Arlington, TX; Chattanooga, TN; Cleveland, OH; Kansas City, MO; Lansing, MI; Lima, OH; Louisville, KY; and Reno, NV Awarded Grants from the United States Conference of Mayors’ DollarWise Campaign

Washington, D.C. — The United States Conference of Mayors’ (USCM) DollarWise Campaign awarded its 2023 Innovation Grants — of $10,000 each — to eight mayors to expand their city’s economic mobility efforts. Awarded during the 91st Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the winning mayors were Arlington (TX) Mayor Jim Ross; Chattanooga (TN) Mayor Tim Kelly; Cleveland (OH) Mayor Justin Bibb; Kansas City (MO) Mayor Quinton Lucas; Lansing (MI) Mayor Andy Schor; Lima (OH) Mayor Sharetta Smith; Louisville (KY) Mayor Craig Greenberg; and Reno (NV) Mayor Hillary Schieve.

Since its inception in 2004, DollarWise has awarded grants to more than 100 cities nationwide to help disadvantaged communities improve their economic health and success. This year’s DollarWise awards were presented on January 20th during the annual Winter Meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C.

“The Mayors’ DollarWise Campaign helps cities create and expand economic opportunity for the communities that need it most,” said U.S. Conference of Mayors President Francis X. Suarez of Miami, Florida. “Mayors are closest to the frontlines of where problems and solutions meet, and know where best to deploy resources to unlock new opportunities for their residents to thrive and contribute to society.”

The awards were made possible through the generous support of the Bank of America Charitable Foundation, the founding sponsor of the DollarWise Campaign.

The following descriptions highlight each program and how the DollarWise grants will be used:

Innovation Grant Award Recipients:

  • Arlington Mayor Jim Ross will launch a program to assist families facing eviction judgements. A DollarWise Innovation Grant will help these families release their eviction judgements so that they can more easily rent homes in the future.
  • Chattanooga Mayor Tim Kelly will provide underserved residents with expanded broadband access, low-cost home internet, walkable public WiFi, and digital literacy training through the Orchard Knob Collaborative.
  • Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb will offer records expungement services to residents burdened with past marijuana convictions. The program aims to help participants access higher-wage employment opportunities.
  • Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas is launching a new social and financial capital program for new and existing entrepreneurs. The program will help participants access start-up capital to build and expand their businesses. Funding will be used to support data collection and reporting on the progress of participants.
  • Lansing Mayor Andy Schor will provide training to address basic learning gaps among returning residents as they seek employment after incarceration. The program will partner with the Sylvan Learning Center to provide skills-based, prescriptive tutoring services for participants.
  • Lima Mayor Sharetta Smith will use a grant to support the Greener Lawn pilot program, which promotes bidder equity, entrepreneurship, and business creation services for underserved and underrepresented residents. Greener Lawn will work with entrepreneurs and small lawn care companies to provide opportunities to youth ages 16-24.
  • Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg will help train women immigrants and refugees to become childcare providers. This program will result in economic gains for participants, while increasing overall childcare capacity in Louisville.
  • Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve will offer veterinary care for service animals owned by veterans, seniors, residents with disabilities, and survivors of domestic abuse. This program will offset the cost of veterinary care and improve the economic and emotional well-being of participating residents.

About the DollarWise Grants Programs:

The DollarWise Innovation Grants Program awards cities with grants of $10,000 each to help build and scale innovative and replicable economic mobility programs within underserved communities. DollarWise Innovation Grants are designed to support creative city initiatives that remove barriers to economic mobility and create opportunities to build wealth.

The Bank of America Charitable Foundation has generously supported DollarWise since its inception. The DollarWise Campaign and the Innovation Grants Program grew out of a desire from members of The Conference of Mayors’ Council on Metro Economies and the New American City to help residents learn more about economic mobility issues and to empower them to become investors in their communities.

DollarWise is the official economic mobility campaign of The United States Conference of Mayors and its Council on Metro Economies and the New American City. DollarWise is dedicated to helping residents, particularly those in underserved communities, thrive economically. The program fosters and supports innovative city-wide efforts to remove barriers to economic mobility, create opportunity through education and skills development, and build intergenerational wealth. Since 2004, hundreds of cities have participated in DollarWise Campaign initiatives and programs. For more information on the DollarWise Campaign visit www.usmayors.org/dollarwise or contact James Kirby at jkirby@usmayors.org.