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The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) named Jamie Gorelick to its board of directors. Gorelick serves as vice chair of both the Fannie Mae Corporation and the Fannie Mae Foundation. Previously, Ms. Gorelick was deputy attorney general of the U.S.

Karen Kollias has left her position as senior vice president and director of Real Estate Lending at Shorebank to become Mid-Atlantic district director of Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.

Tenant activists Teri Meredith, George O'Brien, and Arthur Weiner were recipients of the Sixteenth Annual Ronald Atlas Awards, given by the New Jersey Tenants Organization.

David Pierpont Gardner has announced that he will resign as president from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation effective next June. Gardner has headed the Foundation since Jan. 1, 1993, during which time its assets grew from $819 million to nearly $2 billion, and annual grants rose from $34 million to $74 million.

First Union Corporation announced that First Union Regional Foundation, the $100 million foundation established by First Union following its merger with CoreStates Financial Corporation in April, will be headed by Migdalia O'Leary, a 20-year veteran of CoreStates.

Paul A. Leonard, acting assistant secretary for Policy Development and Research at HUD, and deputy assistant secretary for Policy and Budget, has resigned. Leonard was the principal author of the 1997 State of the Cities report.

President Clinton has nominated Harold Lucas to serve as HUD assistant secretary for Public and  Indian Housing. Lucas most recently served as the executive director for the Housing Authority of the City of Newark, NJ, and director of Development for the City of Newark.

The Fannie Mae Foundation announced that Ann Wheelock, presently executive vice president and chief operating officer, will become president and CEO of the foundation. John McIlwain, the current president and chief executive officer will become the senior managing director of  the American Communities Fund of the Fannie Mae Corporation. Peter Beard was named vice president for National and Neighborhood Initiatives of the Foundation.

In a realignment within the Fannie Mae Corporation's new Housing and Community Development Division, Ken Bacon will move from the company's Northeastern Region to start its new Community Development Capital Corporation.

The Durham (NC) Housing Authority, in partnership with GTE and EasyWeb Inc. and with the help of a $100,000 TOPS (Tenants Opportunity Program) grant from HUD, is setting up a resident management corporation that will operate a community computer center, providing residents with access to the Internet. Two other similar projects have been completed in nearby public housing developments.

The United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta has developed an Individual Development Account  program (see Shelterforce, #89, Sept/Oct  1996) focused on homeownership, with the goals of increasing family assets and providing investment experience, economic literacy, social advancement, neighborhood pride, and stability. An alliance of CDCs, education agencies, and a lender has been assembled, and participants in the program must attend a series of economic literacy courses. In return, their savings of between $50 and $200 per month are matched 4:1 toward their down payment and closing costs. United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta: 404-527-7200.

Fannie Mae is conducting a new $25 million Mini-Loan Experiment to help maintain the supply of affordable rental units in small apartment buildings in the Bronx. The experiment will provide funds for the acquisition, rehabilitation, or refinancing of apartment buildings with 5 to 25 units, particularly focusing on financing affordable rental properties in the Northwest Bronx. The program targets properties that require from $100,000 to $750,000 in financing. The experiment will offer buyers 30-year fixed rate loans at market rates. This type of financing generally has been unavailable for 5- to 25-unit properties in the Bronx.

More than two dozen companies have joined forces with Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) on a $2 million-plus plan to spur urban renewal in distressed sections of Buffalo. The program follows a two-year lobbying crusade that included a private-sector fundraising drive that has generated $750,000 in pledges to date. LISC has pledged $1 million in direct funding to the effort.

