NLC Launches Two-Year Partnership With The Home Depot Foundation

WASHINGTON, March 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Last week at the National League of Cities' (NLC) Congressional City Conference, NLC and The Home Depot Foundation announced the launch of their two-year sustainability program partnership. The partnership will link NLC's Center for Research and Innovation with The Home Depot Foundation's Sustainable Cities Institute, which is an initiative designed to help cities develop and implement sustainable practices.

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"I really believe partnership is the right word for this relationship," said Kelly Caffarelli, president of The Home Depot Foundation, at the NLC Board of Directors meeting. "We want to catalyze your efforts and we really want to be here to help NLC help cities across the country."

The Sustainable Cities Institute (SCI) is a new initiative from The Home Depot Foundation. SCI is a two-part program, comprised of a dynamic, user-friendly website (www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org) and an on-the-ground city-level implementation program. The Institute was developed to assist community and city leaders in identifying and implementing vetted best practices to bring the economic, social and environmental benefits of sustainability to their communities.

The two year partnership, in which The Home Depot Foundation will be both an NLC Capstone Corporate Partner and an NLC Sustainability Program Partner, is designed to:

• Build the resources and services available to local officials through the foundation's Sustainable Cities Institute (SCI) and NLC's Sustainability Program;
• Highlight the foundation's commitment to NLC and to the nation's cities and towns;
• Provide visibility at NLC conferences and events for the Sustainable Cities Institute and its commitment to the development and implementation of sustainable community development plans; and
• Provide a venue for The Home Depot Foundation Sustainable Community Development Awards to be showcased.

The Home Depot Foundation's investment in NLC's sustainability initiatives will help both organizations to develop complementary resources and services for cities and towns.

To this end, NLC's Center for Research and Innovation will:

• Conduct a national call for models to help identify successful programs and policies from across the country.
• Conduct a national survey on how sustainability is being addressed in the nation's cities and towns.
• Develop a series of city case studies and program profiles highlighting sustainable municipal programs.

The Home Depot Foundation and NLC rolled out the program during the Congressional City Conference last week. Work will begin right away.

"This is a very exciting partnership, an example of NLC stepping up to the plate to serve our communities," said NLC President Ronald O. Loveridge, mayor of Riverside, Calif.

The Home Depot Foundation was created in 2002 to further the community building goals of The Home Depot. The Home Depot Foundation focuses on supporting nonprofits that are dedicated to helping families thrive by creating and preserving healthy, affordable homes as the cornerstone of sustainable communities. Our goal is for all families to have the opportunity to live in healthy, efficient homes they can afford over the long-term; to have access to safe, vibrant parks and greenspaces; and to receive the economic, social and environmental benefits of living in a sustainable community. Since its formation, The Home Depot Foundation has granted $190 million to nonprofit organizations and supported the development of more than 95,000 affordable, healthy homes.  For more information, visit www.homedepotfoundation.org and www.sustainablecitiesinstitute.org and follow us on Twitter at homedepotfdn and SustCitiesInst.

The National League of Cities is the nation's oldest and largest organization devoted to strengthening and promoting cities as centers of opportunity, leadership and governance. NLC is a resource and advocate for 19,000 cities, towns and villages, representing more than 218 million Americans.  

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SOURCE National League of Cities