Official Publication of the National League of Cities OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE NATIONAL LEAGUE OF CITIES
NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY
Volume 34, Number 14 | April 11, 2011
IN THIS ISSUE
www.nlc.org
PAGE 3
PAGE 3
Cities Present Comprehensive Youth
Violence Prevention Plans
PAGE 4
FEMA Continues to Examine Flood
Program’s Future
PAGE 4
Publication Provides Transportation
Systems Guidance to City Leaders
CDBG WORKS
CDBG Helps Portland Build Taxpayers Out of Tax Burdens
by Kalisha Davis
and Stephanie Spirer
Portland, Oregon’s most
populous city, serves an area
much broader than the 580,000
residents living within city lim-
its. In 2009, Oregon faced the
dubious distinction of ranking
first in the nation for per capita
homelessness and 16.1 percent
of the city’s population was
living below the poverty line,
more than the national average.
With challenges such as these,
municipal leaders have had to be
innovative to stabilize the local
economy and improve income
levels.
Portland, Ore., used Community Development Block Grant funds to create the Portland Economic Opportunity Initiative to
support economic development. The initiative’s goals include wokforce development.
stability in people’s lives.”
After conducting a best prac-
tices study, local leaders decided
to create individualized programs
targeting populations based on
age, cultural backgrounds and
career interests. By building the
capacity to offer a wide range of
services, the initiative worked to
connect individuals with a sup-
port system to ensure personal
success.
“By linking individuals
through 32 different projects,
the initiative is able to engage
more people, leverage resourc-
see page 8, column 1
New Toolkit to Help Cities Connect Residents
to Financial Mainstream
by Michael Karpman
Newspaper Handling
A new NLC toolkit, “Bank On
Cities: Connecting Residents to the
Financial Mainstream,” provides
municipal leaders with a step-by-step
guide for launching “Bank On” initia-
tives that help working families avoid
high-cost check cashing and other
fringe financial services.
The toolkit draws upon lessons
from the Bank On Cities campaign
launched in 2008 by NLC’s Institute
for Youth, Education and Families
(YEF Institute).
Through this campaign, the YEF
Institute helped 18 cities across
the nation replicate the successful
Bank On San Francisco program.
Both the toolkit and campaign were
made possible by support from the
Annie E. Casey Foundation and Ford
Foundation.
About 100 cities, counties and
states have launched or are now at
some stage of developing Bank On
initiatives.
Through these efforts, local offi-
cials work with financial institutions
and community organizations to con-
nect unbanked residents to free or
low-cost bank accounts, financial edu-
cation and other mainstream financial
services. The San Francisco program
alone now reaches more than 70,000
residents.
see page 7, column 1
