The All-America City Award, given by the National Civic League, is the oldest community recognition program in the nation. The Award, bestowed yearly on 10 communities recognizes the work of communities in using inclusive civic engagement to address critical issues and create stronger connections among residents, businesses and nonprofit and government leaders. Once called the "Nobel Prize for constructive citizenship" - it has been awarded to more than 500 communities across the country. The Award is open to all American communities, from major cities, counties and regions to tribes, neighborhoods, towns and villages. In applying, communities reflect on their strengths, weaknesses, challenges and the progress they have made.
Each year hundreds of leaders, volunteers, and young people from the finalist communities travel to Denver to present the story of their work and their community to a jury of national experts. The awards conference includes workshops on promising practices.
Since the program's inception in 1949, more than 500 communities have been named All-America Cities. Each year, interested communities submit a comprehensive package based on published criteria that are evaluated in the award selection process. Deserving communities are named as finalists, and the year's ten award winners are named from that pool of applicants.
Video All-America City Award
2018 Award
The 2018 All-America City Awards focus on inclusive engagement practices that promote equity and bring all voices to the table to help solve our country's most pressing and complex issues. With this spotlight, National Civic League hopes to learn more about the inclusive decision-making processes that communities use to solve complex problems and move toward more equitable communities.
2018 All-America City applicants have focused on projects that:
- Promote positive community-police relations
- Promote racial healing and dialogues on race
- Expand government and institutional representation and access
- Further educational equity in the community
- Create affordable and safe housing
- Reduce poverty
- Increase job readiness and employment
- Focus on restorative justice
- Seek equitable transportation access
- Promote or ensure access to healthy food and/or to safe and healthy natural environments
The 2018 All-America City Awards coincides with the 50th anniversary of the Report of the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (more commonly known as the Kerner Commission). The report, published in 1968, concluded with words that unfortunately fit easily within our own times, "It is time to make good the promises of American democracy to all citizens - urban and rural, white, black, Spanish surname, American Indians, and every minority group."
2018 Finalists
These finalists represent the diversity of American communities from the largest cities to the smallest towns, from east to west and north to south. Finalist communities include the 7th largest city in America (San Antonio) and a town of only 22,000 people (Decatur, GA). The 20 finalists share a common bond of working to create equitable communities through inclusive civic engagement.
Springdale, AR - Chosen for creating the Committee for Civic Engagement and Inclusion and initiating work on city-wide initiatives to incorporate people of color and new Americans into civic life, resulting in a revitalized downtown, active youth council and free food pantries for residents in need.
Placentia, CA - Finalist because of the encouragement of active engagement across the community in meetings, discussions and task forces that have brought about revitalization, collaborative partnerships, and fiscal sustainability recommendations to guide the city decision makers.
Stockton, CA - Stockton's efforts to build a culture of engagement have resulted in community-based programs and systems that are healing decades of trauma for individuals and communities, empowering students who have been historically marginalized and providing new pathways to higher education.
Longmont, CO - Through recognizing the diversity of its population, and bringing more community members to the table, Longmont has been able to identify and address community needs creatively and cooperatively from mental health to disaster relief.
Decatur, GA - Continuing its commitment to civic engagement, Decatur is actively seeking to build an equitable and inclusive experience for its residents and visitors, focusing on racially-just community policing and building diverse and affordable housing.
Battle Creek, MI - Recognizing the power of existing residential groups, Battle Creek is engaging residents through a neighborhood ambassador program, building leadership capacity among its youth, and working with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation to address historic and contemporary effects of racism and improve economic conditions.
Las Vegas, NV - Las Vegas provides residents, stakeholders, staff and elected officials with a collective vision and plans for a future of income equality and economic mobility, building programs and services that remove barriers and address challenges faced by their most vulnerable youth.
Charlotte, NC - Following reports showing economic inequity in the city, and a police shooting in late 2016, the City of Charlotte engaged thousands of residents in one-on-one conversations and community meetings. This has resulted in partnerships that have built a more skilled workforce, reduced teen crime and invested in infrastructure in neighborhoods in need.
Cincinnati, OH - Cincinnati's formal commitment to civic engagement, seen in city staffing and the organization of community groups, has led to plans to assist vulnerable neighborhoods in going green, platforms for information sharing and engagement training and reduction of crime in targeted neighborhoods.
Beaverton, OR - Beaverton Organizing and Leadership Development (BOLD) is a unique and dedicated space for immigrants, refugees and other people of color to discover their common goals and struggles, build leadership capacity, gain community organizing and advocacy skills, and strengthen cross-cultural understanding.
