Living Cities
Living Cities is a nonprofit collaborative of 19 philanthropic foundations and financial institutions that deploys inclusive capital through city cohort programs, the Catalyst Fund family of investment vehicles, and the 24-city Closing the Gaps Network to close racial wealth and income gaps in U.S. cities.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1991
- HeadquartersNew York, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Living Cities does
Living Cities is a nonprofit member collaborative founded in 1991 (originally as the National Community Development Initiative) and headquartered in Washington, D.C., with a second office in New York. The organization operates as a partnership of 19 leading philanthropic foundations and financial institutions — including Prudential Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, McKnight Foundation, Kresge Foundation, Annie E. Casey Foundation, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Deutsche Bank — whose senior leaders serve as the Board of Directors and provide sustained funding through multi-year (three-year) contribution rounds.
The collaborative's core mission is closing racial income and wealth gaps in U.S. cities by advancing 'inclusive capital' across three wealth-building pathways: business ownership, homeownership, and impact investing. Its primary product surface consists of city cohort initiatives including the Closing the Gaps Network (24 cities), Breaking Barriers to Business (5 southeastern cities with Truist Foundation and Main Street America), Year of Reckoning (6 cities with $3.2M in grants), and Business Starts and Growth. The Catalyst Fund family of investment vehicles — including Catalyst Fund (2008), Blended Catalyst Fund (2016), and Catalyst Fund III (a $100 million fund of funds launched in 2022 with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and managed with Known Wealth) — deploys PRI-style capital into BIPOC fund managers and entrepreneurs. Supporting products include the Center for Wealth Equity research hub, the Live With Living Cities podcast, the Capital + Culture platform (launched June 2026), and the Rewiring Capital webinar series.
Living Cities generates revenue through three primary streams: member institution contributions via three-year funding rounds, multi-year initiative grants from foundation and corporate partners (Truist, Wells Fargo, Citi, Bloomberg), and management of investment fund vehicles including Catalyst Fund III. The organization employs approximately 20-30 staff and operates as a U.S.-domiciled 501(c)-equivalent nonprofit rather than a for-profit entity. Its go-to-market motion combines direct engagement with city government Business-Serving Agencies, convening of Sustained Capital Tables with lenders and investors, and content/communications-led thought leadership, with no traditional commercial sales model.
Living Cities firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Living Cities
- Legal name
- Living Cities
- Website
- https://livingcities.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1991
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Living Cities is a nonprofit collaborative of 19 philanthropic foundations and financial institutions that deploys inclusive capital through city cohort programs, the Catalyst Fund family of investment vehicles, and the 24-city Closing the Gaps Network to close racial wealth and income gaps in U.S. cities.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Living Cities industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Impact Investing and Community Development
- NAICS
- Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Other Community Housing Services (624229), Individual and Family Services (6241), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Investors, Nec (6799)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance) (BPAGALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Community Foundations (BPAGAKAB), Community Development & Affordable Housing Funds (FSANAJAK), State/Provincial Housing, Urban/Regional Planning & Community Development (BPAIABAM), Community Development & Neighborhood Revitalization Housing Programs (FSALAKAO)
Keywords
Where Living Cities is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- New York
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Living Cities business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Member Institution Contributions: Living Cities operates as a member collaborative of leading foundations and financial institutions. Senior leaders from member institutions serve as the Board of Directors and provide sustaining support through three-year funding rounds. These member contributions form the primary financial backbone of the organization.
- Catalyst Fund III and Investment Vehicles: Living Cities designs and manages investment fund vehicles (Catalyst Fund, Blended Catalyst Fund, Catalyst Fund III) that attract PRI investors and deploy capital to BIPOC entrepreneurs, fund managers, and community-rooted businesses addressing racial wealth disparities.
- Initiative Grants and Program Funding: Living Cities receives and deploys multi-year initiative grants from foundation and corporate partners (Truist Foundation, Wells Fargo Foundation, Citi Foundation) to fund programmatic work in city cohorts including Breaking Barriers to Business, Year of Reckoning, Business Starts & Growth, and the Closing the Gaps Network.
