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Changing Lives by Building Credit History — One Microloan at a Time

Farida Jhabvala Romero

November 08, 2019 |

KQED |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

A program through the Mission Asset Fund, based in San Francisco, helps low-income communities get loans and good credit from an unlikely source: each other. The initiative pools together funds from family members and neighbors and distributes the loan to one of the contributors each month; the loans are interest free and allow community members to build credit without the difficulties of breaking into the typical microfinance realm.

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This Conservative City Built a $132 Million Park Using One Weird Trick

Zach Mortice

October 11, 2019 |

Bloomberg CityLab |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

After falling behind in urban planning and innovation in the 1990s and early 2000s, Oklahoma City created a limited-time sales tax called MAPS to pay for capital projects, like the new Scissortail Park. The tax consisted of a series of one-cent sales taxes and has brought in over $1.5 billion and has helped fund convention centers, other urban green areas, and more.

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Fill, Build and Flood: Dangerous Development in Flood-Prone Areas

Laurie Mazur

October 08, 2019 |

U.S. News & World Report |

Multi-Media |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

To combat excessive flooding in low-plain areas, cities like Charlotte are passing critical legislation that regulates fill-and-build development, a type of construction that leads to more intense flooding in vulnerable neighborhoods. Charlotte bases flood control plans off future conditions rather than current or past flooding areas, and the city charges a fee for homeowners that, in turn, provides dedicated funding for stormwater management

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5 Decades Later, New Communities Land Trust Still Helps Black Farmers

Debbie Elliott

October 03, 2019 |

NPR |

Radio |

5-15 Minutes

Response Location: United States, Albany, Georgia

The New Communities Land Trust was created in the 1960s as a way to build power and equity for and among African Americans in Georgia. The Trust works with Black farmers on many different levels, including helping them strengthen their farming practices and businesses. While the Trust was lost in 1985 due to discriminatory bank practices, it was restarted with a $12 million settlement from the federal government.

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Free For All: Clarke County School District Provides Free Meals to Every Student

Gabriella Audi

October 03, 2019 |

Grady Newsource |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Athens, Georgia

Clarke County School District in Georgia has 21 public schools that all offer free meals to students, regardless of their financial needs. This is facilitated through a federally-funded program, so even though poverty rates are high in the area, local residents are not footing the bill. While there are still some challenges implementing the program, in general it is received well and allows students to focus on their work and well-being instead of being distracted by hunger.

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Mongolian nomads create shared funds and financial security

Sarah Trent Khaliun Bayartsogt

October 02, 2019 |

Devex |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mongolia, Arvaikheer

Herders in Mongolia have resorted to cooperative shared funds to keep their pastures afloat, a sign of a slow tilt towards greater collaboration and trust in the area. The shared funds act as a way for herders to borrow and lend money among themselves, helping local communities build financial security in a time when climate change is negatively impacting their pasture land.

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Community hopes 'Purpose Built' revitalization model enlivens into Ridgecrest neighborhood

Krista Johnson

September 20, 2019 |

The Montgomery Advertiser |

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1500-3000 Words

Response Location: United States, Woodlawn, Alabama

Eighteen "purpose built communities" across America have revitalized neighborhoods through a comprehensive approach that includes building mixed-income housing, providing better educational opportunities and offering health and wellness services. The model focuses on establishing a strong "cradle-to-college education pipeline" which attracts upper-income families and creates socio-economic diversity. Community centers, green spaces, and grocery stores all revitalize and bring new development to these neighborhoods. Rivercrest, a neighborhood in Montgomery, Alabama is seeking to replicate the model.

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‘I just want more for them': New program aims to boost families' economic mobility

Lauren Lindstrom

September 09, 2019 |

The Charlotte Observer |

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800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, Charlotte, North Carolina

Economic mobility becomes far more attainable when children grow up in a "high-opportunity" area as opposed to a "low-opportunity" area: housing within the city with access to transportation and amenities, higher-performing schools, and lower crime rates. An enhanced voucher program through the Charlotte Housing Authority offers families housing vouchers to move into high-opportunity areas. They also offer incentives to landlords who accept the vouchers, such as up to $1,000 to repair damage beyond normal wear and tear. The program is still new, and it will take generations to see its affects.

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Inside the innovation lab solving climate financing

Amelia Axelsen

August 16, 2019 |

Apolitical |

Text |

800-1500 Words

Response Location: United States, San Francisco, California

Turning climate solutions into opportunities for investment can help mobilize capital to address climate change. The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance (The Lab), part of the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) based in San Francisco, California, promotes public-private partnerships to reduce the risk of investment in large-scale projects. Nature Based Solutions, such as the Lab’s initiative to restore mangroves in the Philippines, contributes tremendous economic value in areas like flood mitigation.

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Post-Soviet Co-ops: Mongolian Herders Borrow a Tool From the Recent Past

Sarah Trent Khaliun Bayartsogt

August 15, 2019 |

Yes! Magazine |

Text |

1500-3000 Words

Response Location: Mongolia, Ulaanbaatar

Members of Post-Soviet Mongolian tribes return to a co-op way of life in order to survive - but this time, the co-ops are community run, rather than state-run. Because climate change has degraded the quality of soil and made it difficult for pasture-raised animals to survive, these tribes have banded together to manage pastureland more efficiently and sell their products, as a group, to national companies.

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