Now through March 28, applications are open for ICMA's 2025 Economic Mobility and Opportunity (EMO) Peer Learning Cohort and Grant Program. With support from the Gates Foundation, ICMA is again offering members an opportunity to address issues related to individual economic prosperity unique to their communities.

ICMA plans to select 15 local governments to participate in peer networking and learning activities and receive a $20,000 mini-grant for the implementation of an EMO-related process or project. Prospective cohort members can expect to learn from evidence-based frameworks to help identify barriers unique to their communities, receive training from the creators of data tools and knowledgeable practitioners, and gain opportunities for peer learning.

To date, 25 local governments from across the nation have participated in this cohort program. With the mini-grant funds, participants have conducted assessments and studies, built pilot community programs, implemented strategic plans, and increased community engagement. Cohort participants have undertaken a variety of projects addressing foundational challenges to economic success such as housing, childcare accessibility, and financial literacy for high-need residents. 

In El Paso County, Texas, they used their mini-grant to fund an analysis of existing childcare services and the impact of service gaps on their workforce, particularly those engaged in third shift work. Their efforts focused on the unmet demand for childcare services among the workforce and employers, trying to understand and lessen barriers to expanding the supply of providers. They were also able to build and leverage community partnerships as a result of their learnings from the cohort experience and will share updates of this work at the 2025 National Economic Mobility and Opportunity Conference this upcoming May.

“When we think about the jobs that require round-the-clock employees, our main industries are health care and government and those are some of our highest paying industries,” said deputy county administrator, strategic capital development, Jose Landeros. “If there’s a barrier to entering those jobs because an individual may not have the childcare that they need, we really wanted to understand and figure out what it would take to evaluate the issue and then come up with tangible solutions.”

Several communities completed different assessments. Tunica County, Alabama, completed a strategic plan to enhance economic and workforce development; Washington County, Oregon, completed an economic opportunity assessment; and Newton, Kansas, completed a community needs and services assessment. Others conducted housing studies such as Tarboro, North Carolina, and Needles, California. Eau Claire, Wisconsin, and Redwood City, California, focused on the youth of their communities, particularly the barriers to communicating with them and providing resources to guide their future. 

Lisbon, Maine, used their mini-grant to implement the Lisbon Empowerment and Achievement Program (LEAP), which provides residents with free monthly training opportunities on a wide range of financial literacy topics. Sarah Bennett, assistant town manager, said the program helped town leadership help the community in a new way—as town administrators who are working to craft solutions to barriers to economic mobility and opportunity in ways that are meaningful and relevant to them. The program not only helped in the short-term, but improved the way they partnered with the community to address barriers that they lived every day.

Other cohort communities have taken more tactical approaches like Lisbon. Thomasville, North Carolina, used their grant funds to jump start a community tool trailer, enabling community members to rent equipment to help fix up their own property while decreasing the amount of property violations issued. Chesterfield County, Virginia, launched their own LEAP (Learn, Explore, and Advance with Possibilities) series of “micro conferences" providing access to wraparound services targeted for young adults, their English as a second language community, and users and providers of childcare services. Dubuque, Iowa, provided mini grants to local entrepreneurs and funded engagement and outreach activities designed to spark interest in local workforce development initiatives.

This flexible funding opportunity requires no match, and includes paid travel and networking opportunities, the first of which is at the 2025 National Economic Mobility and Opportunity Conference in Baltimore, May 21-23. By attending the conference, new cohort members will have the opportunity to network with other EMO cohort alumni, technical experts, and other local government professionals.

Learn more about ICMA’s EMO work and see what the 2024 cohort worked on and learned here.

On March 12, at 1 p.m. ET, ICMA staff will offer a question-and-answer session for those interested in learning more about the cohort program and the application process. Sign up for the Q & A session here.

ICMA's team is standing by to answer specific questions about applications and plans for the cohort. Email emo@icma.org if you have additional questions.