20260625_RCM_CHHS_NLC_BERC_AWARD_LETTER.PDF

June 11, 2026 
 
The Honorable Mayor   
Corey Woods 
31 E 5th St 
Tempe, AZ 85281 
 
 
 
Dear Mayor Woods:  
On behalf of the National League of Cities (NLC), I am pleased to inform you that the City of 
Tempe has been selected as one of four cities to receive grant funding and strategic guidance 
as part of the Building Economic Resilience in Communities program. The program is supported 
with funding from the Gates Foundation and will run from June 11, 2026, through March 31, 
2027. 
Other municipalities selected to participate include El Paso, TX; Dallas, TX; and Louisville, KY. 
After NLC receives your signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), completed W9, and 
ACH form, your city will receive a grant of $25,000 to support or expand community resilience 
efforts. During the nine-month project, NLC will provide your city with coaching and peer 
learning opportunities with other cities in the cohort. In addition, your city team will be expected 
to host a technical assistance site visit to highlight your city’s work and pursue strategies for 
continued success.  
To confirm your city’s participation in the program, please complete and return the attached 
MOU via email to eofe@nlc.org by 3 pm Eastern Daylight Time (EDT) on Thursday, June 18, 
2026. A full description of the program, including the roles and responsibilities of participating 
cities, is provided in the agreement. 
We ask that you refrain from publicly announcing your city’s participation in the program until 
June 22, 2026. NLC has included a communications package in your acceptance 
correspondence to help coordinate a public announcement about the program on June 22.   
NLC will formally launch the program with a one-hour orientation call on June 25 at 2 pm EDT 
in which all city teams are expected to participate. NLC will send call details and instructions to 
your team noted in the application.

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Again, congratulations on being selected for Building Economic Resilience in Communities 
program. Your city’s participation in this new nine-month cohort will help increase long-term 
economic resilience for your residents. We look forward to assisting you and your team over the 
next nine months. If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact me 
or Justin Chu via email at eofe@nlc.org or 202-626-3073.   
Sincerely,  
  
Heidi Goldberg  
Senior Director, Economic Opportunity & Workforce;  
Director, Economic Opportunity and Financial Empowerment  
Center for Municipal Strategies and Programs  
National League of Cities  
  
Cc: Tim Burch, Community Health and Human Services Director