Transcript Portland Economic Opportunity Initiative

Economic Opportunity
Initiative
City of Portland, Oregon
Bureau of Housing
& Community Development
NCDA ANNUAL CONFERENCE
Howard Cutler
June 20, 2007
Evolution of the Initiative
• Historic CDBG focus was a place-based
strategy to revitalize blighted areas
• 2003 Strategic Plan conclusion: Move to
people-based strategies, Reduce # of
activities, & Focus on those most in need
• By a deliberative and inclusive process, able
to significantly change City’s community
development focus
Economic Opp Initiative Snapshot
Goal: Increase the incomes and assets of low income Portland
residents by a minimum of 25% within 3 years.
• Strategy: Build a poverty reduction system that builds on the
assets of discrete low-income populations
– Programs in the system follow proven best practices
– Programs provide training, supports, tools and evaluation
– System uses economy of scale as a leverage to attain
added benefits on behalf of participants
• System of 29 projects today serves about 2000 participants
– 12 adult workforce, 9 youth workforce, 8 microenterprise
The challenge in 2004...
• 50,000 disadvantaged households in City
regardless of how strong the economy.
• “Nothing works” malaise; no improvement
despite affordable housing; revitalization had not
improved many residents’ living situations; no
first rung on the ladder
• Local & national research in poverty reduction
best practices: isolated cases, no scale
• CDBG challenging core funding source
Poverty Reduction Best Practices
Workforce Development:
• Build on population skills or sectoral opportunities
• Comprehensive support services
• Early employer involvement
• Peer support
• Long-term program relationship
• Sectoral projects develop niches
Key elements are length & comprehensiveness of
support. “Give me a real shot at success!”
Poverty Reduction Best Practices
Microenterprise Development:
• All Workforce elements/personal supports
• Screen out/redirect some dreamers
• Business training and mentoring
• Multiple financial tools
• Credit repair
Key elements are length &
comprehensiveness of support.
Not Your Ordinary RFP
• Directive
• Outreach & Education
• Intense Pre-Proposal Technical
Assistance
• Outcome-Driven Designs
What did we fund?
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Homeless adults/multiple barriers
Homeless and at-risk youth
Ex-Offenders
Chronically Mentally Ill
Sectoral Workforce & Microenterprise
Women/minorities in the trades
What did we fund - cont.
• Refugees and immigrants
• Underserved & home-based businesses
• Struggling craftswomen using recycled
goods
Project Examples
Microenterprise
Workforce
Development
• Childcare Improvement
Project
• 110 home-based bus.
• Unite for support, C.C.
improvement, Bus. Ed,
purchasing, marketing
Corporate Connections
• Standard Ins., Bar
Assoc., Comcast
• Pre & post training &
support services for
high risk youth
Maria Castillo - CCIP
• Immigrant with limited English; disabled abusive husband; 2 kids
• Women in family don’t work outside home, care for children with
little or no pay
• Finances became desperate, took in more children but collected
little, isolation compounded problems
• Saw notice at church about provider support group & joined
CCIP, building skills and confidence
• Small grants improved quality of space and educational
program; now attracting higher paying clients
• Emerged as business woman and educator, triple bottom line
• New confidence helped her end abuse, her own kids doing
better in school & now buying a home
Christie Haynes – Open Meadow
Corporate Connections
• Seriously troubled teen
• Enrolled at Open Meadow, but no motivation
• Heard presentations about Corporate Connections & took tours
• Preston Gates Law Firm had such a calm,warm but professional
environment with staff that clearly want to help - “I was hooked”.
• Didn't believe that had anything to offer, but through Corporate
Connections trainings, individual counseling and an internship,
she began to believe in herself
• Now is firm's receptionist making $17/hr. with full benefits; "I
can't believe they trust me to be their clients first impression”
• Preston Gates is paying for her training as paralegal so she can
make $25.hr. and contribute even more to the firm’s work
Implementation:
Contract Management Best Practices
• IT IS ABOUT RELATIONSHIPS
• Recognition of contractors as
allies
• Continuous Quality
Improvement; outcomedriven
• We work for them
Local HUD
BHCD
Community Based
Organization
Participant
2007 Program Revenue
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Portland CDBG
Portland General Fund
NW Area Foundation
United Way
• TOTAL *
• *Multiple grants/City increase pending
$2,398,281
$1,560.362
$200,000
$200,000
$4,358,643
System Leverage & Coordination
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Portland Family of Funds (loan fund)
Workforce Investment Bd (WIA)
State & Federal IDA funds (approx.)
Lewis & Clark Law School
OR Employment Department
Kaiser Permanente (health care for
formerly homeless)
• TANF extensions (approx.)
• Banking Services (Albina Bank)
• TOTAL from Leveraged Sources
$850,000
$200,000
$32,000
$150,000
$500,000
$500,000
$72,000
$35,000
$2.339 Mil.
2006 Portfolio
• 2,000 participants
25%
Between 30%
and 50% of MFI.
• 389 microenterprises
• 1,476 workers on the
job or in training
75%
At or below
30% of MFI.
Year Two Results: Microenterprise
Startup Businesses
Average Revenues by number of years enrolled.
Enrollment
1 Year
2 Years
Year Two Results: Microenterprise
Existing Businesses
Average Revenues by number of years enrolled.
Enrollment
1 Year
2 Years
Year Two Results : Workforce
Workforce Goal: To increase participant income by at least 25% in three years.
MEETING WORKFORCE GOAL
Percentage of
participants
meeting
Workforce Goal
by amount of
time enrolled in
the Initiative.
The average hourly wage for youth at 6 months was $8.03 and at 12 months $8.83.
For adults, the average hourly wage at 6 months was $10.57 and at 12 months $11.49.
Return on Investment
• Average cost per participant:
– $5,500 in Year 1
– $1,000 in Year 2
– $1,000 in Year 3
• Year 1 income gains for workforce
participants average $15,059
• Average business revenue gains: $25,300 for
start-ups, $23,900 for existing businesses
CDBG ELIGIBILITY
• Microenterprise assistance: 570.201(o)
• For workforce: A) Maximize use of
CBDO designations (570.204) for nonprofits undertaking Community
Economic Development activities.
• B) Utilize 570.203(c) with LMC for the
National Objective, for non-CBDO
projects that train, place, and retain L/M
clients
Replication
• NW Area Foundation has contracted
with City to provide technical assistance
to interested Minnesota communities
• Duluth is on track to introduce an
increasing incomes program next April
• Meetings with other CDBG entitlements
in Minn. are scheduled for July
Innovations of Economic
Opportunity Initiative
• Intensive technical assistance to each project
before and after the contract period.
• City choosing to allocate its CDBG monies solely
for those at 50% MFI
• Figuring out how to use CDBG for people-based
poverty reduction
• Making adherence to best practice models a
primary selection criterion
• Leveraging system for participants benefit, i.e.
health care, legal, TANF extensions, IDA’s...
Lessons Learned
• We can do this! Pushing the envelope
pays dividends
• Intensive technical assistance + joint
problem-solving strengthens programs
• Early tracking & evaluation is key
• Clear outcomes sell the program
• One size does not fit all
Lessons Learned cont.
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Best practices work. Scale it up!!
Use expertise of community partners
Not all projects, not all clients succeed
Leverage, coordinate, advocate,
innovate !
• Set moderate expectations, then beat
them