An Introduction to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund
Today, through the Local Infrastructure Hub and alongside our partners at Drexel's Nowak Metro Finance Lab, Accelerator for America is proud to be publishing a local government resource: An Introduction to the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund. Similar to AFA's Transformative Projects Case Stories published through the Hub, this Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund (GGRF) resource provides mayors and local government leadership with key first steps to take in order to ready themselves for this federal opportunity. And, like each Case Story, we are lifting up existing work in communities across the country - St. Louis, Columbus, Philadelphia, and more - to highlight some of the eligible activities and workforce benefits this program can unlock.
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Sharing Insights from the Data for Housing Solutions Cohort
We’ve all heard the old saying “information is power.” A recent Accelerator for America (AFA) convening of our “Data for Housing Solutions” cities explored the correlation between corporate and institutional ownership of rental properties and its effect on markets and affordability. With moderation from AFA’s Director of Economic Development Anne Bovaird Nevins, attendees heard presentations from Benjamin Preis, Ph.D, a research fellow with Drexel University’s Nowak Metro Finance Lab who leads its Housing Policy Futures initiative; Chattanooga’s Director of Housing Policy, Sydney Shivers; and Oklahoma City Chief Innovation Officer Dr. Kelly Williams.
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Insuring the Future of Our Communities
At the national level, the total cost of natural disasters across the United States is staggering – and it is increasing rapidly with the impacts of climate change. Addressing the far-reaching local impacts of this global crisis will require new municipal and state approaches to insuring the future of our communities.
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Accelerator for America Welcomes New Leaders to Board, Advisory Council
Accelerator for America announces new members to our Board of Directors and Advisory Council.
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AFA's Impact
We would be remiss if we let January pass without sharing our Annual Report – which details our work in 2023 and now with 80 cities across America and counting!
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Accelerator for America and Tolemi Launch the Inaugural “Data for Housing Solutions” Cohort
Following up on our Clinton Global Initiative commitment, Accelerator for America (AFA) and Tolemi last week hosted the first convening of the 17 cities participating in the Data for Housing Solutions initiative, which leverages a data analysis tool and peer learning to provide insights into local real estate markets. The goal is to 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 convening was the first in an ongoing series to share experiences and identify findings and strategies.
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Accelerator for America in Action in Kansas City
Yes, Taylor Swift was in Kansas City this week, but more importantly, so was Accelerator for America for our second in person Advisory Council convening this year. Our host and Advisory Council Co-Chair, Mayor Quinton Lucas, had a tall order to meet following our tremendous gathering in Phoenix, hosted by fellow AFA Advisory Council Co-Chair, Mayor Kate Gallego. The camaraderie of peers was once again unparalleled, and most importantly, the conversations we had were enlightening, engaging and energized us to accelerate our collective work.
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Small Business Capital: A Place-Based Approach
Accelerator for America and the International Economic Development Council are excited to present the first segment in a two-part series exploring the needs and opportunities to drive more equitable entrepreneurship and small business growth in communities across the U.S. This first piece addresses equitable capital access, and the second will delve into the other critical elements of the entrepreneurial and small business ecosystem that are necessary to foster inclusive growth. Both parts of the series will focus on the role that mayors, local governments, and place-based philanthropies can play in addressing gaps and creating more equitable opportunities in their communities.
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Clinton Global Initiative + Accelerator for America Mayors’ Roundtable
At the 2023 Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) conference in New York, the Clinton Foundation and Accelerator for America teamed up to host a Mayors’ Roundtable on the most pressing challenges and opportunities that city leaders are facing as they seek to advance economic mobility for residents and communities. Accelerator for America Co-Chairs Mayor Kate Gallego (Phoenix, AZ) and Mayor Quinton Lucas (Kansas City, MO) were joined for this discussion by Mayors Justin Bibb (Cleveland, OH), David Holt (Oklahoma City, OK), Steven Reed (Montgomery, AL), and Frank Scott, Jr. (Little Rock, AR), alongside federal officials and philanthropic, business, and non-profit leaders from across the country.
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AFA Releases Local Case Stories through the Local Infrastructure Hub
Today, along with our research partners at the Drexel University Nowak Metro Finance Lab, we are excited to share the first in a series of Case Stories, produced through a partnership with the Local Infrastructure Hub, showcasing local infrastructure projects eligible under or funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law or Inflation Reduction Act and the dedicated public servants and community members who made them possible.
