Posted on November 6, 2012

Bloomberg Philanthropies Announces 'Mayors Challenge' Finalists

Bloomberg Philanthropies has announced the finalists in its Mayors Challenge competition, which it created to celebrate the problem solving and innovation that is happening in city halls across the nation.

Selected from a pool of more than three hundred cities, teams from twenty cities chosen as finalists will attend a Bloomberg Ideas Camp, November 12-13, where they will work collaboratively to refine and strengthen their ideas to ensure that they achieve the greatest impact. After the event, the teams will receive individualized coaching to prepare their ideas for final submission to the competition in January. To be announced in the spring, the grand-prize winning team will receive $5 million from Bloomberg Philanthropies to jumpstart the implementation of its idea; four other teams will each receive $1 million.

Finalists in the competition include Boston, Massachusetts, which seeks to accelerate student achievement by empowering parents to manage and share information more easily with educators and entrepreneurs, spurring the creation of the next generation of education tools; Knoxville, Tennessee, which aims to eliminate food deserts through a comprehensive local food system that addresses land, farming jobs, processing, transit, sale, and composting; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which seeks to transform foreclosed properties into assets that improve public health and spark economic opportunity; and San Francisco, California, which aims to promote workforce development and experience-based training through volunteer opportunities.

"Bloomberg Philanthropies is focused on spreading good ideas among cities — and that's what the Mayors Challenge is all about," said James Anderson, director of the government innovation program at Bloomberg Philanthropies. "Cities are powering critical solutions to our most pressing challenges and we're honored to bring these twenty cities together at Ideas Camp as they work to make their great ideas even better."

For a complete list of finalists, visit the Bloomberg Philanthropies Web site.