What we do
We help leaders respond to the current opportunities and challenges facing America’s communities to drive an inclusive recovery from historic inequities that have trapped communities in cycles of decline. We advance strategies and solutions that foster inclusive, long-term wealth building in cities across the country with a deliberate focus on communities traditionally excluded from opportunity and suffering from discrimination and disinvestment. In more than 100 cities nationwide and counting, we have supported city leaders in creating more equitable and competitive economic, community, and workforce development ecosystems, projects, and outcomes with a focus on small business growth, access to capital, workforce development and talent pipeline initiatives, affordable housing and whole neighborhood revitalization strategies.
CURRENT PROGRAMS
Data for Housing Solutions
Launched as a Commitment to Action through the Clinton Global Initiative, Data for Housing Solutions is a collaboration between AFA and Tolemi that leverages a data analysis tool and peer learning to provide insights into local real estate markets. An initial cohort of 17 cities will use those insights to help preserve and build affordable housing, keep families in their homes, combat predatory real estate investors, and ensure publicly-owned real estate is utilized for the greatest community benefit. The program is organized around Building Blocks, a technology platform developed by Tolemi that aggregates municipal data and applies proprietary analytics to deliver actionable, property-level insights. Participating cities can map portfolios of publicly owned property across agencies and departments, identify site assembly opportunities, and understand where underutilized public property overlaps with redevelopment incentives and areas in need of affordable housing. The tool will also help cities track which corporate owners control large portfolios of rental properties, what neighborhoods are rapidly shifting from owner-occupied to rentals, where rises in corporate ownership coincides rises in housing cost burden, and which corporate owners are common across AFA peer cities.
Stimulus Command Centers
Capping more than two years of work across the country to maximize the moment of new federal investment under the America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), AFA joined with partners Brookings and NACo to produce a report highlighting how city leaders are using American Rescue Plan funds to support an inclusive recovery in their communities. Entitled “From Recovery to Revitalization: how local leaders are unlocking the potential of the American Rescue Plan”, the report featured case studies from Birmingham, AL; Cleveland, OH; Dayton, OH; Kansas City, MO: Louisville, KY; Phoenix, AZ and St. Louis, MO (as well as a number of county governments). It also included policy recommendations for federal and local officials to maximize the long-term impact of these projects and programs once federal relief funds are exhausted. In collaboration with Brookings, AFA hosted a national webinar featuring St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones to publicize the report and the city’s Economic Justice Plan, a transformative and comprehensive economic development initiative funded through the city’s ARPA allocation.
Smart City Accelerator
Honeywell’s Smart City Accelerator Program – a partnership between AFA and Honeywell – delivered draft Smart City Strategic Plans to Cleveland, OH; Kansas City, MO; Louisville, KY; San Diego, CA; and Waterloo, IA. According to Matthew Britt, Honeywell’s general manager of Smart Cities and Communities, “A smart city eliminates silos, identifies integration opportunities and uses data to institute change.” Each city’s Strategic Plan aligns key stakeholders, defines priorities, and identifies high-impact and inclusive initiatives that advance residents’ quality of life by improving climate resiliency, public safety, operational efficiency and service delivery.
Through the Smart City Accelerator, Kansas City and San Diego recently submitted grant applications to USDOT’s SMART Stage 1 grant program, which could provide up to $2 million in funding for each community. Louisville previously won a $2 million SMART grant through the Smart City Accelerator in the last round of funding, which were announced in March, 2023. Other participants are engaged in ongoing planning work to prepare for applications for upcoming federal grant programs, such as USDOT’s Safe Streets for All initiative.
Economic & Community Development Practitioners’ Network
Mayors work with a broad network of economic and community development professionals who are critical to the success of a city’s agenda to advance economic mobility. The ECDPN provides these critical local partners with access to national experts, direct technical assistance and a cohort of peers. ECDPN monthly convenings included deep dives into key federal investment opportunities (IRA, Build America Bureau, CHIPS) with policymakers and direct access to industry experts and national peers to evaluate and share data-driven insights and promising practices.
