Rochester Wins Coveted Bloomberg Award; $1-Million Grant

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Rochester, MNN (KROC AM News) - A big honor for the city of Rochester.

The city announced Tuesday morning it is one of 15 cities selected by Bloomberg Philanthropies to take part in the 2021-2022 Global Mayors Challenge.

The city says "this is a worldwide innovation competition that supports and spreads cities’ most promising ideas. Rochester has the opportunity to enter a three-year implementation period with a $1 million grant and robust technical assistance."

The 15 cities represent 13 nations on six continents and collectively represent more than 30 million residents. They were selected from among 50 Champion Cities that spent the past four months rigorously testing and refining their projects. When the competition launched in January 2021, mayors from 631 cities in 99 countries submitted their boldest ideas to the competition.

“Our co-designers and project partners were essential to the development of the project proposal and are key to our community’s future success. Collectively, we are committed to creating a model that can be effective here and also replicated across the country and globe. Our focus is on building community all people at a time,” highlights Chao Mwatela, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Director.

The Rochester project focuses on the economic mobility of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) women through careers in all-phases of the built environment and construction. Construction is a key pathway to economic recovery and sustainable job growth, as Rochester’s $6 billion Destination Medical Center (DMC) economic development initiative is expected to generate new construction jobs over 20 years.

Mayor Kim Norton shares, “We are so very honored and excited to be selected as one of the top 15 cities selected. Advancing the work in our proposal will allow us to address the marked disparities that exist for BIPOC women in Rochester. It will also help meet the needs of the construction and built environment industries that are vital to our growing community and in advancing the new federal infrastructure investment.”