LISC New Jersey

LISC NJ is excited to be part of the Growing Newark’s Grassroots Small Grants Meet & Greet happening on Wednesday, May 13 from 2–4 PM at Newark Public Library (Centennial Hall)! 🙌🏽

This event brings together community leaders, grassroots organizations, funders, and fiscal sponsors to expand access to funding and strengthen neighborhood‑led work across Newark. Learn about opportunities like Love Your Block!, Prudential Community Grants, Neighborhoods Helping Neighborhoods, and Art Start, while connecting through a panel discussion, resource tables, and networking.

Spaces like this matter—because when we invest in community ideas, we build stronger neighborhoods together. 🤝🏽

👉 RSVP: LINK IN BIO
We hope to see you there!

✨ Calling Newark Changemakers! ✨

The Neighbors Helping Neighborhoods (NHN) 2026 Grant is officially LIVE! 🎉 In partnership with the Victoria Foundation, LISC NJ is proud to support resident‑led ideas that strengthen community power and generational well‑being in Fairmount Heights, Upper Clinton Hill, and Lower Broadway.

💡 Have an idea to make your neighborhood thrive?
💰 Teams of 2–3 neighbors can apply for up to $2,500 or $5,000
🗳️ Projects are selected by residents, for residents
🎓 Students and young people are encouraged to apply!

📅 Info Webinar: Monday, April 27 at 6:00 PM
📝 Application Deadline: Friday, May 29, 2026

Together, we can create a thriving Newark where every resident has the opportunity to thrive on their own terms.
👉 Apply now and register for the webinar at the link in bio.

✈️ CALLING ALL SOUTH WARD RESIDENTS ✈️
Newark is building Airport City—a bold, large‑scale development centered around Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) that will bring aviation‑related uses, housing, retail, office space, and new economic opportunities to the South Ward.

At LISC New Jersey, we’re helping to uplift community voices to ensure this 24‑hour economic hub reflects what residents want and need. We’ve seen the impact of thoughtful investment with Terminal A—now imagine what’s possible beyond the airport.

🗣️ YOUR VOICE MATTERS
Share your thoughts through the Airport City Newark Community Input Survey. It takes less than 5 minutes, and your feedback will directly shape the Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) and guide the Transit‑Oriented Development (TOD) Plan along Frelinghuysen Avenue—before developers are selected.

✅ Community priorities include:
• 💼 Local Job Creation
• 🏠 Affordable Housing
• 📈 Community‑Driven Investment & Resources

📲 HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
1️⃣ Visit ACNC.NJIT.EDU
2️⃣ Scan the QR code in the graphic
3️⃣ Complete the survey for a chance to win a gift card! LINK IS IN OUR BIO !!!

⏰ DEADLINE:
🗓️ April 19 at 11:59 PM

Don’t wait until the shovels are in the ground—speak up now and help shape the future of Newark’s South Ward.

🌐 Learn more & RSVP for upcoming meetings:
ACNC.NJIT.EDU

We’ve paused promotion of the Neighbors Helping Neighborhoods (NHN) grant program to make sure the application is fully ready — including final updates and translations with our funding partners.

NHN supports resident-led projects in Fairmount Heights, Upper Clinton Hill, and Lower Broadway — and you don’t need nonprofit status to apply (just a team of 2+ neighbors 🤝).

Stay tuned + follow us for the official relaunch date 🔜✨

📣 The Neighbors Helping Neighbors Grant Program Opens This Tuesday, March 17th! 🌟

We’re excited to kick off the NHN Grant Program, facilitated by LISC NJ and powered by the Victoria Foundation— with final decisions voted on by a voting committee of Newark residents and students. 🗳️💛

Over the past year, LISC NJ and the Victoria Foundation continued hosting Community Conversations, and you told us what matters most:
🧠 Mental health support for teens
🏘️ Affordable housing solutions
📣 Stronger communication networks
🤝 More resources for residents

From Fairmount Heights to Upper Clinton Hill to Lower Broadway, the community spoke, we listened—and now we’re calling for YOUR community‑ and youth‑led ideas to help our neighborhoods THRIVE! 🌱✨

Key Details:

📅 Applications open March 17
⏳ Deadline: April 17
🖥️ Informational Webinar next week:
Register here ➡️ https://lisc-org.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_PZlMT20kRamuUW6z6eycMQ #/registration
🔗 Learn more: bit.ly/NHN2026

👉 Swipe through the carousel for ward maps + info

Need support or have questions?

