Where we Work
We partner with communities ready to rise to the challenge of changing systems.
Building equitable systems for catalytic public and private investment is an inherently complex and difficult endeavor. PERC partners with cities who embrace this challenge head on. We launched our first cohort in four cities where some of the starkest racial disparities persist.
from our CEO
Our goal is an ecosystem of cities with a people-centered, community-designed infrastructure for attracting, securing, and investing catalytic public and private dollars that benefit multiple generations. Our goal is a moral one, as much as it is an economic and civic one.
Dr. Robert S. Harvey
Redefining public investment fueled by changemakers.
PERC seeks partners that not only demonstrate a deep commitment to racial equity, but also possess the vision, leadership, adaptability, and collaborative spirit necessary to redefine how catalytic investment is procured, deployed, and implemented. Selected cities are expected to share learnings within their cohort and serve as models of reimagined decision-making for multigenerational change nationwide.
Interested in applying? Email us: info@partnershipforequity.com.
Site selection and evaluation
Central to our selection of sites is a holistic evaluation of each city’s strengths, challenges, and opportunities for transformation, based on multiple factors:
- Alignment with PERC vision, approach, and priorities
- City context, including population size, racial history, assets, and economies
- Racial residential segregation and racial disparities
- Political and government structures, including city budget, decision-making processes, and political dynamics
- Strength of community-based organizations and existing partnerships
- Potential diversity of sectors to be represented in PERC coalition
- Articulation of coalition’s shared vision for success
- Local government commitment
- Commitment to community-driven processes
- Existing (or plans for establishing) infrastructure for sustained community involvement
- Demonstrated readiness for cross-sector collaboration and shared power
- Demonstrated readiness for emergent learning process (failing forward)
Fueling transformation through an equity-focused, community-building accelerator
Participating cities receive a comprehensive package of technical assistance and implementation resources to develop equitable and resilient investment systems to attract, secure, and implement catalytic public and private dollars, including:
Philanthropic support & fundraising
Each site is awarded grants for up to $5 million for over three years to strengthen community decision-making capacity, hire staff, pay community participants for their time, create small pilot projects and build strong cross-sector coalitions. The grant includes $2.5 million from local funders matched by national philanthropy.
Technical assistance & infrastructure portfolio
As part of the PERC cohort, sites receive access to project managers, technical assistance and facilitation, and other professional resources funded by Melville Trust. These resources support the process of collaboratively identifying priorities, developing equity-based implementation plans, grant writing and integrating federal funding with local, state, and private support.
Training & education
PERC coalitions undergo training for building cross-sector consensus, sharing responsibilities, aligning, designing, and launching project plans and small pilots that are in support of the shared goals and vision.
Capital access
PERC provides each site access to a capital/credit enhancement pool to jumpstart projects.
Communications support
Each site receives strategic communications support, such as media training, to help communities shape the narrative in their cities.
Join us
Are you interested in becoming an active participant in PERC’s transformation process?