Kansas City Selected as a “Sustainable Communities” Pilot Site

October 27, 2007 - Speaking at an event to launch the NeighborhoodsNOW Quality of Life Plan plans, Michael Rubinger, President and CEO of Local Initiatives Support Corporation, cemented National LISC’s long-term commitment to Kansas City with his announcement that Greater Kansas City LISC has been chosen as a pilot site for LISC’s new Sustainable Communities program. 

“In 2005, LISC engaged in an extensive strategic

planning process to formally take on a more comprehensive approach to neighborhood work," explained Rubinger. "The result of this planning process is a commitment by LISC to work toward communities that offer the positive environments needed to ensure that all residents of varied income levels are provided the opportunities and tools to build assets, participate in the benefits inuring to their communities and become part of the mainstream economy. We are calling these places Sustainable Communities.

“LISC will move forward with this strategy, by focusing resources in a select number of local program sites that are best equipped to implement a targeted, comprehensive revitalization strategy. Kansas City has been chosen as one of these 11 pilot sites.”

According to Rubinger, Greater Kansas City LISC has the key characteristics necessary for implementing a Sustainable Communities initiative: 

• a history of significant financial support from both private and public sectors

• policy and program support from local government

• access to a strong and capable cadre of local nonprofit and for-profit partners

• successfully launch a targeted initiative (NeighborhoodsNOW)

• engaged neighborhoods around a sustainable vision

• a proven track record of success

What does this mean to Kansas City? Additional resources - financial and programmatic - will be directed to the NeighborhoodsNOW program being implemented in ten urban core neighborhoods. 

“This is great news for Kansas City area neighborhoods,” said Julie Porter, Executive Director of Greater Kansas City LISC. “Not only do we anticipate additional funding, but our staff will benefit from increased engagement with National LISC and other Sustainable Communities sites. Greater Kansas City LISC will benefit from additional consulting assistance and targeted program support, that will aid us with implementing the Quality of Life plans. The new Sustainable Communities plan will also provide opportunities to enhance our measurement practices including more qualitative models of process and outcomes documentation and resources to help us better “tell our story” of community progress and change in human terms.”

Julie added, “I cannot stress enough how important the support of the Kansas City community was to our selection as a Sustainable Communities site. Our donors were actively involved in the design of NeighborhoodsNOW and they continually challenge us toward tangible progress. With that continued support and now as a Sustainable Communities site, I’m confident that NeighborhoodsNOW will accelerate positive, comprehensive change in our urban core neighborhoods.”

For more information, contact Julie Porter, Exeuctive Director, at 816.753.0055 , ext 12