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Returns on Resilience: The Business Case

October 8, 2015

Real estate projects designed to withstand the effects of climate change can provide substantial returns on investment and an array of other benefits, according to this new report. Case studies from 10 leading resilience projects are highlighted, ranging from a Boston hospital built to withstand coastal storms to a residential community in San Antonio built to withstand the effects of intense heat and drought. Other communities with highlighted case studies include Queens, N.Y.; Miami, FL; Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; Nashville, TN; Tucson, AZ and Lancaster, CA.The study found an array of benefits from the climate-smart designs in addition to their strength against climate unpredictability. They include:Better energy efficiency. For example, multilayered impact-resistant windows save energy and reduce utility bills.Greater marketing, sales and leasing success driven by buyers' desires for well-built structures that will withstand harsh conditions and keep their value longer.Better financing options and lower insurance rates based on the reduced risk from resilient and hardened structures.

Tucson and Southern Arizona: A Desert Region Pursuing Better Health and Health System Performance

April 17, 2014

The southern Arizona region encompassing Tucson ranks in the top quartile among 306 U.S. regions on The Commonwealth Fund's Scorecard on Local Health System Performance, 2012, outperforming many other regions with similar socioeconomic characteristics. Its performance may stem from the emphasis providers place on delivery system innovation and best practices and the prevalence of managed care arrangements. The region also benefits from the activity of several nonprofit organizations that collaborate with government agencies, health systems, and academic institutions to support patient education and population health initiatives. Also notable are efforts to improve the accessibility and quality of care for underserved populations through the expansion of federally qualified health centers, the creation of health promotion programs by local Native American tribal organizations for their communities, and the use of telemedicine and community health workers.

Getting Better at Teacher Preparation and State Accountability

December 22, 2011

Profiles the goals, activities, implementation, and challenges of the twelve states that won Race to the Top federal funds to improve teacher quality and preparation program accountability; analyzes their strategies; and makes policy recommendations.

Implementing the Neighborhood Stabilization Program: Community Stabilization in the NeighborWorks Network

January 1, 2011

This report presents case studies of 12 nonprofit housing and community development organizations working to stabilize communities. It explains how the "five C's" of community stabilization help define and identify effective local community stabilization.

Performance-Based Compensation: Design and Implementation at Six Teacher Incentive Fund Sites

August 31, 2010

Examines preliminary outcomes for student achievement, stakeholder support, recruitment and retention, and changes in school cultures; success factors; challenges; and the role of states and districts in implementation and financial sustainability.

Hunger in America 2010 Local Report Prepared for The Community Food Bank of Tucson

February 1, 2010

This report presents information on the clients and agencies served by The Community Food Bank of Tucson. The information is drawn from a national study, Hunger in America 2010, conducted in 2009 for Feeding America (FA) (formerly America's Second Harvest), the nation's largest organization of emergency food providers. The national study is based on completed in-person interviews with more than 62,000 clients served by the FA national network, as well as on completed questionnaires from more than 37,000 FA agencies. The study summarized below focuses on emergency food providers and their clients who are supplied with food by food banks in the FA network. Key Findings: The FA system served by The Community Food Bank of Tucson provides emergency food for an estimated 178,200 different people annually.40% of the members of households served by The Community Food Bank of Tucson are children under 18 years old (Table 5.3.2).43% of households include at least one employed adult (Table 5.7.1).Among households with children, 81% are food insecure and 38% are food insecure with very low food security (Table 6.1.1.1).48% of clients served by The Community Food Bank of Tucson report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel (Table 6.5.1).42% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care (Table 6.5.1).26% of households served by The Community Food Bank of Tucson report having at least one household member in poor health (Table 8.1.1)The Community Food Bank of Tucson included approximately 168 agencies at the administration of this survey, of which 152 have responded to the agency survey. Of the responding agencies, 98 had at least one food pantry, soup kitchen, or shelter.41% of pantries, 46% of kitchens, and 37% of shelters are run by faith-based agencies affiliated with churches, mosques, synagogues, and other religious organizations (Table 10.6.1).Among programs that existed in 2006, 79% of pantries, 74% of kitchens, and 43% of shelters of The Community Food Bank of Tucson reported that there had been an increase since 2006 in the number of clients who come to their emergency food program sites (Table 10.8.1).Food banks are by far the single most important source of food for agencies with emergency food providers, accounting for 73% of the food distributed by pantries, 36% of the food distributed by kitchens, and 37% of the food distributed by shelters (Table 13.1.1).As many as 85% of pantries, 90% of kitchens, and 86% of shelters in The Community Food Bank of Tucson use volunteers (Table 13.2.1).