“More than 70 cities and 300 individuals are now participating in AFA’s Economic and Community Development Practitioners’ Network (ECDPN)”
ADVANCING EQUITY
AFA is partnering with the St. Louis Development Corporation (SLDC) and the St. Louis Community Foundation to implement the economic justice vision set forth by Mayor Tishuara Jones and the St. Louis community. Through technical assistance and other support, AFA is helping advance the St. Louis Economic Justice Action Plan, create the Economic Justice Accelerator, and further its $1 billion funding goal.
“The efforts and leadership of Accelerator for America is incredible and I am thankful for their partnership. AFA’s ability to convene and elevate best practices across the country provides valuable learning opportunities for cities to utilize their resources more effectively, which is exemplified through their support of the Economic Justice Accelerator program.”
With Drexel’s Nowak Metro Finance Lab and The Enterprise Center, AFA convened national practitioners and corporate and philanthropic funders In Philadelphia to develop new financial models and strategies to invest more holistically in commercial corridors to support historically disadvantaged businesses and community developers. AFA also led a roundtable on philanthropic partnerships with cities to advance inclusive economic development at the Community Foundation Opportunity Network (CFON) Learning and Action Forum. CFON is a nationwide coalition of community foundations.
AFA additionally authored “Small Business Capital: A Place-Based Approach,” with contributions from Dr. Dell Gines of the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), to outline promising strategies and local models that city leaders and philanthropic organizations can undertake to advance more equitable capital access for entrepreneurs and small businesses.
California Initiatives
With support from The James Irvine Foundation, AFA’s California Accelerator is providing the cities of Adelanto, Barstow, Fresno, Indio, Los Angeles, and Riverside, as well as San Joaquin County, the Long Beach Economic Partnership, and San Joaquin Economic Partnership with technical assistance and capacity building to leverage federal infrastructure funding to build a more resilient economy and inclusive workforce development opportunities. AFA also advanced its work in California to match cities' infrastructure and economic development priorities with IIJA/BIL & IRA funding by working with several cities and CBOs on grant applications and capacity building. For example, AFA collaborated with the Department of Energy Loan Program to host a regional Accelerating Clean Infrastructure event in Riverside to highlight opportunities for cities and local leaders to leverage the DOE loans to support renewable energy production capabilities and broader job growth.
Kansas City Regional Accelerator
With support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, AFA continues to provide technical assistance and capacity building to the Office of Mayor Quinton Lucas (Kansas City, MO) and regional partners in securing federal funding to promote equitable economic development, workforce, and infrastructure policy. AFA staff co-authored and coordinated proposals for place-based economic development funding through EDA’s Technology Hubs and RECOMPETE programs. Each application was submitted by a regional consortium, including corporate, workforce, educational, and government partners from both sides of the state line – a key success given historic challenges with achieving regional coordination and unity in pursuit of these types of applications. AFA also assisted with applications from Kansas City for Technical Assistance through Bloomberg’s Sustainable Cities program and IEDC/EDA’s Economic Recovery Corps program, which will help the city augment staff capacity focused on climate adaptation and equitable economic development. Kansas City also continues to be an active participant in AFA’s i3, Smart City Accelerator, and Tolemi partnership programs.
Averting a Lost Decade: Rethinking an Inclusive Recovery for Disadvantaged Neighborhoods
This paper provokes a deeper discussion about more ambitious interventions that cities must design and deliver to spark an inclusive long-term recovery, particularly absent the arrival of federal funding for structural investments in housing, childcare, or higher education. Low-income neighborhoods face a series of super-sized challenges post-crisis that demand the strategic, coordinated deployment of public, private and philanthropic resources. Unless major structural changes are made, at all levels of government and across multiple sectors, the nation runs the risk of a lost decade, followed by a lost generation, with racial wealth disparities that are greater and neighborhoods that are worse off than the period that preceded the pandemic.