cashin. “I am thrilled to not only be able to translate these feelings into a tangible expression of thanks, but also to continue our work together.”
About LISC
LISC combines corporate, government and philanthropic resources to help nonprofit community development corporations revitalize underserved neighborhoods. Since 1980, LISC has raised more than $7.8 billion to build or rehab nearly 215,000 affordable homes and develop 30 million square feet of retail, community and educational space nationwide. For more information, visit www.lisc.org.
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Article Type: Press Release