by Michael Karpman

America?s Promise - The Alliance for Youth, a leading voice for young people, is seeking applications for its second ?100 Best Communities for Young People? competition. City officials and their community partners are encouraged to apply no later than Nov. 3.

The competition celebrates the outstanding, innovative efforts taking place in cities and towns across the country that provide healthy, safe and caring environments for young people.

It is an initiative that honors the hard work of local elected officials, businesses, nonprofit organizations and others who collaborate to meet the needs of children and youth.

Cities and towns have reaped significant benefits for being named among the 100 Best Communities.

?The 100 Best Communities for Young People award that Anchorage received has been very instrumental in building stronger relationships between organizations and has led to increased collaboration among nonprofit, faith-based, local and state organizations that care about youth,? said Debbie Bogart, executive director of Anchorage?s Promise in Anchorage, Alaska.

Anchorage Mayor Mark Begich serves on the Anchorage?s Promise advisory council.

Last year?s winners received national media exposure in Newsweek magazine and USA Today, on NBC?s ?Today Show,? and were covered by 400 other local and regional news outlets, reaching more than 30 million people.

The winners will receive local and national media outreach assistance and promotion through America?s Promise, NLC and other Alliance partner publications and websites. Winners will be announced late January 2007.

Regional Forums
Municipal officials from the winning communities have also had the opportunity this year to showcase local innovations at regional forums that highlight best practices for collaborating and serving youth.

The forums generate momentum toward meeting the alliance?s goal of providing 15 million underserved young people with Five Promises ? caring adults, safe places, a healthy start, effective education and opportunities to help others ? that will help them succeed.

A key component of the forums has been NLC?s City Platform for Strengthening Families, a blueprint for local action that cities across the country have formally adopted through city council resolutions or mayoral proclamations.

Host city mayors have been playing a leading role in the next two forums, which will be held in Indianapolis on Sept. 28-29; and Denver on Oct. 12-13. Previous forums took place in Long Beach, Calif., Providence, R.I., and Charlotte, N.C.

How to Apply
All applications for the 100 Best Communities competition must be submitted online on the America?s Promise website ? www.americaspromise.org/100Best ? by Friday, Nov. 3. Previous winners are encouraged to apply again, and all cities that are named to the 100 Best list multiple times will receive special recognition.

America?s Promise suggests applicants take the following steps before applying:

? Visit the America?s Promise website to review the selection criteria to get a sense of what the selection panel is looking for;

? Keep in mind the selection criteria ? think about how the community engages committed partners, collaborates across sectors, raises awareness and uses data to drive action ? and collect information to create a list about local initiatives that demonstrate fulfillment of one or more of the alliance?s Five Promises;

? Use the list to identify individuals and organizations that can help with the community?s application, and remember that developing a strong and competitive application means involving representatives from all sectors, and also young people;

? Reach out to the individuals and organizations that have been identified to ask them to participate on the 100 Best Communities application team; and

? Schedule a meeting with the application team.

Details: To learn more about how to register for the regional forums or how to apply for the 100 Best Communities competition, visit www.americaspromise.org/100Best. Send an e-mail to 100Best@americaspromise.org to receive additional tips and information.

For more information on NLC?s Platform for Strengthening Families and other youth initiatives, visit www.nlc.org/iyef or contact Michael Karpman at (202) 626-3072 or karpman@nlc.org.