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
Living Cities product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Living Cities is a member collaborative of philanthropic foundations and financial institutions that deploys catalytic grants, manages impact investment funds (Catalyst Fund family including the $100M Catalyst Fund III), and convenes city governments, community organizations, and capital providers to close racial income and wealth gaps across U.S. cities. It delivers initiatives such as the Closing the Gaps Network (24 cities), Breaking Barriers to Business (5 southeastern cities), Business Starts and Growth, and Year of Reckoning, alongside research and strategy through the Center for Wealth Equity.
Product overview
Living Cities operates as a member collaborative of leading philanthropic foundations and financial institutions offering a portfolio of interconnected initiatives, investment vehicles, and knowledge products rather than a unified software platform. The core portfolio includes: the Closing the Gaps Network (24-city initiative), Center for Wealth Equity (research and strategy hub), Breaking Barriers to Business (B3) in partnership with Main Street America, Business Starts and Growth, Year of Reckoning, Impact Investments through the Catalyst Fund family, and focus areas in Homeownership, Narrative Change, and Business Ownership. Supporting offerings include the 'Live With Living Cities' podcast, the Capital + Culture platform, the Rewiring Capital webinar series, and published white papers and resources. These initiatives work together to close racial wealth gaps through collective action, capital deployment, and systems change.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Catalyst Fund Family Family of investment funds including the Catalyst Fund, Blended Catalyst Fund, and Catalyst Fund III (a $100M fund of funds launched in 2022 with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Known) designed to attract new Program Related Investment (PRI) investors and deploy patient, flexible, risk-tolerant capital to BIPOC entrepreneurs, fund managers, and community-rooted businesses addressing racial wealth disparities.
- Closing the Gaps Network A community of 24 geographically and demographically diverse cities (Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Charleston, Charlotte, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Kansas City, Long Beach, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Haven, Philadelphia, Providence, Rochester, Sacramento, St. Paul, Washington D.C.) committed to closing racial income and wealth gaps through data-informed and community-driven practices and policies targeting business ownership, homeownership, and inclusive economic development.
- Breaking Barriers to Business (B3) Multi-year initiative implemented in five southeastern cities (Atlanta GA, Charlotte NC, Memphis TN, Nashville TN, Miami FL) with Truist Foundation and Main Street America to transform systemic barriers between local government BSAs and community-based BSOs into inclusive pathways providing business owners with social, knowledge, and financial capital to start, grow, and create jobs in commercial corridors.
- Year of Reckoning Initiative supporting six cities (Albuquerque NM, Austin TX, Memphis TN, Minneapolis MN, Rochester NY, St. Paul MN) in the Closing the Gaps Network to reckon with systemic racism and implement practices and policies that expand BIPOC homeownership and business ownership, with over $3.2M in grants distributed to cohort cities.
- Business Starts and Growth Multi-year initiative designed to support city government leaders and trusted community organizations in accelerating wealth building via business ownership across cohort cities including Albuquerque, Austin, Memphis, Rochester, Minneapolis, and St. Paul, providing expert technical assistance and deploying grants.
- Center for Wealth Equity Research and strategy hub that generates evidence about what expands economic opportunity and turns it into practical strategies, tools, and frameworks that help cities, funders, and financial institutions make better capital decisions.
- Capital + Culture Platform National platform designed to explore economic questions facing American cities during major events, examining who benefits when opportunity arrives. The 2026 FIFA World Cup (projected to generate up to $80 billion in economic output across North America) serves as the inaugural focus, publishing city-focused case studies, analysis, and thought leadership on capital, culture, and economic inclusion.
Quantifiable outcome
- Miami's Allapattah Community Development CDC successfully acquired a $3.3M commercial property through the Miami Action CAF, preventing local business displacement.
