The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) has announced grants totaling $22.5 million from the Wells Fargo Foundation to help close racial gaps in homeownership in three metropolitan areas. 

The foundation awarded $7.5 million each to LISC program offices in Houston, New York City, and Richmond, Virginia, where LISC will lead local collaboratives to design new mortgage products, support new housing developments, address affordability challenges, and provide education to racially and ethnically diverse homebuyers. The effort is part of Wells Fargo’s Wealth Opportunity Realized Through Homeownership (WORTH) program, a $60 million national effort to address systemic barriers to home buying for Black, Hispanic, and underserved individuals and families. To that end, Wells Fargo has targeted eight markets for its WORTH program and aims to support 40,000 new homeowners of color. 

“The WORTH collaborations are meant to upend decades of destructive practices that have disadvantaged people of color,” said LISC president Denise Scott. “They will create opportunities for families to buy homes and build wealth, while also demonstrating what really works to break down racial barriers and strengthen local economies. The positive ripple effect will benefit communities long into the future.” 

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