Cities of Service

As city leaders mobilized to address the covid-19 pandemic, Cities of Service launched an incredible response to support our on-the-ground contacts in communities all across the country. This response included: working with our grantees to modify program plans, budgets, and metrics; hosting weekly video conference calls for the americorps vistas serving in city halls as part of our programs; hosting bi-weekly video conference calls for our city leads, alternating between more guided conversations and open forums for staff to bring their timely questions; and introducing a monthly webinar series, with a particular focus on helping Cities to engage and support vulnerable communities in their covid-19 response. This effort helped 320 staff from more than 170 Cities this volatile and challenging time.

In 2020, Cities of Service officially became part of centers for civic impact at johns hopkins university. We are excited to join the center for government excellence, the govex academy, and the center for applied public research in empowering the public sector through expertise, training, research, and collaboration - and look forward to bringing our citizen engagement expertise to the centers' work.

In 2020, Cities of Service administered three national grant programs. Through love your block, city leaders engage citizen volunteers to revitalize city neighborhoods, one block at a time. Experience matters draws upon the experience and expertise of adults aged 50+ to tackle public problems, ranging from financial insecurity to property code violations. Guiding opportunities engages residents to achieve positive economic and social outcomes with community-informed opportunity zone investments.in addition to providing funding, Cities of Service helps recruit and select americorps vista members to provide additional capacity for citizen engagement in participating Cities. Cities of Service also provides technical assistance throughout the grant term, including training in our proven citizen engagement model, project design assistance, program management support, opportunities to learn from experts and peers, and access to resources to replicate best practices from other Cities.