Financial Opportunities

Building financial opportunities for Chicago families may begin with a job, but it doesn’t end there. LISC's 10 Financial Opportunity Centers (FOCs) each year connect 12,000 residents to career development, financial coaching, digital-skills training, credit building, and income supports.
Download a 2016 data summary for Chicago's FOC network.
For more information about FOCs, contact Jennifer McClain.
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From Client to Facilitator
- Paolo Cisneros, Jul 20, 2017
- How one Chicago woman built on her past to prepare job seekers for the digital age.
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Bridges to Career Opportunities Graduates Start a New Chapter in Life
- Jun 5, 2017
- Financial Opportunity Center clients find paths to success through the Bridges to Career Opportunities program.
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‘Meeting Halfway’ Builds Partnerships between Community Organizations and Banks
- Paolo Cisneros, Oct 25, 2016
- Through Meeting Halfway, community organizations and banks are working together to bring mainstream financial services to people who desperately need them.
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This IS Englewood
- Gordon Walek, Oct 7, 2016
- New Whole Foods grocery a welcome tipping point for Englewood.
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Financial Opportunity Centers: Connecting People to the Local Economy
- Rachel Lieberman, Jul 21, 2016
- For the last decade, LISC’s network of Financial Opportunity Centers have helped residents of underserved neighborhoods establish good credit, find jobs, and increase their incomes.
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Affordable Divvy For Everyone Enters Second Year
- Annie Grossinger, Apr 7, 2016
- Subsidized bike share program continues through five Financial Opportunity Centers.
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AmeriCorps MLK Day of Service
- Annie Grossinger, Jan 29, 2016
- Braving frigid temperatures, eight LISC AmeriCorps volunteers spent Martin Luther King, Jr. Day teaching digital literacy at the Kroc Center in West Pullman.
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New Grant for Financial Opportunity Centers
- Annie Grossinger, Jan 21, 2016
- Seven Chicago FOCs receive Social Innovation Fund grants to implement new programs.
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New Class of LISC AmeriCorps Service Begins
- Annie Grossinger, Nov 17, 2015
- The 21st class of LISC AmeriCorps members has begun working with Financial Opportunity Centers (FOC) across Chicago.
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Financial Opportunity Centers – Video Series Wrap
- Paolo Cisneros, Jul 21, 2015
- Through multiple installments, a recently-completed LISC Chicago video series offered an inside an inside look at LISC’s network of Financial Opportunity Centers (FOCs).
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93% off! LISC Hopes Deep Divvy Discount Leads to Much More
- John McCarron, Jul 16, 2015
- Through Chicago’s new Divvy for Everyone (D4E) program, eligible riders can join Divvy for just $5 by signing up at one of five neighborhood Financial Opportunity Centers.
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Building Financial Opportunities for Chicagoans
- Paolo Cisneros, Apr 15, 2015
- Videos will spotlight LISC Chicago's Centers for Working Families.
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AmeriCorps Provides Pipeline of Talent, Energy
- Gordon Walek, Jan 6, 2015
- Members learn about community development while working with middle-school students, teaching digital skills or playing sports.
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Want to Get People Back to Work? Fill the Basic Skills Gap
- Lee Chilcote, Oct 27, 2014
- Bridge programs help prepare workers for good jobs.
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As Deadline Looms, ACA Enrollments Pick Up
- Patrick Barry, Mar 24, 2014
- Neighborhood “navigators” are out in force this week as many Americans face a March 31 deadline for enrollment in new health insurance programs under the Affordable Care Act.
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How Twin Accounts™ Builds Credit, Saves Money
- Jan 31, 2014
- A good credit history can pave the way to better jobs, easier apartment-hunting and lower interest rates. LISC's Twin Accounts™ program helps individuals raise their credit score or establish a…
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LISC Expands Toolbox for Digital Learning
- Patrick Barry, Jan 31, 2014
- More than $1.1 million invested by LISC for expanded trainings and digital resources, helping neighborhoods connect to portals, EveryBlock, open data and more.
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AmeriCorps and Social Innovation Fund Are 'Impact' Players
- John McCarron, Aug 8, 2013
- AmeriCorps and the Social Innovation Fund - making a difference in people's lives.
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Up the Financial Ladder, One Step at a Time
- Gordon Walek, Jul 24, 2013
- See how LISC Chicago's network of Centers for Working Families help people navigate the worlds of work, public benefits, finances and employment counseling.
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Fired Up, Ready to Go: LISC Chicago’s Neighborhood Network
- John McCarron, Mar 20, 2013
- In the complex business of urban community development, no vehicle matches the leverage and impact of every dollar invested quite like LISC Chicago.
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Manufacturing Skills Go Regional ... and Personal
- John McCarron, Jan 14, 2013
- Jane Addams Resource Corp. trains Chicago’s unemployed for careers in the region’s promising “advanced” factory sector
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A Growthful Enterprise on Perry Street
- Ed Finkel, Oct 12, 2012
- The Perry Street farm in Washington Park will result in locally grown fresh produce and jobs for residents.
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Pipeline to Paychecks
- John McCarron, Aug 22, 2012
- A LISC Center for Working Families bridges gap from college-to-career at Kennedy-King College.
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Inside the i-cluster
- John McCarron, Jan 25, 2012
- Manufacturers profit from proximity … especially when they’re trading valuable information
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CWF Model a National Winner
- John McCarron, Nov 8, 2011
- Program to help families “earn it, keep it, grow it” wins federal grant competition … and a new branch at Kennedy-King College
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