National League of Cities — Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Project Copyright 2014
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 14.
ITEM TITLE: National League of Cities — Financial Inclusion Technical
Assistance Project
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending the City partner with the
Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque on an
application to the National League of Cities Financial
Inclusion Technical Assistance Project.
SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receive and File; Approve
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
NLC Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Project- City Manager Memo
MVM Memo
Memo Staff Memo
THE CITY OF Dubuque
UBE I
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Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2007-2012-2013
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: National League of Cities — Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance
Project
DATE: December 30, 2015
Housing and Community Development Director Alvin Nash is recommending the City
partner with the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque on an application to the
National League of Cities Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Project.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
Micliael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Barry Lindahl, City Attorney
Cindy Steinhauser, Assistant City Manager
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
Alvin Nash, Housing and Community Development Department Director
THE CITY OF Dubuque
DUB All-America Cit&E i
Masterpiece on the Mississippi 2007.2012.2013
DATE: December 30, 2015
TO: Mike Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Alvin Nash, Housing and Community Development Director
RE: National League of Cities — Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance
Project
INTRODUCTION
In cooperation and alignment with the National League of Cities, the City of Dubuque,
working with the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, is applying for the status
of Financial Inclusion Technical Assistance Project.
The City of Dubuque supports financial inclusion efforts in Dubuque both directly and
through community partnerships such as our Housing and Community Development
Department's Family Self-Sufficiency coaching and saving program and Bank On, a
cross-sector partnership established in 2011 to reach our unbanked community
members.
BACKGROUND
To increase community-wide access, outreach, and delivery of services most efficiently
and comprehensively to all residents, the challenge before us is to firmly establish a
network in order to build community capacity to support financial inclusion by
structurally aligning systems, programs, and practices.
One critical challenge that such a network will address is data collection around needs
and gaps in services. In a community the size of Dubuque, available data from national
sources often does not provide the level of detail needed to direct planning. By
strengthening multi-sector partnerships, we plan to improve data sharing to better
inform program decisions and improve assessment.
DISCUSSION
Dubuque engages in four pillar strategies through municipal or nonprofit and private
sector programs:
1. Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
2. Multi-benefit outreach and access
3. Financial education, counseling and coaching
4. Homeownership assistance
A Dubuque coalition or network of multi-sector financial inclusion partners will create the
Dubuque@Home is an initiative of the City of Dubuque Housing&Community Development Department
350 W.6t"St., Dubuque, Iowa 52001 1 Phone:563.589.4239 1 www.cityofdubuque.org/dubuqueathome
following outcomes:
• Increase dollars to families through EITC/VITA participation
• Increase family asset building by connecting EITC savings to existing coaching
and education programs
• Increase the number of families establishing bank accounts through participation
in Bank On program
• Establish a data collection platform to track progress in these indicators
As we work toward these outcomes, we will continue to track population level indicators
such as the disaggregated poverty rate, with attention to our priority populations in order
to help measure the effectiveness of our efforts.
BUDGETIMPACT
There is no financial requirement on behalf of the City of Dubuque to partner with the
Community Foundation in applying for this cohort financial inclusion program.
RECOMMENDATION/CONCLUSION
The recommendation is that the City Council approve the application to be included in a
National League of Cities technical assistance cohort for financial inclusion.
Dubuque@Home is an initiative of the City of Dubuque Housing&Community Development Department
350 W.6`h St.,Dubuque,Iowa 52001 1 Phone: 563.559.4239 1 www.cityofdubuque.org/dubuqueathome
NATIONAL
LEAGUE
of CITIES
INSTITUTE
FOR YOUTH,
EDUCATION & FAMILIES
Financial Inclusion Systems and City Leadership (FISCL)
Project Agreement, City of Dubuque
The National League of Cities (NLC) Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) is pleased
to select the City of Dubuque as part of our Financial Inclusion Systems and City Leadership (FISCL)
initiative. Through this two-year project, NLC will work closely with you and your city team to help you
develop and coordinate efforts that promote the financial inclusion of residents.
The goal of the project is to improve the financial stability of low-income families through two major
project components: (1) a Mayors' Institute on Financial Inclusion (MIFI); and (2) an in-depth technical
assistance program to inform and support a broad municipal financial inclusion and system -building
agenda in participating cities.
The FISCL initiative also includes an opportunity to apply for two rounds of grant funding ranging from
$15,000 to $50,000 following the MIFI in April. Additional information and grant requirements will be
distributed at a later date, but please note that the first round of funding is only available to cities in
which the mayor attends the MIFI.
As part of the FISCL initiative, the YEF Institute agrees to provide technical assistance to project cities
through regularly scheduled phone calls with each city team, conference calls and webinars with all
participating cities, three all -city convenings designed to facilitate peer learning, and site visits to project
cities on an as -needed basis.