Contact Amaris Mitchell – LISC NJ Senior Program Officer
📧 [email protected]

Please share widely with your networks—let’s spread the word and lift up resident leadership across Newark! 💛🏡

🌟 LISC New Jersey is Celebrating 40 Years of Community Impact! 🌟

Since 1986, LISC NJ has been working alongside partners across the state to strengthen communities, expand opportunity, and support local leadership. 💙🏙️

Join us as we honor this milestone at our:

🏆 17th Annual NJ Neighborhood Achievement Awards
“Celebrating Vanguards of Community Change”
📅 March 5, 2026
📍 MetLife Stadium – Miller Lite MVP Club
⏰ 5–9 PM

⭐ 2026 Honorees

✨ Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation
✨ Senator Andy Kim (D‑NJ)
✨ Vivian Fraser, Urban League of Essex County
✨ Kenneth Myers, Synchrony Bank
✨ Rhonda A. Lewis Honoree — To Be Announced

Come celebrate the partners and changemakers helping NJ communities thrive! 🏡✨

🎟️ Tickets and sponsorship info available—link in bio.
📧 Questions? Contact [email protected]

Here’s to 40 years of impact… and many more to come! 🎉💙

Join us this Friday at 11 AM for Faith2Foundations: Faith-Based Assets as Affordable Housing Solutions, featuring our Executive Director Jorge Cruz as one of the speakers.

Across the country, faith-based institutions are stepping up—repurposing underutilized land and buildings to meet urgent housing and community needs. In this webinar, you’ll explore how faith-based institutions—among the largest historic landowners in the U.S.—can play a critical role in addressing the affordable housing crisis.

Learn about:
🏘️ Practical steps to begin an affordable housing development journey
📚 Available tools, funding, and technical resources
🤝 How the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, LISC, and partners can support faith-based leaders every step of the way

Don’t miss this important conversation on turning faith-based assets into community-driven housing solutions.

Register here: https://lnkd.in/eXhyKUPU

This past fall, we gathered at Rutgers University–Newark for our 2025 Growing Leaders Building Communities (GLBC) Conference — a day rooted in resident leadership, collective power, and community care ✨

GLBC is more than an event. It’s a space where residents come together to share lived experiences, build skills, and strengthen the relationships needed to create real change in their neighborhoods. Throughout the day, 100+ resident leaders, partners, and funders engaged in hands-on workshops centered on youth leadership, storytelling, healing and wellness, collaboration, and innovative tools—including AI—to strengthen grassroots work.

We kicked off the day with a powerful keynote from Rev. Eric Dobson, who reminded us that moral leadership, sustained organizing, and resident-led solutions are essential to building more just and equitable communities.

We closed the day by honoring incredible community leaders during our Community Builder Awards Presentation. Congratulations to our 2025 Honorees:
📍Ramona Thomas (Essentially Yours from the Heart & West Side High School Baby Pantry)
📍Eugenia Hamlett (Haslett Management LLC)
📍Invest Newark
📍Brenda Rosembert (Seniors In Action, Clinton Hill Community Action Committee)

We left GLBC energized, inspired, and reminded that lasting change begins with residents who know their communities best. Thank you to everyone who showed up, shared their voice, and continues to lead this work every day. 🙏🏼

📸 Photo credit: Redens Desrosiers / REX Services
📷

✨ Celebrating Leadership & Impact in NJ’s Hispanic Business Community ✨
A huge congratulations to two incredible leaders honored at last night’s BINJE Top Hispanic Business Leaders 2025 celebration:
🌟 Citi Medina
CEO & Co-Founder of EQUAL SPACE — a visionary champion for inclusive innovation and equitable opportunities for creatives and entrepreneurs.
🌟 Luis De La Hoz
Chairman of SHCCNJ — a powerful advocate for Hispanic-owned businesses and a mentor dedicated to strengthening NJ’s economic ecosystem.
We’re proud to see both of these valued LAC members recognized among NJ’s Top 75 Hispanic Business Leaders shaping our state’s future.
Congrats to Citi and Luis — thank you for your leadership and commitment to building a stronger, more inclusive New Jersey! 👏🏽