Bloomberg expands his support of mayors globally to help save democracy. And improve trash pickup

Michael R Bloomberg has deduced mayors have plenty to teach each other since he was mayor of New York City and supported the effort to share good municipal ideas through his nonprofit Bloomberg Philanthropies since he left office in However as more nations get bogged down in what the media entrepreneur and philanthropist calls ideological battles and finger-pointing Bloomberg says mayors can do even more He is expanding his endorsement for them internationally with the Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative a collaboration with the London School of Economics and Political Science and the Hertie School in Berlin And other philanthropists are investing in building stronger municipal governments to strengthen urban communities Mayors are more crucial than ever because cities are more significant than ever Bloomberg informed The Associated Press in a comment For the first time in the history of the world a growing majority of the world s people live in cities and cities lie at the heart of several of the biggest challenges facing countries including expanding economic opportunity The new international initiative established by a million financing from Bloomberg Philanthropies brings together mayors and senior authorities from countries representing over million residents After one meeting in October selected already see the feasible Oliver Coppard mayor of South Yorkshire England jumped at the chance to work with Bloomberg Philanthropies again Coppard learned much at the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative which focuses on training American mayors but offers of its seats to international mayors And even he was surprised by how much he had in common with the first international class of mayors They all look for solutions to get their organizations to move faster deal with social media and communicate better with their communities It was indeed really surprising Coppard mentioned There are a bunch of areas where we all felt despite the very different context that we work in we were facing very similar challenges A show me not trust me moment for mayors Despite the varying political ideologies and viewpoints from a wide range of countries Coppard commented what united the mayors was a desire to serve their communities better through wellbeing care transportation and communication It s exactly what James Anderson head of Cabinet Innovation programs at Bloomberg Philanthropies hoped they would find But he says tackling those issues has broader implications that require more philanthropic involvement All of these mayors are recognizing that local governments have become the bulwark for democratic legitimacy Anderson stated They feel the burden of that And they want new and better techniques to rebuild trust and a sense amongst their citizenry that authorities local ruling body in particular sees them and can respond to their demands in impactful means Anderson revealed the mayors also understand they have to show how ruling body works for its area Citizens safety trash pickup and snow plowing have taken on new significance We are in a moment where trust in institutions is very low he disclosed This is a Show me not trust me moment And mayors recognize that means they need to govern differently Joseph Deitch founder of the Elevate Prize Foundation believes that philanthropy also has to assistance mayors and their cities differently These days there s so much polarization he noted Everyone is defending their corner So where can we have common ground I think one of those places is love of our cities Launching Elevate Cities in Miami To cultivate a stronger bond to those places Deitch has launched Elevate Cities a new initiative that both celebrates what makes cities special and convenes district leaders to make them better The initiative will start in Deitch s current home with Elevate Miami though he hopes to expand it briskly to other cities In November Elevate Miami awarded unrestricted grants to three different Miami nonprofits to increase their impact on the city Later this month there will be a citywide scavenger hunt to introduce Miami residents to nonprofits in the area And in January Elevate Miami will launch a contest to write a love song to the city Kim Coupounas Elevate Cities CEO says that getting people to recognize all the positive things happening around them in their city makes it easier to cultivate civic pride It also makes it easier for municipal leaders to get help from the society We re really trying to engage all of the city she mentioned There s so much foreseen and possibility that can come to life because we join hands and recognize what a good place we live in and what more can happen here Bloomberg declared he hopes the new Bloomberg LSE European City Leadership Initiative and other programs supporting municipal leaders will help spread good ideas and the diversity of viewpoints needed to try new strategies for their cities If mayors want to do big things they can t afford to play it safe he reported Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives assistance through the AP s collaboration with The Conversation US with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc The AP is solely responsible for this content For all of AP s philanthropy coverage visit https apnews com hub philanthropy Source