By signing this document acknowledging your city has been selected for the FISCL initiative, the City of
Dubuque agrees to participate in the following technical assistance activities over the course of the next
two years:
• The mayor agrees to participate in the project's Mayors' Institute on Financial Inclusion (MIFI)
on April 19th_20th, in a location to be determined and communicated shortly;
• Select a team lead within the city government that will act as a primary contact with NLC;
• Develop a broader local project team to carry out the city's goals and participate in the project's
technical assistance activities (may include city representatives and community partners);
• Work with NLC staff between now and the April MIFI to develop a strong case statement that
your mayor will present at the MIFI convening;
• Participate in monthly all -city calls or webinars facilitating focused discussions of design and
implementation challenges and promoting cross -site sharing of best practices;
• Keep NLC apprised of progress, including setbacks or unexpected challenges, throughout the
project period;
• Participate in project convenings, including the April MIFI, an early 2017 financial inclusion
summit, and a cross -site meeting of all city teams later in 2017;
• Work with NLC to develop a plan for an NLC site visit during the project time period that will
offer on-site guidance and leverage local support;
• Collaborate with NLC and the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin -
Madison (CFS), the project consultant, to develop data collection plans to evaluate the impact of
programs and assess the financial health of residents;
• Recognize NLC and MetLife Foundation in local media outreach materials related to the FISCL
project through use of logos or other formal acknowledgement;
• Agree to refrain from making any public announcements about the project until NLC
disseminates its press release on January 19;
• Provide a short progress update with outcome data at the midpoint of project implementation
(mid-January 2017); and
• Submit a final report on progress, outcomes, lessons learned, and how funds were spent to NLC
by December 2017 (NLC will provide a short template for data reporting and will work with city
teams to track these data throughout the project grant period).
Please note that we will be conducting an orientation conference call for selected cities on February 1,
2016 from 1:00-2:00 PM Eastern. Further information about this call will be sent to city teams by email
shortly.
The FISCL initiative runs from January 2016 through December 2017 and includes the following key
dates and activities:
Project Timeline
Estimated Dates
FISCL Project announcement of city selections
January 19, 2016
MIFI case statement development calls with cities
February — April 2016
Mayors' Institute for Financial Inclusion (MIFI)
April 19 — 20, 2016*
Application process for Round I grants
May 2016
Round I grants disbursed to MIFI cities
May—June 2016
Ongoing technical assistance and site visits
May 2016 — December 2017
Mid -project city progress summaries due to NLC
January 2017
National Financial Inclusion Summit
January 2017*
Round II grants application process
Mid -year 2017
Project cross -site meeting
Summer 2017*
Grant reports due from cities to NLC
November 2017
Project ends
December 2017
*Dates tentative and location TBD
We look forward to working with the City of Dubuque to make the FISCL initiative a success for project
cities and their residents!
Please sign below and email a final pdf version to Courtney Coffin at coffin a(�nlc.orq by
Wednesday, January 2
Signature: Date: 1/22/16
Mayor, City of Dubuq
Signature.
City Team Lead, City of Dubuque
3
Date: 1`a.l/aC)I(P
(01/25/2016) Kevin Firnstahl - NLC - Dubuque FISCL Executed DocumentPage 1
From:
Kevin Firnstahl
To:
coffin@nlc.org
CC:
Eric@dbqfoundation.org; Gehl, Randy; Jones, Maurice; Nash, Alvin; la...
Date:
01/25/2016 9:32 AM
Subject:
NLC - Dubuque FISCL Executed Document
Attachments:
NLC_FISCL Dubuque Executed.pdf
Attached please find an executed copy of the NLC Financial Inclusion Systems and City Leadership
document executed by Mayor Roy Buol of City of Dubuque and Lana Wood of the Community Foundation
of Greater Dubuque.
I will retain the original unless directed otherwise.
Please contact me if you have any questions or difficulty with the attachment.
Thank you.
Kevin S. Firnstahl, CMC
City Clerk
City of Dubuque, Iowa
50 W. 13th Street
Dubuque, IA 52001
563.589.4121
kfirnsta@cityofdubuque.org
Page of
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Subject:NLC Dubuque FISCL Executed Document
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Created By:Kfirnsta@cityofdubuque.org
Scheduled Date:
Creation Date:01/25/2016 9:32 AM
From:
Kevin Firnstahl
RecipientActionDate & TimeComment
CC: Alvin Nash (Anash@cityofdubuque.org)Read01/25/2016 9:42 AM
To: coffin@nlc.org (coffin@nlc.org)Delivered01/25/2016 9:33 AM
CC: Eric@dbqfoundation.org (Eric@dbqfoundation.org)Delivered01/25/2016 9:34 AM
CC: lana@dbqfoundation.org (lana@dbqfoundation.org)Delivered01/25/2016 9:34 AM
CC: Maurice Jones (Mjones@cityofdubuque.org)Read01/25/2016 9:39 AM
CC: Randy Gehl (Rgehl@cityofdubuque.org)Replied01/25/2016 10:35 AM
file:///C:/Users/kfirnsta/AppData/Local/Temp/XPgrpwise/56A5EBB8DBQ_DODBQ_PO...01/25/2016