Participation in National League of Cities "City Inclusive Entrepreneurship" ProgramCity of Dubuque
City Council Meeting
Consent Items # 014.
Copyrighted
December 19, 2022
ITEM TITLE: Participation in National League of Cities "City Inclusive
Entrepreneurship" Program
SUMMARY: City Manager submitting information on the National League of Cities'
(NLC) "City Inclusive Entrepreneurship" (CIE) program that the city is
participating in this fiscal year.
SUGGESTED Suggested Disposition: Receive and File
DISPOSITION:
ATTACHMENTS:
Description
NLC's City Inclusive Entrepreneurship Program
Participation-MVM Memo
Staff Memo
Onboarding Deck
Welcome Kit
Letter of Commitment
Type
City Manager Memo
Staff Memo
Supporting Documentation
Supporting Documentation
Supporting Documentation
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TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: Participation in National League of Cities "City Inclusive Entrepreneurship"
Program
DATE: December 12, 2022
Economic Development Director Jill Connors is submitting information on the National
League of Cities' (NLC) "City Inclusive Entrepreneurship" (CIE) program that City staff
are participating in this fiscal year.
Mic ael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:sv
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Jill Connors, Economic Development Director
Anderson Sainci, Director Office of Shared Prosperity and Neighborhood Support
Dubuque
THE CITY OF
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TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Jill M. Connors, Economic Development Director
Economic Development
Department
1300 Main Street
Dubuque, Iowa 52001-4763
Office (563) 589-4393
TTY (563) 690-6678
http://www.cityofdubuque.org
SUBJECT: Participation in National League of Cities "City Inclusive Entrepreneurship"
Program
DATE: December 6, 2022
INTRODUCTION
This memorandum provides information on the National League of Cities' (NLC) "City
Inclusive Entrepreneurship" program that City staff are participating in this fiscal year.
BACKGROUND
On the recommendation of Robert Palmer at the Iowa Municipal League, NLC staff
reached out to the City of Dubuque's Director of Strategic Partnerships, Teri Goodmann,
to inquire whether the City of Dubuque would be interested in enrolling in the "City
Inclusive Entrepreneurship" (CIE) program.
DISCUSSION
The CIE program has about 50 cities this year committing to giving under -represented
entrepreneurs more opportunities for economic advancements.
Through CIE, city leaders choose one of thirteen commitments (see the attached
Onboarding Deck) that drive racially and geographically inclusive economic
development. These practices range from providing microlending funding to increasing
equity in procurement.
Participating cities receive:
1. Direct technical assistance via one-on-one quarterly coaching calls with NLC
and/or Program Experts
2. Quarterly calls for cities to share best practices and review progress towards
their commitments
3. Press and media attention for their efforts via NLC's media channels.
4. Financial support of up to $15,000 in funding to help implement new
commitment programs
The City of Dubuque is participating in the "Ecosystem Accelerator" commitment division
of the program. Mayor Cavanagh and I attended the kickoff at NLC's annual conference
in Kansas City on November 16-17, 2022. This set of events allowed CIE participants to
meet each other and learn more about our obligations under the program.
Subsequently, Director of the Office of Shared Prosperity & Neighborhood Support,
Anderson Sainci, and I, along with Eric Dregne from a local private sector partner, The
Innovation Lab, conducted an initial call with program expert Dr. Lomax R. Campbell from
Third Eye Network (TEN).
Cities participating in this division include:
1.
City of Berkeley, CA
2.
City of Chattanooga, TN
3.
City of Dubuque, IA
4.
City of Durango, CO
5.
City of Houston, TX
6.
City of Pontiac, MI
7.
City of Richmond, VA
8.
City of Rochester, MN
9.
City of Springfield, MA
10.
City of Stockton, CA
11.
City of Tulsa, OK
12.
City of Washington, DC
13.
City of Wilmington, DE
14.
Village of Matteson, IL
This work will result in a "hub and spoke" system to assist under -represented
entrepreneurs. By August 2023, we will have 1) identified gaps in our local/regional
service provision, and 2) clarified a proposed ecosystem enhancement plan accounting
for at least one entrepreneurial or small business support pathway. The outputs and
outcomes of the program are detailed in the attached Ecosystem Accelerator Welcome
Kit.
The attached letter was signed by the Mayor, committing the City of Dubuque to
participating in the program's 2022-2023 cohort.
This memo is for informational purposes.
2
We are a coalition of 150 (and growing) cities,
entrepreneurial support organizations, and national
nonprofits that make commitments to inclusive,
entrepreneurship -led economic development.
