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Home My WebLink About4/16/2019 Item 13, Gershon From:David Gershon < To:E-mail Council Website Cc:Johnson, Derek; Read, Chris; Hill, Robert; Eric Veium Subject:Cool Block Partnership Proposal Attachments:SLO Cool Block Partnership Proposal v2.docx Dear Mayor Harmon and City Council Members Christianson, Gomez, Pease and Stewart, Eric Veium, Chair of the SLO Climate Coalition, or I have been in conversations with several of you and City staff over the past six months discussing our invitation to form a strategic partnership in implementing Cool Block in the City of San Luis Obispo. This email summarizes the main elements of this partnership. I have also attached a detailed proposal that reflects these points. Empowerment Institute, my non-profit organization, has engaged in fund raising to enable it to provide an approximately 2 to 1match to the City’s investment. We are doing this because we are excited to support the City of San Luis Obispo’s pioneering effort to become a carbon neutral city and believe our Cool Block model, which is designed to scale into a carbon neutral city, makes us natural strategic allies. We are prepared to provide a financial investment of $125,000 of our time and platform to implement a pilot and request the city provide $75,000 to cover a Program Manager to staff the program. Our investment includes $25,000 out of pocket expenses to customize the program for SLO and a $100,000 in-kind investment which covers the Cool Block platform; capacity building of a Cool Block Program Manager; Block Leadership Academy; Cool Block community engagement capacity building of relevant City staff; program integration within participating City departments; strategic management of the pilot; fund raising for future years; and program administration. Also to be clear, the $75,000 request of the City of San Luis Obispo will go directly to SLO Climate Coalition, our partner in this venture, to provide staffing to implement the program under our supervision. This way the money stays in the community and we help build long-term local capacity. These are the program’s major benefits to the City of San Luis Obispo: Empower residents to increase their disaster resiliency, reduce their carbon emissions and build social capital on their blocks. Empower residents to become directly engaged in helping the City achieve its climate action plan goals by reducing their carbon footprint and engaging their neighbors to do the same. Enable City departments to increase participation in their programs and strengthen their community engagement capacity. Enable the City to increase the civic engagement and social cohesiveness of and among its residents. Enable the City to better achieve its community improvement goals by creating greater collaboration between the city departments, community non-profits, local businesses and the residents furthering cool blocks. 1 This Cool Block video will help you better understand the program. https://vimeo.com/198612827. Here is a video in which I describe the process of scaling Cool Block into a carbon neutral city. I gave this keynote talk at a state conference in which I met Heidi Harmon who invited me to consider bringing Cool Block to SLO. https://vimeo.com/292972885 If you have any questions feel free to reach out. Best wishes, David Gershon CEO, Empowerment Institute 2 PARTNERSHIP PROPOSAL TO THE CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO FOR THE COOL BLOCK PROGRAM Based on a successful Cool Block pilot in Palo Alto, Los Angeles and San Francisco Empowerment Institute is inviting the City of San Luis Obispo to partner in implementing the Cool Block program in San Luis Obispo. This partnership would be a three‐way collaboration between Empowerment Institute, the City and SLO Climate Coalition. THE NEED Humankind is facing significant risk of climate destabilization with severe consequences for our future. Cities and its citizens are a key leverage point for addressing this issue (70% of carbon emitted on the planet is from cities, with 70% of these emissions coming from residents of cities). Further, they have the highest risk for climate‐induced natural disasters as has recently been experienced in surrounding communities. Cities and its residents wish to be part of the solution but need the tools to achieve the needed behavior change and community engagement. WHY THE COOL BLOCK PROGRAM IN SAN LUIS OBISPO It is a proven tool capable of achieving the needs stated above and much more. These are the program’s major benefits to the City of San Luis Obispo: 1. Empower residents to increase their disaster resiliency, reduce their carbon emissions and build social capital on their blocks. 2. Empower residents to become directly engaged in helping the City achieve its climate action plan goals by reducing their carbon footprint and engaging their neighbors to do the same. 3. Enable City departments to increase participation in their programs and strengthen their community engagement capacity. 4. Enable the City to increase the civic engagement and social cohesiveness of and among its residents. 5. Enable the City to better achieve its community improvement goals by creating greater collaboration between the city departments, community non‐profits, local businesses and the residents furthering cool blocks. HOW THE PROGRAM WORKS 1. The Cool Block program consists of 9 bi‐weekly meetings led by different neighbors living on a block (corner to corner) over 4.5‐months. 2 2. The program helps households: o reduce their carbon footprint o conserve water o become more disaster resilient o create healthier, safer, greener, socially connected blocks 3. Behavior change is achieved through a combination of action recipes, a peer support system and self‐directed meeting scripts supported by a trained volunteer coach who has been through the program. 4. A web‐based support system and smart phone app helps households plan, take and track their actions. Further, it provides them access to city department resources to help them implement their selected actions. 5. The City awards program participants with certificates of recognition and blocks with signage recognizing them as a Cool Block. PILOT GOALS 1. The Cool Block recruitment goal is 25 block leaders to lead the program on their block. 2. The carbon reduction goal is 25% per participating household. 3. The resiliency goal is to achieve basic emergency preparedness per participating household, measured by households taking a minimum of 7 key resiliency actions including storage of extra food and water, back‐up lighting, etc. 4. The livability goal is a minimum of 3 block‐based actions per team such as community gardens, neighborhood watch and tool‐sharing. 5. The City goal is to increase residential participation in its department’s programs and climate action plan priorities. EMPOWERMENT INSTITUTE PROVIDES A financial investment of $125,000 that includes: 1. $25,000 out of pocket expenses to customize the program for SLO. 2. A $100,000 in‐kind investment including:  Cool Block platform,  Capacity building of a Cool Block Program Manager,  Block Leadership Academy, 3  Program integration within participating City departments,  Cool Block community engagement capacity building of relevant City staff,  Strategic management of the pilot,  Fund raising for future years and,  Program administration. CITY OF SAN LUIS OBISPO PROVIDES 1. Financial investment of $75,000 for a Cool Block Program Manager supplied by the SLO Climate Coalition. 2. Support in mobilizing residents and community groups to participate in the program. 3. Collaboration with relevant city department programs who will benefit from using the Cool Block platform. 4. Support with the Cool Block Recognition Program (e.g. street signage, certificates of achievement, proclamations, meeting space for trainings etc.) BUDGET  Empowerment Institute pilot investment of $125,000 to implement the tasks enumerated above.  City of San Luis Obispo pilot investment of $75,000 to implement the tasks enumerated above.  Based on a successful pilot our goal is to scale the Cool Block program over a three‐year period and engage a minimum of 25% of San Luis Obispo’s residential blocks.  Empowerment Institute’s partnership financial investment in the scaling phase is $100,000 per year for three years ($300,000).  City of San Luis Obispo’s partnership financial investment in this scaling phase is $75,000 a year for three years ($225,000). CONTACT AND FURTHER INFORMATION David Gershon dgershon@empowermentinstitute.net www.coolblock.org www.empowermentinstitute.net