This summer, the Obama Administration announced the launch of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities (SC2) Initiative.  This new interagency pilot initiative is designed to spark economic growth in local communities while ensuring taxpayer dollars are used wisely and efficiently.  SC2 will break the federal government out of its traditional roles to partner with local governments more effectively.

As part of this initiative, a new fellowship program will select, train, and place early to mid-career professionals to serve multi-year terms in the cities of Chester, PA; Cleveland, OH; Detroit, MI; Fresno, CA; Memphis, TN; and New Orleans, LA and assist them in their economic revitalization efforts.  Up to 30 fellows will be deployed to one of these six pilot cities and will be integral to creating partnerships among local community organizations, anchor institutions, businesses, foundations and other government agencies, with the goal of helping to leverage federal investments and increase economic impacts.

Rightside Spotlight

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 How do you get local and national funders and city sustainability officials to collaborate on community-based sustainability initiatives? One promising answer is the "Local Sustainability Matching Fund" (LSMF), which is a collaborative effort of the Funders’ Network and the Urban Sustainability Directors Network (USDN).