To illustrate the impact of the Promise Neighborhoods program's cradle-to-career approach, the U.S. Department of Education and the Center for the Study of Social Policy, developed a series of videos titled “Pipeline Profiles.” This video is the second in its series and highlights the work that the East Lubbock Promise Neighborhood is doing to strengthen partnerships between schools, the school district, and a higher education institution, while building out the K-12 segment of their cradle-to-career pipeline.

• Seed money, including funds for planning and administration, is important for a successful launch. 
• To date, the majority of HFFI dollars have gone to support already established business owners. 
• Many healthy food projects are not equipped to take on debt. Grants or forgivable loans are needed in order to produce additional healthy food outlets, especially in areas that, from a business standpoint, would be considered unprofitable. 
• Flexible sources of capital are critical for maximum deployment of funds, and project requirements should not be overly restrictive. 
• HFFI-funded projects have helped to create jobs, expand healthy food retail, and eliminate food deserts. In some neighborhoods, these projects also spurred additional community revitalization. (4) 
• There are several cases of HFFI loan recipients partnering with other organizations, including community clinics, medical schools, and fitness facilities, to improve resident health. According to managers of HFFI funds, retail outlets need to be rooted in the community in order to be successful. To that end, business owners can play an important role in supporting population health improvement goals. 

The Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis and Wilder Research conducted a mixed-methods study to provide information to those interested in improving Minnesota's food retail environment.

This webinar features best-practices and effective strategies Promise Neighborhoods are using to promote the age-appropriate functioning of young children in their communities. In doing so, this webinar aims to equip Promise Neighborhoods and other community leaders with the knowledge, tools, and resources to turn the curve on the baseline indicator for GPRA 2: the number and percentage of three year-olds and children entering kindergarten who demonstrate age-appropriate functioning. The following experts are featured on this webinar: 
-Michelle Palo, Project Services Director, Northside Achievement Zone 
-Andre Dukes, Family Academy Director, Northside Achievement Zone 
-Maureen Seiwert, NAZ Early Childhood Action Team Co-Leader, Executive Dir. of Early Childhood Education for Minneapolis Public Schools 
-Dianne Haulcy, NAZ Early Childhood Action Team Co-Leader, Office of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges

On Tuesday, March 29 at 2 p.m.EST, the Promise Neighborhoods Institute at PolicyLink hosted a webinar that lifted up strategies to utilize federal tools to build youth and family financial capability in Promise Neighborhoods. We were joined by Anamita Gall (ICF International) and Dr. Deborah Moore (Indianola Promise Community), who shared best practices for using federal tools, such as the Assets for Independence Initiative, to: break the cycle of generational poverty, ensure that students live in stable communities, and integrate financial capability services into Promise Neighborhoods strategies to improve outcomes for all underserved children and their families.

Published in the journal of Academic Pediatrics, this paper serves as a framing piece to ground the medical community in the current state of poverty and how it affects children and families. This resource can be utilized to help doctors and policy leaders at local, state, and national levels understand and address all the facets of childhood poverty.

This webinar features best-practices and effective strategies Promise Neighborhoods are using to promote the age-appropriate functioning of young children in their communities. In doing so, this webinar aims to equip Promise Neighborhoods and other community leaders with the knowledge, tools, and resources to turn the curve on the baseline indicator for GPRA 2: the number and percentage of three year-olds and children entering kindergarten who demonstrate age-appropriate functioning. The following experts are featured on this webinar: 
- Michelle Palo, Project Services Director, Northside Achievement Zone 
- Andre Dukes, Family Academy Director, Northside Achievement Zone 
- Maureen Seiwert, NAZ Early Childhood Action Team Co-Leader, Executive Dir. of Early Childhood Education for Minneapolis Public Schools 
- Dianne Haulcy, NAZ Early Childhood Action Team Co-Leader, Office of Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges

The Latino community in Portland, Oregon, has grown rapidly in the last 20 years, from 3.3 percent of Portlanders to 11 percent, and by 2040 it is estimated that 23 percent of the city’s residents will be Latino. This growth, however, has not been accompanied by increases in opportunity.

Recognizing the important link between access to healthy food, economic opportunity, community building, and culture, Hacienda Community Development Center (CDC) secured a federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) grant in 2012 to develop Portland Mercado, an innovative project which includes a Latino cultural space and public market, bringing fresh food and good jobs to the community.

This session presented information about the CED and CED-HFFI grant competition, based on the CED and CED-HFFI funding opportunity announcements (FOAs). It outlined the programs’ purposes and strategies, provided tips and tools for submitting an application for CED or CED-HFFI funding, and identified key application criteria and requirements.

This session provided prospective CED applicants with an overview of the CED program, including the program’s mission and objectives, organizations eligible to apply, the program’s target population, and examples of successful CED projects. The webinar also provided a summary of funding requirements and estimated award amounts.