Allentown, PA - Allentown is undertaking several redevelopment efforts and is engaging residents every step of the way. They partnered with outside agencies on developing the national training model on police relations with the LGBTQ community, published a guide in 12 different languages for all newcomers and provided critical job training to all residents in need.
Columbia, SC - The city government has been assessing and addressing its community needs, developing programs to serve minority and women-owned businesses, connect police officers with community members and revitalize areas affected by flooding and neglect.
Kershaw County, SC - Kershaw County embraces the changing faces of its rapidly growing community, balancing its rural past and suburban future, with its business owners, residents and elected officials reflecting that diversity and building programs to ensure equity in healthcare, education and economic growth.
Mount Pleasant, SC - Mount Pleasant is employing a balance of outreach from city departments and officials and engagement with community members through partnerships, dialogue and forums, resulting in youth participation in the Reading Patrol Program and streamlined navigation through the planning process.
El Paso, TX - El Paso built upon the City's 2015Strategic Plan to conduct a year-long community outreach process that reached more than 70,000 people and has led to an Advanced Leadership Training program for graduates of The Neighborhood Leadership Academy, partnerships to increase training and adult education, and creative implementation of the Rental Assistance Demonstration Program to serve more than 4,000 families.
San Antonio, TX - The Office of Equity, in partnership with the nonprofit, SA2020, applied data from an Equity Impact Assessment to seven high-impact City initiatives, seeing positive results in higher involvement from Latino residents, an increased number of residents enrolled in health insurance programs, reduced incidents of teen pregnancy and progress in adult education initiatives.
Pasco, WA - Pasco has embraced its diversity by developing inclusionary practices that have changed their election process to enable broader representation, built training and problem solving tools to enhance police community relations and enlisted a resident committee to guide the Economic Strategic Vision. Project details.
Tacoma, WA - Faced with a history of community distrust, anger and grief, Tacoma has chosen to invest in equity both internally and externally. They have established the Office of Equity and Human Rights, developed a Handbook for Recruiting, Hiring & Retention and established programs to ensure on-going community input and engagement.
Maps All-America City Award
2017 Winners
On June 16th, 2017 15 U.S. communities were honored with the 2017 All-America City Award for their civic engagement to help more young children from low-income families achieve grade-level proficiency and early school success.
- Springdale, AR
- Avondale, AZ
- Stockton-San Joaquin County, CA
- New Britain, CT
- Delray Beach, FL
- Suncoast (Sarasota & Manatee Counties), FL
- Council Bluffs, IA
- Des Moines, IA
- Dubuque, IA
- Springfield, MA
- Kansas City, MO
- Montgomery County-Dayton, OH
- Lane County, OR
- San Antonio, TX
- Roanoke, VA
Community Benefits
Benefits of winning the All-America City Award include:
- Economic StimulusAll-America City finalists and winners find it easier to attract and retain businesses that generate jobs and a stronger tax base. They also attract and retain residents who want a healthy community. Finalists and winners also have seen an increase in tourism and grants.
- Community PrideThe award has reinvigorated communities with a new sense of pride, accomplishment and teamwork. People are proud to live in an All-America City and they work to live up to that label and to maintain such a high standard.
- Community CollaborationThe application process itself encourages communities to evaluate themselves and fosters new partnerships. People often say they learned more about the great work taking place in their community because of the application process than they ever imagined.
- National RecognitionWinning the All-America City Award raises the profile of local efforts and puts communities on a national stage. Winners join an elite network of communities that can proudly call themselves an All-America City. And once a community wins, it's always an All-America City. We hear regularly about communities that still celebrate and take pride in winning even after 40 years or more.
Multiple winners
Communities winning this award more than two times are listed below.
Past Winners
The following cities have received the All-America City Award from the National Civic League.
2018 All-America City Award Supporters
Southwest Airlines
W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Kaiser Permanente
The Campaign for Grade Level Reading
ICMA-RC
CGI Communications
Comcast NBC Universal
Civic Results
City of San Antonio
City of Aurora
City of Dublin
City of Fort Lauderdale
Illinois Municipal League
Delta Dental
City of Rancho Cordova
City of Roanoke
City of Chula Vista
City of Lakewood
City of Tupelo
City of Gladstone
City of Asheboro
GreenbergTraurig
City of Tallahassee
City of Norfolk
City of Denver
City of Hayward
City of Decatur
City of Little Rock
References
External links
- The All-America City Program
Source of article : Wikipedia
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