The last months of the year are always busy — and this year has been no exception here at Bloomberg Philanthropies.

After counting down 85 actions in the 60 days leading up to COP26 in November, Mike attended the meeting in Glasgow, working with climate leaders to accelerate the clean energy transition, elevate local climate action, and mobilize climate finance.

Then, in mid-November, we announced the expansion of our work to fight overdose deaths in the U.S. — something that is all the more urgent after the most-recent data showed more than 100,000 overdose deaths in the span of a year. In addition to deepening our existing work in Michigan and Pennsylvania, we will expand to five more states — Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Wisconsin — providing services to those struggling with addiction as well as focusing on prevention. If you missed it, read the opinion piece that Mike wrote with the governors of Kentucky and New Jersey about this critical fight against the overdose epidemic.

And on the 1st of December, we launched a $750 million effort to support public charter schools and help close student achievement gaps. This investment will create an additional 150,000 seats at high-quality charter schools around the country. Check out Mike's op-ed in the Wall Street Journal for more on why we're making this investment — and why now.

Those are just a few examples of our work in the last few months of 2021. In this Impact Newsletter, we wanted to highlight a few more initiatives that are making a big difference for cities, families, and communities around the world — and are worth reading about, even in these busy times.

Thanks,

Bloomberg Philanthropies

$25 Million to Help Prepare Students for Good Jobs

Bloomberg Philanthropies is investing $25 million to prepare young people for well-paying jobs, and to help them recover from the financial and educational disruptions of the pandemic. The funding will support career and technical education — apprenticeship and workforce training programs — in nine U.S. cities and across two states. It comes at a critical moment, when high school students need access to high-quality job training opportunities, and businesses are eager to hire qualified talent in a range of jobs requiring more than a high school diploma, but less than a four-year college degree.

LEARN MORE

Clear, Car-free Dublin

The Partnership for Healthy Cities, which we support with the World Health Organization and Vital Strategies, is a global network of cities working to save lives and prevent noncommunicable diseases and injuries. Working with the Partnership, Dublin, Ireland, is transforming city streets and sidewalks to make walking and cycling safer and more accessible. By encouraging more people to walk and bike, the city can reduce its carbon emissions, while also bringing widespread health and wellbeing benefits to its residents. Lord Mayor Allison Gilliland explains more in a Partnership for Healthy Cities video.

WATCH NOW

New Beginnings in Detroit

On our Follow the Data podcast, Rose Gill from Bloomberg Associates sits down with leaders from Project Clean Slate, a Detroit-based program to help people clear their criminal records. The initiative was launched by Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan — who also appears on the podcast — to clear the way for better opportunities in employment, education, and housing, and enable more people to join the city’s comeback story. Project Clean Slate provides its services at no cost to those who qualify, and recently filed its 1,000th expungement application. Listen now to hear the inspiring story.

LISTEN NOW

How Do We Measure the Impact of Arts and Culture in Cities?

When the pandemic struck in 2020, the sudden disappearance of arts and culture activities was a major blow to cities across the country. As local governments continue to rebuild and rethink planning, policies, and investment, it's become increasingly important to understand — through data — the impact of arts and culture. In a new blog post, we explore why improving arts data in the public sector is vital, and highlight a new resource from Bloomberg Associates that shares best practices for cities hoping to leverage arts and culture data.

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Art, Community, and Healthy Food

In October, people in Jackson, Mississippi, gathered in outdoor settings to celebrate three years of progress of their Public Art Challenge award-winning effort, the Fertile Ground Project: Inspiring Dialogue About Food Access. The ambitious public art project is the result of collaboration among artists, residents, farmers, gardeners, and landscape architects in the community. It has featured 13 installations across the city, along with public-private collaborations to reduce food insecurity, including Fertile Ground Farm, the first urban organic farm within 100 miles. Each of these efforts is designed to make it easier for local residents to access fresh, healthy food options, and to highlight Southern food as a reflection of culture, economic investment, and a way to bring people together. Learn more →

The 50 Reefs Approach is Working

Our Vibrant Oceans Initiative issued a report showing that conservation work inspired by the 50 Reefs approach is proving effective. The 50 Reefs approach prioritizes a global portfolio of coral reefs that, absent other threats, have the greatest potential to survive climate change and repopulate surrounding reefs. The report says that 50 Reefs-based conservation impacts go beyond ecological outcomes and include social, economic, health, and nutrition benefits for communities. "Coral reefs are critically important — they are the most biodiverse ecosystems on earth — and they face profound threats from both local pressures and global climate change," said Melissa Wright, who leads the Vibrant Oceans Initiative at Bloomberg Philanthropies. “This encouraging report shows how a portfolio-based approach can safeguard coral reefs."Learn more →

Photo Spotlight

A Bloomberg Philanthropies Public Art Challenge winner in Anchorage, Alaska, John Grade's Spark exhibit is a series of sculptures and public conversations about climate change, in particular the growing impact of wildfires on our lives and communities. Learn more about the project →