Hunger in America 2010 Local Report Prepared for The Community Food Bank

February 1, 2010

This report presents information on the clients and agencies served by The Community Food Bank. The information is drawn from a national study, Hunger in America 2010, conducted in 2009 for Feeding America (FA) (formerly America's Second Harvest), the nation's largest organization of emergency food providers. The national study is based on completed inperson interviews with more than 62,000 clients served by the FA national network, as well as on completed questionnaires from more than 37,000 FA agencies. Key Findings: The FA system served by The Community Food Bank provides emergency food for an estimated 157,000 different people annually.42% of the members of households served by The Community Food Bank are children under 18 years old (Table 5.3.2).36% of households include at least one employed adult (Table 5.7.1).Among households with children, 85% are food insecure and 38% are food insecure with very low food security (Table 6.1.1.1).38% of clients served by The Community Food Bank report having to choose between paying for food and paying for utilities or heating fuel (Table 6.5.1).34% had to choose between paying for food and paying for medicine or medical care (Table 6.5.1).34% of households served by The Community Food Bank report having at least one household member in poor health (Table 8.1.1)The Community Food Bank included approximately 136 agencies at the administration of this survey, of which 105 have responded to the agency survey. Of the responding agencies, 86 had at least one food pantry, soup kitchen, or shelter.78% of pantries, 73% of kitchens, and 55% of shelters are run by faith-based agencies affiliated with churches, mosques, synagogues, and other religious organizations (Table 10.6.1).Among programs that existed in 2006, 84% of pantries, 91% of kitchens, and 67% of shelters of The Community Food Bank reported that there had been an increase since 2006 in the number of clients who come to their emergency food program sites (Table 10.8.1).Food banks are by far the single most important source of food for agencies with emergency food providers, accounting for 64% of the food distributed by pantries, 35% of the food distributed by kitchens, and 22% of the food distributed by shelters (Table 13.1.1).As many as 91% of pantries, 77% of kitchens, and 67% of shelters in The Community Food Bank use volunteers (Table 13.2.1).

Artist Space Development: Financing

April 18, 2008

Examines the process of developing and financing artist space projects, such as sources and uses of cash, subsidies, regulations, and zoning and building codes. Looks at risks, challenges, and solutions, and makes suggestions for funders and supporters.

Artist Space Development: Making the Case

April 18, 2008

Based on case studies, discusses the challenges advocates of artist space development face, the arguments they make to garner support, the strategic approaches they take, and what they achieve in making artist space a priority in community development.

Whatever it Takes: How Twelve Communities are Reconnecting Out-of-School Youth

July 1, 2006

Whatever It Takes: How Twelve Communities Are Reconnecting Out-Of-School Youth documents what committed educators, policymakers, and community leaders across the country are doing to reconnect out-of-school youth to the social and economic mainstream. It provides background on the serious high school dropout problem and describes in-depth what twelve communities are doing to reconnect dropouts to education and employment training. It also includes descriptions of major national program models serving out-of-school youth.

Achieving and Maintaining Cognitive Vitality With Aging

February 21, 2001

This report contains the summary results of a workshop held at Canyon Ranch Health Resort in Tucson, Arizona. Physicians and scientists shed light on the process of cognitive aging. They review current scientific and clinical knowledge of normal human cognitive aging, the biological mechanisms that underlie this process, and risk factors associated with mental decline. They make recommendations for lifestyle changes and outline a research agenda for the development of new therapies to prevent mental decline and maintain cognitive vitality.

Working Relationships: The Arts, Education and Community Development

January 1, 1995

This document profiles 11 examples of arts and education institutions across the country that are working to solve community problems. Programs, which reflect a number of purposes, are organized by category. Large Urban Profiles, include: (1) "Bridgemaking" in Chicago: Chicago Arts Partnership in Education; (2) Learning by Working: Young Artists at Work, Arts Commission of Greater Toledo; (3) Arts Education: Local Priority: Arts Integration Program, Tucson/Pima Arts Council; and (4) Communications and Vocations: Arts Talk/Arts Workers, Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. Small Urban Profiles, look at (5) SPECTRA Plus: Cultural Council of Santa Cruz County; and (6) Art for Science's Sake in Fairbanks, Alaska: Arts & Science Collaboration, Denali Elementary School and Visual Enterprises. The Suburban Profile is: (7) "Strategy for Economic Development and Education: Blue Springs Arts 2000 Partnership. Rural Profiles present (8) Big Ideas in Small Places: Artists in Minnesota Schools & Communities, Minnesota Rural Arts Initiative COMPAS; (9) Parent Power for the Arts: Moms for Fun, Silver City, New Mexico; (10) Art for Every Student: Art in Education Special Project, Idaho's Salmon Arts Council and Brooklyn School; and (11) Theater Development Through Arts Education: Dell'Arte, Blue Lake, California. Common keys to program effectiveness are shown to be: leadership, vision, planning, community involvement, professional development, cooperative relationships, innovation, evaluation, and high quality services. Appendices list additional programs and contacts for the profiled programs.