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Love Your Block Grant Application Copyrighted June 15, 2026 City of Dubuque CONSENT ITEMS # 14. City Council ITEM TITLE: Love Your Block Grant Application SUMMARY: City Manager recommending authorization to submit the City of Dubuque's application for the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation Love Your Block 2026-2028 grant. SUGGUESTED Receive and File; Approve DISPOSITION: ATTAC H M ENTS: 1. MVM Memo Intent to apply for Love Your Block Grant 2. Staff Memo Page 587 of 1594 Dubuque THE CITY QF � All•li�eriea Ciry DLT B E ��, . � �� � � MaSt� Z�C� alZ t�Q Mt55ZSSZ Z zoa�•zoiz•zai3 �' pp zai�*zaig TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager SUBJECT: Intent to apply for Love Your Block Grant DATE: June 11, 2026 Community Impact and Neighborhood Support Director Antonio Mouzon is recommending City Council authorization to submit the City of Dubuque's application for the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation Love Your Block 2026-2028 grant. If selected, this grant will provide $270,000 over two years to fund resident-led neighborhood revitalization projects in Dubuque's highest concentration-poverty areas, with the Office of Community Impact and Neighborhood Support serving as the lead city department. Grant Details • Total Grant Amount: $270,000 (over two years) • Fellowship Funding: $200,000 (supports up to two Love Your Block Fellows) • Program Implementation Funding: $70,000 (mini-grants, supplies, outreach) • Match Required: No • Application Due Date: June 15th, 2026 • Award Notification: August 2026 • Grant Term: January 1, 2027 — December 31, 2028 I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council approval. � Mic ael C. Van Milligen MCVM:sv Attachment cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager Antonio Mouzon, Community Impact and Neighborhood Support Director Anderson Sainci, Director of Strategic Partnerships Nathan Kelleher, Budget Analyst - Grants Page 588 of 1594 Dubuque THE CITY OF � D AIt•Aiesrica Cit� UB E � � ��► � � MaBte iece on the Mississi 1 zoo��zoiztzais �P pp �01���oig TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager FROM: Antonio Mouzon, Community Impact & Neighborhood Support Director SUBJECT: Intent to apply for Love Your Block Grant DATE: June 9, 2026 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this memorandum is to request City Council authorization to submit the City of Dubuque's application for the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation Love Your Block 2026-2028 grant. If selected, this grant will provide $270,000 over two years to fund resident-led neighborhood revitalization projects in Dubuque's highest- concentration-poverty areas, with the Office of Community Impact and Neighborhood Support serving as the lead city department. DISCUSSION Love Your Block is a national program administered by the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University. It funds cities to engage residents and neighborhood associations as co-designers of small-scale revitalization projects through a competitive mini-grant model, supported by two grant-funded community Fellows. The program is grounded in impact volunteering. This structure provides a proven strategy for building lasting trust between residents and local government while producing tangible, visible improvements in neighborhood spaces. Dubuque is well-positioned to compete for this grant. The Office of Community Impact and Neighborhood Support has administered individualized neighborhood grants for years, building the application, review, and grantee support infrastructure Love Your Block requires. The Office of Sustainability brings a parallel mini-grant track record, including two rounds of Bloomberg Philanthropies' Youth Climate Action Fund microgrants, and contributes the Teen Resiliency Corps, which is a paid youth team that conducts door-to-door outreach in the target neighborhoods. Together, these assets represent a level of institutional readiness few applicant cities can match. The proposed focus area is Dubuque's highest concentration poverty neighborhoods, anchored in the Bee Branch / North End corridor. Research by Harvard economist Raj Chetty demonstrates that neighborhood conditions have a causal impact on children's long-term economic mobility. Investing in resident-led revitalization in these areas is therefore a direct investment in the future of Dubuque's most vulnerable families. Page 1 of 2 Page 589 of 1594 GRANT DETAILS • Total Grant Amount: $270,000 (over two years) • Fellowship Funding: $200,000 (supports up to two Love Your Block Fellows) • Program Implementation Funding: $70,000 (mini-grants, supplies, outreach) • Match Required: No • Application Due Date: June 15th, 2026 • Award Notification: August 2026 • Grant Term: January 1, 2027 — December 31, 2028 Program Co-Leads: Temwa Phiri, Community Engagement Coordinator, and Brittney Hayes, Community Service and Volunteer Coordinator. The program will be overseen by Antonio Mouzon, Director of Community Impact and Neighborhood Support. ALIGNMENT WITH CITY COUNCIL GOALS Healthy and Safe Community • Activates vacant lots, improves green space, and reduces urban heat island in disinvested neighborhoods Financially Responsible, High-Performance City Organization • Leverages $270,000 in external funds; builds on existing city infrastructure with no required match Robust Local Economy: Diverse Businesses and Jobs with Economic Prosperity • Creates a Robust Local Economy which supports upward mobility by improving conditions in neighborhoods where economic opportunity is most constrained Diverse Arts, Culture, Parks, and Recreation Experiences and Activities • Community-designed beautification, greening, and public space activation Future Funding Dubuque's Love Your Block program is designed to build a replicable model for resident-led neighborhood improvement. The city will pursue continuation funding through Community Development Block Grant allocations, the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, and additional Bloomberg-affiliated programs following the grant term. ACTION REQUESTED I respectfully request City Council approval to submit the City of Dubuque's Love Your Block 2026-2028 grant application to the Bloomberg Center for Public Innovation at Johns Hopkins University by the deadline of June 15, 2026. Page 2 of 2 Page 590 of 1594