IM Access to a peer Q Opportunity to Q Free light touch,
network of apply for $15K in cohort -based
participants working implementation technical
on similar policy funding assistance from a
initiatives national resource
provider
Commitments increase opportunity for historically excluded
entrepreneurs, with the goal of closing gaps in:
Business
Creation
Business
Receipts
bOep
Q
Capital
Access
Access to
Contracts
City
participants implement
one
tangible
initiative from this menu
per year.
Public
Procurement
Anchor
Procurement
• —
Civic
Tech
, Entrepreneurship
Data
Venture Capital for
Black -Owned Firms
Reduce barriers to earning city
contracts for BIPOC-and
women -owned businesses
Ecosystem
Accelerator
Increase coordination between
entrepreneurial support
organizations
Leadership
Diversity
Increase the diversity of
suppliers that local anchor
institutions contract with
Informal
Entrepreneurship
Formalize businesses so they
can access more resources
GMicrolending
Rethink how to solicit tech
solutions to improve service
delivery
Hispanic/Latinx
Entrepreneurship
Lower the barriers
Hispanic/Latinx
entrepreneurs face in starting
and growing businesses
no Early Childhood
O O Workforce
Increasing representation of Improving capital access for Prioritize business supports
women on boards under -represented early -stage and financial empowerment
and commissions entrepreneurs for early childhood providers
Develop data sources to make
more informed decisions
Entrepreneurship
Training
Equip aspiring entrepreneurs
with the skills they need to
start a business
Help innovative black -owned
firms raise venture capital
Mapping
Entrepreneurial
Resources
Catalog local
resources available
to entrepreneurs
Onboarding + Pre -Launch
Meet with NLC & determine
which commitment makes
sense for your community.
Engage in Pre -Commitment
Launch Workshop on
September 14.
November 17-19 il
Commitments are announced
by mayors and/or local
elected officials during the
Commitment Launch
Ceremony at NLC's annual
conference, City Summit, in
Kansas City, MO.
Minimum time commitment: --2 hours per month
(excluding in -person events and workshops)
Implementation
�Ma Aft Ani
November —> August
Participants engage in quarterly
cohort -based technical
assistance calls.
Participants engage in quarterly
1-on-1s with national resource
provider.
If participants make progress
towards mid -year and end -of
year benchmarks, NLC invites
them to apply for funding to
advance commitment.
Registration Open
tw
r__ Pre -Commitment Workshop
E City Summit Launch Event
i
tw
a
Quarterly Cohort Calls
Monthly Speaker Series
M Quarterly Progress Surveys
W
+ Implementation
Benchmarks
c�
k7 Grantmaking
NLVs Inclusive Entrepreneurship Network: Detailed Timeline
Onboarding + Pre -Launch Launch Implementation
Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Jul 13 —Sep 14
Sep
14
TBD
Initiating Activity Output Outcome
Wa
✓ Meet with the Inclusive Entrepreneurship team to
discuss commitment options. Schedule your
appointment here.
✓ Register for the Pre -Commitment Information
Session on September 14 here.
✓ Confirm your participation in the program with a
mayoral letter of commitment support. Template
available upon request.
QUESTIONS? GET IN TOUCH.
Cori Rice, Lauren Boswell
Program Directors
Center for City Solutions
rice@nlc.org; boswell@nlc.org
Who can make a commitment?
Commitments are made by local elected officials at City Summit but the
policies and programs are often implemented by entrepreneurial support
organizations or government agencies in partnership with mayors' offices.
Who provides technical assistance to city participants?
Technical assistance is provided by national resource organizations. We refer
to them as "Program Experts"; they are the trusted advisors, accountability
partners, and policy gurus who support a cohort of 5-10 cities. See Appendix
B for program experts who participated last year.
Public Procurement — The Government Performance Lab at the Harvard Kennedy School
Anchor Procurement — Interise
Ecosystem Accelerator —Third Eye Network
Microlending — Kiva US
Entrepreneurship Data — Mysidewalk
Venture Capital — Collab Capital
Working with Startups — CivStart
Informal Entrepreneurship — Rising Tide Capital
Hispanic/Latinx Entrepreneurship — Prospera
Resource Mapping — Sourcelink
Leadership Diversity — United WE's Appointments Project
Entrepreneurship Training —Kauffman FastTrac
Early Childhood Workforce — NLC's Early Childhood Success Team
City PressAM&
(Easthampton, MA) Easthampton pledges more inclusive procurement practices
(El Paso, TX) El Paso commits to national program to support local businesses
(Jamestown, NY) Jamestown to participate in initiative to help small business owners and entrepreneurs
(Norwalk, CT) Norwalk to start small business loan program with ARPA funds.
