April Newsletter
A Note from our CEO
Yesterday, President Biden unveiled the $2 trillion American Jobs Plan — a once-in-a generation investment in America's infrastructure that will help us build back stronger than we were before. Transit and infrastructure is core to the Accelerator's work to help cities fight economic insecurity, because it's about more than just how we move, it's about how we live — from affordable housing and broadband access to combating climate change and improving the quality of life in American cities. And investment in transit and infrastructure has always been a job creator for the American people — good-paying jobs that provide recession-proof careers and strong local economies.
Over the past several months, our Accelerator for America Action team has been working with leaders in cities and on Capitol Hill to help guide federal infrastructure investment through our New Playbook for Infrastructure. The Playbook was uniquely created during the pandemic with a focus on recovery, and it complements the Accelerator's ongoing work to generate local infrastructure funding, which has helped approve more than $40 billion for critical transit and infrastructure projects nationwide since our founding in 2017.
Infrastructure investment will be critical to our economic recovery, and President Biden's bold plan is a positive step toward a stronger, more inclusive America.
Aaron Thomas
President and CEO | Accelerator for America
Watch President Biden's full speech announcing the American Jobs Plan.
Guiding Cities through the American Rescue Plan
On March 11, President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARP) into law. The legislation represents a historic intervention and a fitting response to the devastating impact of the global COVID-19 crisis. There is a lot in the bill, and it’s critical that cities and metros get organized in order to maximize and equitably deploy this unprecedented level of federal investment.
Together with our partners at the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Drexel University Nowak Metro Finance Lab, and the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, we created the American Rescue Plan Federal Investment Guide, a comprehensive, categorical map of federal funding in the ARP to help local leaders and their teams accelerate inclusive local recoveries. The guide incorporates feedback from Mayors across the country.
READ MORE: https://www.acceleratorforamerica.org/federal-investment-guide
Helping Cities Close Long-standing Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Wealth Gaps
We are excited to share that our Small Business Equity Toolkit, developed with our partners at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and the Drexel University Nowak Metro Finance Lab, was officially released this week!
The Toolkit provides mayors and economic development leaders in the nation’s largest 100 metropolitan areas with unique insights and innovative strategies for growing Black-, Hispanic-, Asian- and Women-owned businesses. The Toolkit is comprised of the Small Business Equity Tool (SBET), a data-driven measurement tool, and the National Inclusive Metro Recovery Playbook, a set of recommended best practices to create a more inclusive and sustainable economic recovery. In addition to the National Playbook, individual Recovery Playbooks were created to help leaders in Birmingham, AL; Dayton, OH; Los Angeles, CA; and St. Louis, MO develop tailored strategies based on the small business gaps in their metro regions.
For the first time, the combined use of these tools provides a snapshot of the state of minority- and women-owned businesses prior to the pandemic and a metro-level roadmap for mayors and economic development practitioners to chart a clear, actionable course for an inclusive local recovery that uplifts minority communities.
EXPLORE THE TOOLKIT: https://www.smallbusinessequitytoolkit.com/
Building to Recovery
On March 1, Accelerator for America Action and our New Partnership on Infrastructure coalition were joined by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, Congressman Greg Stanton of Arizona, Mayor David Holt of Oklahoma City, our Advisory Council Chair Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles, and nearly 400 elected, government, and industry leaders from across the country for Building to Recovery: America's New Playbook for Infrastructure.
The event shared important updates to America's New Playbook for Infrastructure drawn from input received over the last few months as we shared our initial Playbook on Capitol Hill and with the nation's mayors as they respond to the pandemic and plan for recovery. Watch the event replay below and download the Playbook here!
In the News
Route Fifty: The Wide Gaps Between Minority and White Business Ownership in America’s Cities
The Philadelphia Citizen: A Tool for Equitable Recovery
Courier-Journal: Mayor Fischer — 'Help is here': With COVID relief money, Louisville can create opportunity for all
The Atlantic: The Biden Agenda Doesn’t Run Through Washington
STLToday: ‘So transformative’ — St. Louis region expected to see $700 million infusion of federal aid
The Lane Report: Mayor — Louisville will ‘Build Back Better, Together,’ with federal COVID-19 relief package
Smart Cities Dive: US infrastructure funding gap swells to $2.6 trillion — ASCE
The Bond Buyer: Mayors' infrastructure playbook reboot addresses COVID-19, systemic racism
Dayton.com: Dayton mayor — This is a transformational moment