Countrywide Home Loans, the nation's largest independent mortgage lender and leading lender to African-American and Hispanic families, today announced "We House America," a campaign to fund $50 billion in new loans for lower-income and minority borrowers. This program will assist more than 570,000 first-time homebuyers. Countrywide: 800-796-8448; www.countrywide.com

Capital One Bank will invest up to $2 million with LISC to help Richmond's nonprofit developers create hundreds of new homes and apartments. Capital One: 703-205-1069; www.capitalone.com

Fifth Third Bank announced a $1.25 billion, two-year plan to provide mortgage and small business lending opportunities for Ohio residents. The plan was developed jointly with  COHHIO, a not-for-profit entity comprised of 550 members focused on affordable housing in Ohio, and its Steering Committee, comprised of 12 organizations focused on community reinvestment activities. Ohio Community Reinvestment Project: 614-280-1984.

In an effort to cut the high school dropout rate, a partnership between the Ford Foundation and Lucent Technologies has announced a grant of $15 million to a Newark, NJ, high school, and the seven elementary and junior high schools that feed into it. The program will provide $6,000 in college scholarships for students who maintain a 2.5 grade point average, participate in summer academic sessions, and meet a series of criteria that demonstrate they are taking responsibility for their education. The program is based on Project GRAD of Houston, TX, which was begun in 1992. The program includes teacher training, parent and community involvement, and academic enrichment strategies. Ford Foundation: 212-573-5000.

The Local Initiatives Managed Asset Corporation (LIMAC) and its parent, LISC, are launching a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), which will focus exclusively on community development projects. The new for-profit entity will specialize in purchasing mortgages on community development projects. The REIT will eventually have the ability to make equity investments as well. LISC: 212-455-9800.

The Chronicle of Philanthropy ranked LISC among the top 25 funders of nonprofit organizations nationwide. LISC's nearly $20 million in contributions to nonprofits in 1996 made it the 21st largest donor in the country, according to the National Directory of Grantmaking Public Charities, published by the Foundation Center.

The BankAmerica Foundation and Bank of America have launched the Rural 2000 Community Development Initiative. Designed to increase the level of community development resources in low- and moderate-income areas served by BoA, the initiative will focus on construction of community facilities, developing IDA programs, and capacity building for nonprofit organizations. BankAmerica Foundation: 415-953-3175.

Washington DC's Community Preservation and Development Corporation (CPDC), a local nonprofit organization that creates affordable housing and community service programs designed to enhance the social and economic well-being of at-risk families, received a grant from  Microsoft Corporation to support a computer center. CPDC: 301-986-1600.

The Merrill Lynch Foundation announced in April that it has awarded $2.375 million in grants to 29 nonprofit  and community-based organizations in Los Angeles and Orange Counties. Merrill Lynch: 888-SOCAL-ML.

The Community Reinvestment Fund has received a $10 million investment from the Prudential Social Investment Program to assist in its three-year national expansion initiative. CRF also announced $2 million in investment from The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, a $330,000 grant from The St. Paul Companies, Inc., and $100,000 from U.S. Bank.CRF's secondary market for development loans has provided capital to 62 community development lenders in 14 states and Washington, DC. It has purchased 893 loans totaling more than $59 million, providing more than $52 million in new project funds. Community Reinvestment Fund: 612-338-3050.

The Enterprise Foundation is leading an effort to help nonprofit organizations develop business ventures to bolster revenue. Six foundations have joined to form the Nonprofit Enterprise Venture Fund, which will work with nonprofits in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, and Ann Arbor, to help them complete a six-month planning process where "enterprise audits" of the nonprofits will be conducted and relationships built with the corporate community. , Enterprise Foundation

The Federation for Community Planning has formed a partnership in the Cleveland area to expand and improve the effectiveness of social support and workforce development services delivered by community and faith-based organizations to help low-income families achieve economic independence. In a two-year model program called the Community Asset and Capacity Building Project, the Federation along with 20 public and private human service-oriented agencies will deliver training, materials, and technical assistance to as many as 200 community and faith-based organizations. The goal of the project is to expand, assist, and support efforts at the neighborhood level to help low-income individuals find and retain employment or to achieve a basic standard of living if the adult members are unable to work. Federation for Community Planning: 216-781-2944.