(Phoenix, AZ) Reducing barriers for local and underserved businesses
(Richmond, VA) Mayor Stoney partners with CBOs to appoint more women to boards and commissions
(St. Louis, MO) St. Louis joins City Innovation Ecosystems Program
(Fresno, CA) City of Fresno and Fresno Metro Black Chamber of Commerce to join forces to expand capital access
(Washington,
DC)
How DC is helping
license informal entrepreneurs
(Wilmington,
DE)
How Wilmington is
helping its informal entrepreneurs grow their businesses
(El Paso, TX) How El Paso is supporting small businesses
(Monmouth, OR) Monmouth's approach to growing its economy from within
(Tucson, AZ) Local businesses are helping Tucson grow its economy
(Toledo, OH) Prioritizing entrepreneurship in Toledo, OH
(Philadelphia, PA) In Philadelphia, a post -pandemic plan to support working black artists takes shape
10
Highly Engaged Tier 1 — (High Priority):
Attended the Pre -Commitment Workshop or make-up event, the Commitment Launch event (live or
virtually); Mayor/City made public commitment; completed initiating activity; are on their way towards mid -year
output completion by April 2023 and outcome completion by August 2023; actively participated on all of the
following CIE programming services: group calls, webinars, 1-on-1 calls; completed quarterly surveys; OR City
has accomplished all of the above & has demonstrated progress towards commitment implementation &
outcome completion on their own (i.e. utilizing/leveraging city internal resources and efforts). To successfully
achieve this metric, each city must meet all of the above components on time to be considered "highly
engaged."
Highly Engaged Tier 2 - (Medium -to -High Priority):
Attended the Pre -Commitment Workshop or make-up event, the Commitment Launch event (live or
virtually); Mayor/City made public commitment ; completed initiating activity; have taken actions towards mid-
year output completion, but will need a longer timeframe to achieve output success, but is on track to achieve
outcome completion by August 2023; participated in at least one of the following CIE programming services:
group calls, webinars, 1-on-1 calls; completed quarterly surveys; OR City has accomplished all of the above &
has demonstrated progress towards commitment implementation & outcome completion on their own (i.e.
utilizing/leveraging city internal resources and efforts). To successfully achieve this metric, each city must meet
all of the above components to be considered "highly engaged."
Application Requirements for Implementation Funding
• Implementation Grants can only be awarded to a city, a Program Expert (if applicable), or 501(c)3
organization in good standing with the IRS
• All cities and program experts (if applicable) will need to submit an application (guidance and template
provided by NLC CIE staff)
• Application requirements (see below)
o Request for Information (RFI)
o Project Budget
o Letter of Support (LOS) from government entity partner, if grantee is a 501(c)3 organization
• Able to articulate commitment to sustained program work throughout the remainder of the CIE servicing
year, with aim at commitment outcome completion by the end of the grant performance period, as measured
by NLC follow-up with mayors, economic development staff, progress reports, NPS Surveys, staff calls, and
most importantly, selected Program Expert timeline and signed -off approval, or city has accomplished all of
the above, and has demonstrated progress towards commitment implementation and outcome completion
on their own (i.e. utilizing/leveraging city internal resources efforts).
• Potential implementation funding cannot be used to support lobbying or in -direct costs
• If potential implementation funding is awarded to the Program Expert on behalf of cities, a letter of support
(LOS) is required from every city in their cohort
WHO WE ARE
The National League of Cities (NLC) is
the voice of America's cities, towns and
villages, representing more than Zoo
million people across the country.
Welcome!
Your chosen commitment:
Ecosystem accelerator
Commit to establishing and/or enhancing a network
of entrepreneurial resource partners to accelerate
small business goal attainment.
l
t_._.. J
k
To The 2022-23 City Inclusive Entrepreneurship Program!
Through support from the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, the City Inclusive Entrepreneurship
CIE program is a National League of Cities initiative that asks city leaders to commit to an inclusive
economic development policy, program, or practice over the course of one year.
What you will need:
Head of Economic At least five
El
Mayoral letter ❑ ❑ community partners
of support Development and/or and collaboration
Business Development
space
Your support system:
Program 5-15 Cohort Program
Expertise Cities Support
by Third Eye Network (TEN) by NLC
Dr. Lomax R. Campbell Lauren Boswell
Corianne Rice
Jenn Steinfeld
Light -touch technical Cohort learning Chance to apply for
assistance environment $15k in acceleration
funding.*
Highly engaged cities will have chance to apply for catalytic funding, which can reimburse any implementation related costs.
