Past Programs
Past Programs
SMALL BUSINESS TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE INITIATIVE
In July 2021, the Citi Foundation announced the 50 community organizations selected as recipients of a $25 million open request for proposals (RFP) issued earlier in the year.
Each organization received $500,000 in unrestricted funding to support their continued work in providing technical assistance to small businesses owned by people of color that have been disproportionately impacted by the unprecedented health, social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
As the U.S. continues its economic recovery efforts, entrepreneurs that have been able to keep their doors open require high-quality advice on how to navigate the rules of public support programs, adapt to COVID-19 public health restrictions, and develop new plans for financial stability. These 50 community organization are providing a wide-range of technical assistance programming including strategic and financial planning, legal services, technology solutions, and application assistance directly to small businesses across the country.
Learn more about the community organizations awarded through the $25 million Small Business Technical Assistance RFP.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS INITIATIVE
In November 2020, the Citi Foundation announced 30 Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) selected as recipients of a $15 million public request for proposals (RFP) issued earlier in the year.
Each organization received $500,000 in unrestricted funding to support small businesses owned by people of color and lower-income individuals and communities across the country.
CDFIs play a vital role by not just for delivering capital but for supplying the hands-on support and assistance that businesses need. Through this investment the Citi Foundation aims to empower CDFIs to pivot, adjust or expand to address evolving needs and meet clients where they are as they face increased demand of their services due to COVID-19.
Read more about this effort in the Citi Foundation’s president blog.
To learn more about the organizations awarded please read the announcement.
CITY ACCELERATOR
The Citi Foundation and Living Cities launched the City Accelerator in 2014 to foster innovation and promote collaboration between urban leaders to tackle some of their cities' most pressing issues.
The City Accelerator selected 32 U.S. cities to pilot innovative efforts that generate economic opportunities for low-income populations and help municipalities run more effectively. Participating cities also benefited from ongoing interaction with leading practitioners from around the country and shared lessons learned to help other cities advance similar work. The City Accelerator built on the Project on Municipal Innovation (PMI), a collaboration between Living Cities and Harvard's Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation, which brought together mayoral chiefs-of-staff and policy directors across the U.S. to discuss challenges facing their municipalities.
Cross-sector collaboration – governmental, philanthropic and private – was essential to the many successes, large and small, of the City Accelerator, which was recognized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Council of Foundations with the 2021 Secretary's Award for Public-Philanthropic Partnerships.
CITI MICROENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARDS
Launched in 2005, the Citi Microentrepreneurship Awards Program (CMA) was a global financial inclusion initiative that recognized the contributions of microentrepreneurs to their local economies and highlighted the importance of microfinance in supporting the economic development of low-income individuals.
The CMA recognized the efforts of more than 6,000 microentrepreneurs across 51 countries, with an average of 26 countries participating in the program each year. The program also enabled the Citi Foundation to convene stakeholders— including peers, community leaders, regulators and policymakers— around this issue to help influence sector-wide policy and regulation while encouraging innovation around the world.