Funding Strategies

The YEF Institute and the Foundation Strategy Group sponsored a recent 90 minute webinar on “Improving Outcomes for Children and Youth through Collective Impact.” The webinar explored how municipal leaders, staff and partners can maximize results by better coordinating and aligning their efforts to improve outcomes for children and youth.
Register for the free recording | PowerPoint slides

U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan and White House Domestic Policy Advisor Melody Barnes joined hundreds of neighborhood leaders from across the nation in Washington, D.C., on July 21-22, 2011 to discuss how the emerging White House Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative (NRI) can help transform neighborhoods of concentrated poverty into communities of opportunity.  NRI is working to help local leaders more effectively braid federal funding streams as they implement neighborhood improvement plans.

Through a new, competitive Race to the Top Early Learning Challenge grant program, the U.S. Departments of Education and Health and Human Services will dedicate $500 million to support comprehensive state plans for raising the quality of early learning programs, a step that could open new opportunities for cities working in this important area.

On April 20-21, 2011 mayors, senior city staff and United Way leaders from more than 30 cities gathered in Alexandria, Va., to discuss effective city-United Way partnerships for child well-being and two key national initiatives: the Mayors’ Action Challenge for Children and Families and the Campaign for the Common Good 

In response to the experiences of 13 cities that have participated in the California Cities Gang Prevention Network over the past three years, the California Assembly passed a resolution sponsored by Assemblymember Jared Huffman calling on the federal government to support the development of comprehensive local gang prevention plans and greater flexibility in the use of federal funds. 
California Cities Gang Prevention Network

Strategies for sustaining progress and preserving key investments for children, youth and families in the face of bleak fiscal conditions topped the agenda for the summer meeting of NLC’s Council on Youth, Education and Families (YEF Council), which was hosted and chaired by Saint Paul, Minn., Mayor Christopher Coleman on June 24-25, 2010.

Published with support from The Wallace Foundation, “Financial Strategies to Support Citywide Systems of Out-of-School Time Programs” describes several options and funding streams that city officials may consider for supporting and sustaining local afterschool programs. 

This toolkit draws upon lessons learned over three years from the California Cities Gang Prevention Network, a 13-city network sponsored in collaboration with the National Council on Crime and Delinquency to identify strategies for reducing gang violence and victimization.  The toolkit includes a chapter on ways in which cities are blending and braiding multiple funding streams to support their gang prevention efforts.
Full toolkit (PDF) | Marshalling funding chapter (PDF) | California Cities Gang Prevention Network

The YEF Institute's first-ever report on The State of City Leadership for Children and Families identifies the nation's most cutting-edge city strategies to help children and families thrive.  Several chapters highlight innovative strategies developed by municipal officials to fund programs and initiatives for children, youth and families. 
Full report (PDF) | Local infrastructure for children and families chapter (PDF) | Youth violence prevention chapter (PDF) |
Community wellness chapter (PDF)

This strategy guide, made possible by support from The Wallace Foundation, describes several options that city officials may consider for supporting and sustaining local out-of-school time programs.

This strategy brief contains an overview of major federal and state funding sources for early care and education, and a discussion of financing options that city leaders can employ when funding early childhood initiatives.

This report, produced in partnership with the Finance Project, explores federal funding sources and financing options for transitional jobs programs that serve ex-offenders, homeless individuals, and youth.

More funding tools and resources

Join a YEF Institute Peer Network

Looking for ways to learn from and share ideas with city officials in other communities? The YEF Institute's peer networks provide exciting forums for discussing key local challenges and opportunities. Current networks include:

Afterschool Policy Advisors Network (APAN) | Early Care and Education City Network | Education Policy Advisors Network (EPAN) | Family Economic Success Network (FES) | Municipal Network on Disconnected Youth (MNDY) | Municipal Network for Combating Obesity (MNCO) | Youth Participation Advisors Network (YPAN)

Network members receive periodic e-mail updates, invitations to special conference calls and events, and other opportunities to interact with peers and colleagues from across the nation. 
Subscribe to one or more peer networks

NLC and the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) have initiated a network of 13 major cities in California to combat gang violence and victimization.  The California Cities Gang Prevention Network focuses on building broad-based, cross-system teams to develop successful policies and practices that interweave prevention, intervention, enforcement and a community's "moral voice" as an alternative to prison-only solutions.

Supported by the MetLife Foundation, this project helped six cities - Charleston, S.C.; Lakewood, Ohio; Washington, D.C.; Lexington, Ky.; Portland, Ore.; and Grand Rapids, Mich. - implement comprehensive plans for children and youth.  

Through the MetLife Foundation City-Schools Youth Planning Initiative, the YEF Institute offered technical assistance to six cities to help them develop youth master plans.  The selected cities included Charleston, S.C.; Des Moines, Iowa; Diamond Bar, Calif.; Edmond, Okla.; Lakewood, Ohio;  and Minneapolis, Minn.