IOC Awarded Multi-Year Grant from The Rockefeller Foundation

The Initiative on Cities has been awarded a three-year grant for $355,000 from The Rockefeller Foundation to support the 2021-2023 Menino Survey of Mayors. This marks the fifth year of support from the Foundation, who previously provided support for the 2017-2020 Surveys. Citi Community Investing and Development also renewed their support for the 2021 Menino Survey, marking their seventh year of support for the project.

The Menino Survey of Mayors is the only nationally representative and scientifically rigorous survey of American mayors. The Survey is based on live interviews, conducted annually, with mayors leading geographically, demographically, and economically diverse cities with populations of over 75,000 residents. It was created in 2014 to reveal the priorities, challenges, perceptions, and relationships of mayors across the country as they seek to build vibrant, sustainable, and inclusive communities. The Survey is named for the late Mayor Tom Menino, the Initiative’s cofounder and a transformative and renowned Mayor of Boston.

In addition to the annual Menino Survey, The Rockefeller Foundation grant will also support a pilot study in 2021 focused on engaging organizations dedicated to improving access to capital for BIPOC-owned small businesses in Boston. Findings will explore how these partners conceive of the issue and what they regard as the most promising actions local government, private institutions, and community partners can take to help address inequities for BIPOC-owned businesses. The study would juxtapose these organizations’ perceptions against mayors’ gleaned in response to similar questions fielded in the 2021 Menino Survey of Mayors.