We are excited to offer expanded Learning Lounge offerings for 2026!
Attendees will have access to free, rapid, on-site consulting appointments with a diverse roster of experts throughout the conference. Talk through initial questions or ideas about a program and make face-to-face connections with colleagues at organizations offering resources and technical assistance that can support your work at home.
Read about Learning Lounge participants below:
Sustainable Strategies D.C.
Sustainable Strategies DC specializes in grant writing, strategic consulting, and advocacy in helping communities obtain resources to revitalize and thrive. In partnership with ICMA, their staff coached dozens of localities over the last 18 months in positioning their economic mobility priorities for available funding. Schedule a meeting to talk through practical tips on Congressional earmarks, federal grant programs and other strategies to gain support for your local community.
Economic Mobility Catalog
Results for America will offer customized demonstrations of the Economic Mobility Catalog, a free online library of hundreds of resources to help local leaders identify and implement evidence-based solutions supporting economic mobility. Participants will receive hands-on support navigating the Catalog and assistance in finding resources most relevant to their communities.
Evidence Based Budgeting
Results for America experts are available to help local government leaders get more out of every public dollar. We can help with strategic planning and community goal alignment, improving your budget process, and implementing evidence-based solutions through grantmaking and procurement.
Upward Mobility Initiative
The Urban Institute’s Upward Mobility Initiative equips local leaders with data and tools to help communities thrive. Join us to learn how you can use our data and tools to prioritize strategic actions, build cross-sector coalitions, and create mobility action plans tailored to you and your community’s needs.
CFE Fund
The CFE Fund is a national nonprofit organization helping local governments embed financial empowerment strategies into municipal infrastructure to advance economic mobility. Meet with our team to learn how cities and counties across the country are implementing proven, data-driven, and client-centered programs and strategies to improve individual and household financial stability. We can discuss funding and technical assistance opportunities and connections to our national peer learning networks; demonstrate tools like our Financial Empowerment Center (FEC) centralized database, used by almost 40 municipalities offering free financial counseling as a public service, and our Bank On National Data Hub tool showing impact of our national safe banking initiative; and help you identify strategies and resources that fit your community’s goals.
Grow America
Grow America (formerly NDC) is a nonprofit community and economic development organization that invests capital to build equitable, vibrant communities. We partner with communities and government agencies to implement community and economic development strategies from business finance, to tax credit investments, housing development and policy and planning work, as well as training communities that work in those areas. Much of our work is unique to the communities with which we partner and designed with their needs in mind.
