Moving Second-Stage Businesses Forward
Legacy Forward, a new technical assistance (TA) initiative from National League of Cities in partnership with the Nasdaq Foundation, is designed to help small and mid-size cities invest in the long-term success of established businesses.
Through a selective national cohort, city leaders will learn how to identify, strengthen, and sustain legacy and second-stage enterprises, especially those led by under-resourced entrepreneurs navigating workforce, supply chain or ownership transitions.
The program centers on practical training, peer learning, and tailored support to advance businesses that are ready for their next chapter. Legacy Forward will culminate with an in-person meeting during early 2027 to highlight and review lessons from the program. As well, NLC will develop a toolkit, empowering cities nationwide to support legacy businesses.
Project Timeline
The technical assistance period will occur from June 2026 to February 2027.
INFORMATION SESSION: Thursday, March 26, 2026 - Review recording here
PROPOSALS DUE: 11:59 PM (ET) Sunday, April 19, 2026
COHORT SELECTION ANNOUNCED: Week of May 11, 2026
COHORT PROGRAMMING: June 1, 2026 through February 28, 2027
COHORT CLOSING CONVENING: February 2027
CADENCE OF MEETINGS
• Attendance monthly at one expert-led workshop and regular cohort check-ins (~2 hrs total/month)
• Optional additional check-ins/cohort 1:1 connection calls throughout the program
• Regular surveys and milestone details (such as city action planning forms) will be required to complete
Selection Criteria
Cities are eligible to apply for the program based on providing the following details, with special consideration given to cities able to share about the following details:
- Ideal candidates will be small and mid-size municipalities (pop. 50K to 500K). Smaller cities with infrastructure in place to expand legacy business support efforts or with work underway in this space will be considered. Larger cities with fledging efforts and strong local partnerships focused on legacy businesses will be considered.
- City has two to four active staff, and one to two partner contacts to engage in monthly expert-led workshops and develop city action plan for legacy/second-stage business engagement. An active economic development or related municipal office that will spearhead participation in the program is required. Other partners from ESOs are invited to join, but the primary leader/contact should be a city leader.
- City has collected – or is in the process of collecting – information about the needs of local business owners.
- Additional consideration will be given to cities with a legacy business program in its nascent stages, or with particular plans/existing collaboration with legacy businesses.
- City has some work underway with entrepreneurs generally, and ideally has begun to inventory and/or initiate focus on legacy business needs.
- Cities in areas where small businesses make up an outsize portion of overall state GDP will also receive additional consideration.
- Your city’s top executive must provide a letter of support for program participation.
The ECS team will host an informational session on Pathways for Early Childhood Leadership Initiative to learn more about the initiative and ask questions ahead of the submission deadline.
The info session will take place on April 8, 2026, at 12:00 PM ET.
All proposals must be submitted online by 11:59 PM ET on April 17, 2026. NLC will engage a panel of subject matter experts to review proposals. Cities will be notified of their selection status by May 4, 2026.
If you have questions or would like more information, please contact Amirh Moore, Sr. Program Specialist at amirh.moore@nlc.org or 203-584-0786.
The National League of Cities is excited to offer a scholarship to local leaders to participate in Local Solutions to End Homelessness, a NLC University’s course, at no cost.
Through this course, local leaders will gain a comprehensive understanding of the complex factors driving homelessness in U.S. cities and explore evidence-based solutions to create meaningful change in your community. This course is specifically designed for local leaders seeking to develop and implement effective solutions.
By the end of this course, participants will be able to:
- Identify the primary driver of homelessness: Understand that the fundamental cause of homelessness is the shortage of affordable housing.
- Distinguish individual vulnerabilities from root causes: Recognize how individual vulnerabilities (e.g., mental health, substance use, adverse childhood experience) increase the risk of homelessness but are not the root cause.
- Recognize disparities in homelessness: Due to longstanding racial discrimination, Black, Hispanic or Latino/a/x, and Indigenous people are disproportionately more likely to experience homelessness than white Americans.
- Evaluate effective solutions: Learn and assess the most impactful solutions and strategies for addressing and ending homelessness in their communities.
This scholarship is aimed at local leaders from small (under 50,000) to mid-size cities (up to 200,000) interested in deepening their understanding of the root causes of homelessness and proven solutions to ending homelessness.
We are seeking mayors, council members and policy advisors that are both new to engaging in the issue of homelessness and seasoned practitioners.
Selected applicants will have the cost of the course and course materials ($500) covered. Participants will be expected to engage in and participate throughout the five-module course. Each module is 75 minutes long. Two sessions will be offered during the first trimester:
-Thursday, April 2 - April 30, 2026 3:00-4:15 EST
-Tuesday, April 28 - May 26, 2026, 12:00-1:15 EST
The application deadline is Friday, February 6th.
Have a question not answered here?
Contact the team at housing@nlc.org with any additional questions.