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AT CLINTON GLOBAL INITIATIVE, ACCELERATOR FOR AMERICA AND TOLEMI ANNOUNCE PARTNERSHIP TO HELP 11 U.S. CITIES WITH AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS
At the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) 2023 Meeting today, Accelerator for America CEO Mary Ellen Wiederwohl and Tolemi CEO and Co-Founder Andrew Kieve announced a commitment to supporting 11 American cities by providing no-cost access to an analytical tool and peer learning cohort to provide insights into local real estate markets.
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White House Recognizes Accelerator for America as Technical Assistance Resource
The White House has recognized Accelerator for America as a key partner in helping communities across the country benefit from President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda.
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Accelerator for America Launches the Inaugural i3 Cohort
This week Accelerator for America (AFA) announced the inaugural cohort of 10 cities participating in the Innovative Infrastructure Initiative (i3), which is an AFA partnership with Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP) to help cities accelerate transformative infrastructure projects by providing technical assistance and peer learning. The cohort cities convened for the first time today.
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Advancing Neighborhood Commercial Corridors
Over the past several years, this platform has returned multiple times to a geography found in cities of all sizes across the country – the neighborhood commercial corridor. With many others, we documented the harsh effects of the pandemic on neighborhood serving and locally owned businesses and offered practical recommendations for local stakeholders and state policymakers alike. To the greatest extent practicable, we have tried to be grounded and granular: using Investment Playbooks to identify concrete and fundable projects that can drive a burst of inclusive growth and entrepreneurship in real places, most recently 52nd Street in West Philadelphia.
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White House Announces Critical BEAD Funding Allocations
How Cities Can Access New Climate Incentives
Today, the U.S. Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service released new proposed guidance on the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) mechanisms for elective pay (also known as direct pay) and transferability. Through the IRA, tax-exempt entities, which include local, state and tribal governments, as well as non-profits, and other organizations that are exempt from income tax, can access clean energy tax credits. This means that city governments, and their non-profit partners, can directly benefit from these new tax incentives to advance energy generation and clean energy initiatives in local communities across the country.
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From Recovery to Revitalization: How Local Leaders are unlocking the potential of the American Rescue Plan
Accelerator’s latest report, “From Recovery to Revitalization: How local leaders are unlocking the potential of the American Rescue Plan,” co-written with the Brookings Institution through a partnership with the National Association of Counties (NACo), takes a look at how localities have been able to use the direct relief funds they received under the American Rescue Plan (ARPA) to promote innovative and inclusive recovery initiatives. This report was based on in-depth analysis and interviews with local decision-makers in 17 cities and counties on how they are using State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds (SLFRF) from ARPA to promote inclusive recovery across a variety of domains, including economic and community development, workforce, housing, and place-based initiatives, among many others.
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Accelerating Economic Opportunity Across the Country: Lessons from California
With public, philanthropic, and private entities seeking a recovery catalyst, we must embrace a new economic development model for California and, given the state’s size and demographic, geographic and economic diversity (California is both the nation’s leading manufacturing and agricultural state, for example), new models there can be relevant to communities across the country.
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AFA Convenes in Phoenix, Accelerates Economic Growth and Opportunity
With the Kansas City Royals in town to take on Phoenix’s Arizona Diamondbacks, our Accelerator convening of more than 75 people with a dozen mayors last week included a friendly clash between our Co-Chairs – Kansas City, MO Mayor Quinton Lucas and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego – as our Advisory Council meeting took over a section at Chase Field for Monday’s game.
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How Communities Can Maximize The Inflation Reduction Act
The Inflation Reduction Act (“IRA”) is the largest legislative effort in U.S. history designed to accelerate the country’s transition to an alternative energy and climate future. This Act is remarkable not only for its ambitions but for its disproportionate reliance on tax incentives, a fundamental difference in structure from other Biden era legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. A community hoping to maximize the value of IRA funding will need to organize networks of beneficiaries, intermediaries, and stakeholders in ways that integrate areas of practice (e.g., renewable energy, talent preparation and housing development) that are often kept separate and distinct.
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