The American City Coalition Inc

TACC IS COMMITTED TO PROVIDING THOUGHT LEADERSHIP AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO ADVANCE MULTI-SECTOR AND MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIPS THAT FOCUS INVESTMENTS TO IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF LIFE FOR ROXBURY FAMILIES.

CURRENTLY, TACC MANAGES THREE MUTUALLY-REINFORCING EQUITY INITIATIVES THAT THAT EMPOWER RESIDENTS AND THE ROXBURY COMMUNITY TO ACHIEVE SUBSTANTIVE IMPROVEMENT IN THEIR WELL-BEING:1) SAVOR THE SQUARE: LAUNCHED IN 2020, SAVOR THE SQUARE IS A JOINT INITIATIVE OF TACC AND ROXBURY MAIN STREETS AND IMPLEMENTS RECOMMENDATIONS FROM THE NUBIAN SQUARE MARKET ANALYSIS (2020) IN WHICH RESIDENTS/BUSINESSES VOICE A STRONG NEED FOR SATURDAY AND EVENING EVENTS. SAVOR THE SQUARE, NUBIAN SQUARE'S SEASONAL OPEN-AIR MARKETPLACE LOCATED ON THE ROXBURY BRANCH BOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY PLAZA, BRINGS TOGETHER EXISTING BRICK-AND-MORTAR BUSINESSES AND ENTREPRENEURIAL VENDORS INTO ONE MARKETPLACE LOCATED AT THE CORE OF THE BUSINESS DISTRICT. IN 2023, THE PROGRAM HOSTED SEVEN OUTDOOR MARKETS; EACH EVENT INCLUDED 20+ VENDORS, FOOD, AND LIVE PERFORMANCE; THE MARKETS SERVE APPROXIMATELY 1,750 PEOPLE ANNUALLY.IN 2023, DATA COLLECTED FROM THE MARKET ATTENDEES INDICATED THAT SAVOR THE SQUARE POSITIVELY IMPACTS SURROUNDING BUSINESSES: - 80.5% OF ATTENDEES SPENT BETWEEN $10-$50; - 81% INDICATED THEY WOULD VISIT OTHER BUSINESSES IN NUBIAN SQUARE AFTER/BEFORE SAVOR THE SQUARE; - 100% SAID THEY WOULD RETURN TO SHOP AND/OR DINE; AND - NET PROMOTER SCORE: 62.8 (A "GREAT" SCORE BASED ON BENCHMARKING STANDARDS).2) WATERWAYS: CONNECTING RESIDENTS FOR ROXBURY AND DORCHESTER TO BOSTON'S WATERFRONT: IN 2018, TACC LAUNCHED WATERWAYS, A LONG-TERM EQUITY INITIATIVE TO INCREASE ACCESS AND UTILIZATION OF BOSTON'S WATERFRONT FOR RECREATION, CULTURE/SPATIAL JUSTICE, EMPLOYMENT, AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT. TACC IS COLLABORATING WITH A RANGE OF IMPLEMENTATION PARTNERS TO ADVANCE STRATEGIES THAT RESPOND TO RESIDENT-IDENTIFIED BARRIERS TO ACCESS AND UTILIZATION, AND CATALYZE SUSTAINED ENGAGEMENT SO THAT MORE ROXBURY AND DORCHESTER RESIDENTS ARE INVESTED IN AND CONNECTED TO THE WATERFRONT. ULTIMATELY, THE AIM IS TO GIVE VOICE TO A BROADER GROUP OF RESIDENTS FROM ROXBURY AND DORCHESTER TO IMPACT PROGRAMS, POLICIES, AND ACCESSIBILITY SO THAT AS THE WATERFRONT CONTINUES TO EVOLVE, IT DOES SO MORE EQUITABLY WITH THE NEEDS AND INTERESTS OF THE ROXBURY AND DORCHESTER COMMUNITIES ACTIVELY CONSIDERED AND IMPLEMENTED.THROUGH TACC'S FIVE LARGE-SCALE PROGRAMS AND EIGHT SMALL-SCALE PROGRAMS, PROMOTION OF PARTNERS' PROGRAMMING, COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT, AND A RESIDENT AMBASSADORS PROGRAM, WATERWAYS DIRECTLY SERVING MORE THAN 5,000 PARTICIPANTS ANNUALLY. TACC MEASURES OUTCOMES BY THE NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS SERVED, THE QUALITY OF PARTICIPANTS' EXPERIENCE (POST-PROGRAM SURVEY), AS WELL AS PARTICIPANTS' KNOWLEDGE OF KEY LEARNING OUTCOMES.3) ROXBURY WORX IS A ROXBURY-FOCUSED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE LAUNCHED BY TACC AND PARTNERS IN FALL 2022 THAT IS BRINGING THE UNTAPPED TALENT OF ROXBURY'S HIDDEN WORKERS AND MIDDLE-SKILLS WORKERS INTO THE TALENT PIPELINE IN THREE INDUSTRIES: BIOTECH/LIFE SCIENCES, HEALTHCARE, AND GREEN/BLUE TECH. BY DEVELOPING A ROXBURY-FOCUSED WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT MODEL THAT IS RESPONSIVE TO RESIDENT-IDENTIFIED BARRIERS TO ACCESSING MEANINGFUL JOBS, ROXBURY WORX IS CHANGING EMPLOYER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION PRACTICES, DEVELOPING PATHWAYS TO IN-DEMAND ROLES USING EXISTING EDUCATIONAL ASSETS, AND ENGAGING MORE ROXBURY RESIDENTS IN THE WORKFORCE. BY FOCUSING ON HIDDEN WORKERS AND MIDDLE-SKILLS WORKERS, ROXBURY WORX IS CHANGING THE NARRATIVE ABOUT ROXBURY WORKERS FROM ONE THAT IS DEFICIT BASED (E.G., LOW-SKILLS, LOW EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT) TO ONE THAT IS ASSET BASED (E.G., UNIQUE CAPABILITIES, LIVED EXPERIENCE) AND EMBRACES THE DIVERSITY AND MULTIPLICITY OF TALENT THAT EXISTS IN THE COMMUNITY. KEY ACTIVITIES INCLUDED CAREER AWARENESS WORKSHOPS AND OUTREACH (34 ANNUALLY), BI-WEEKLY PARTNER AND COMMITTEE CALLS (50 ANNUALLY) WITH 16 PARTNER ORGANIZATIONS, FOCUS GROUPS, AND AN ANNUAL CONFERENCE.