Expectations
• Participate in four
quarterly cohort calls
and at least six 1:1
meetings with the
Program Expert (see
timeline)
• Complete four quarterly
status surveys
Initiating Activity
By November 2022, you will
have identified a "hub"
organization responsible for
coordinating outreach,
network learning and
development activities among
your network and will have
shared hub information with
TEN and NLC.
Output
By April 2023, 1) five or more
"spoke" organizations will have
joined the city's resource
partner network, and 2) the
"hub" will establish qualitative
and quantitative ecosystem
enhancement goals.
Outcome
By August 2023, you will 1)
identify gaps in your
local/regional service
provision, and 2) clarify a
proposed ecosystem
enhancement plan
accounting for AT LEAST
ONE entrepreneurial or small
business support pathway.
Timeline
Request for information Grant performance period Interim and final progress
(RFI) opens Grants awarded (6.5 months) reports due for funded cities
Program Kickoff Quarterly cohort.. surveys Expected output completion Expected outcome completion
Commitment Examples
Recognizing entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs) wrestle with the same challenges faced by the small businesses they
serve, Third Eye Network designed an ecosystem enhancement program to address structural and organizational barriers within
local communities. Based on a collective impact framework, the original format was a 24-month cohort -based peer learning
program launched in Rochester, New York. It provided developmental support to the ESO network that identified service gaps,
facilitated learning and financial investments that increased organizational capacity. It also shaped new and existing programs,
fostered network collaboration, and established shared resources to streamline small business support pathways.
DocuSign Envelope ID: C3536CAO-DOF7-4429-AE55-964C522D264E
CITY OF DUBUQUE — LETTER OF COMMITMENT SUPPORT
DATE: November 8, 2022
TO: Clarence Anthony, NLC President & CEO
FROM: Brad M. Cavanagh, Mayor City of Dubuque
SUBJECT: Commitment to participate in the City Inclusive Entrepreneurship program
Dear Mr. Anthony,
It is with great enthusiasm that I offer my full support for the inclusion of CITY OF DUBUQUE as a
participant in the City Inclusive Entrepreneurship (CIE) program at the National League of Cities.
Through our participation, we are committing ourselves to formalizing local/regional networks of
entrepreneurial and small business support organizations (i.e., resource partners) with the goal of better
coordinating outreach in minoritized, rural, other marginalized communities, organized around targeted
small business goals and objectives.
I, or a designee, commit to formally announcing the city's commitment at NLC's City Summit
Conference on November 17-18tn
Our city commits to active participation in the 2022-23 CIE program, including the following activities:
• Working towards the desired outputs and outcomes of this commitment.
o Output: By April 2023, 1) five or more trusted "spoke" organizations—i.e., non -profits,
education, economic development, and associations that specialize in working with small
business owners of color or rural businesses —will have joined the city's resource partner
network, as measured by collaborative partnerships formalized, program materials,
shared resources developed, and press releases, and 2) the "hub" will establish qualitative
and quantitative ecosystem enhancement goals.
o Outcome: By August 2023, the resource partner network will have accelerated its
entrepreneurial and small business ecosystem by, 1) identifying gaps in its local/regional
service provision, and 2) clarifying a proposed ecosystem enhancement plan accounting
for AT LEAST ONE entrepreneurial or small business support pathway.
• Engaging in quarterly calls with other cities participating in this cohort to share progress updates
and lessons learned.
• Completing quarterly surveys and keeping NLC staff informed of progress.
Specifically, we have identified JILL CONNORS with assistance by ANDERSON SAINCI within the
CITY OF DUBUQUE as the individual(s) best suited to carry out the implementation of the City's
commitment.
Through its participation in the CIE program, the CITY OF DUBUQUE is committed to implementing
equitable policies, programs, and practices to support entrepreneurship -led economic growth in our
community. We look forward to leveraging the information, resources, made available by the National
League of Cities to do so.
DocuSign Envelope ID: C3536CAO-DOF7-4429-AE55-964C522D264E
Sincerely,
E
DocuSigned by:
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26145E3B46954AT
Brad M. Cavanagh Date
Mayor
City Of Dubuque
DocuSigned by:
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Implementation Lead Date
Jill Connors
Economic Development Director
City Of Dubuque