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Living Cities
Customer profileNamed customers10 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Living Cities technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Living Cities partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- Main Street AmericacoreMain Street America is the co-lead implementation partner with Living Cities on the Breaking Barriers to Business (B3) initiative across five southeastern cities (Atlanta, Charlotte, Memphis, Miami, Nashville). With 45 years of evidence on creating vibrant commercial corridors and 2000+ community partnerships, Main Street America provides technical assistance and implementation support to BSOs in participating corridors.
- Known (values-aligned finance and asset management firm)coreIn 2023, Living Cities entered into a partnership with Known, a values-aligned finance and asset management firm, paving the way for Catalyst Fund III, a $100 million fund of funds. Known serves as the asset management partner for this flagship investment vehicle.
- Creative Research Solutions (CRS)supportingCreative Research Solutions serves as the evaluation partner for Breaking Barriers to Business, bringing deep experience in economic development performance measurement and integrating different evaluation models between Living Cities and Main Street America.
- Ascendant GlobalsupportingAscendant Global serves as policy consultant for Breaking Barriers to Business, spearheading government economic development program analysis and data profile assessments to maximize the $100,000 catalytic grants provided to each local government BSA.
- Council for Adult and Experiential Learning (CAEL)supportingCAEL is a complementary signature partner in Truist Foundation's Where It Starts initiative, receiving $15.7 million to address the human capital side of the inclusive economy equation alongside Living Cities' $6.3 million Breaking Barriers to Business grant.
- FSG (mission-driven consulting firm)supportingFSG conducted community needs assessments in partnership with Living Cities and five Year of Reckoning cohort cities (Austin, Memphis, Minneapolis, Rochester, St. Paul) to understand the current state and root causes of racial inequities in homeownership and entrepreneurship.
- MASS Design GroupsupportingMASS Design Group partnered with Living Cities and the City of Albuquerque's Office of Equity and Inclusion to conduct a community needs assessment focused on Black and Native communities' homeownership and entrepreneurship needs, including identifying optimal locations for affordable homes on City lands.
- The People's Institute for Survival and Beyond (PISAB)supportingPISAB provided foundational racial equity training and competency-building support to Year of Reckoning cities, facilitating workshops that uncovered truths about structural racism and led to unexpected learnings from each city about how individual perspectives impact systems.
- Third Space Action LabsupportingThird Space Action Lab co-designed and delivered racial equity competency training alongside PISAB and Black Womxn Flourish for the Year of Reckoning cohort cities, supporting leaders in building anti-racist government policies and practices.
- Black Womxn FlourishsupportingBlack Womxn Flourish co-designed and co-delivered racial equity training alongside PISAB and Third Space Action Lab for Year of Reckoning cities, bringing a lens centered on the lived experience and flourishing of Black women and gender-expansive people of color.
- Closing the Gaps Network (24 Cities)coreThe CTG Network is a core Living Cities initiative comprising 24 cities (Albuquerque, Atlanta, Austin, Charleston, Charlotte, Dallas, El Paso, Houston, Kansas City, Long Beach, Louisville, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Haven, Philadelphia, Providence, Rochester, Sacramento, St. Paul, Washington D.C.) committed to closing racial income and wealth gaps through data-informed and community-driven practices.
- Fortis CapitalsupportingFortis Capital (led by Brian Smith, former local government leader and community-based capital allocator from Minneapolis) guided the Miami Action CAF team through its creation, sharing technical knowledge and experience from similar anti-displacement work in Minneapolis.
- Main Street AmericacoreMain Street America leads the technical assistance and implementation support for BSOs in Breaking Barriers to Business cities, bringing 45 years of evidence on commercial corridor revitalization and direct relationships with community-based organizations in underserved neighborhoods.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Living Cities competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC): LISC is one of the largest U.S. community development financial institutions, deploying capital, technical assistance, and policy advocacy to underserved communities. It directly parallels Living Cities' mission of closing racial wealth gaps through cross-sector capital mobilization and community development.
- Enterprise Community Partners: Enterprise Community Partners is a national nonprofit that combines capital, programs, and policy advocacy to expand affordable housing and economic opportunity. It is directly comparable to LC in scope, operating model (foundation + financial institution collaborative), and target outcomes (homeownership and community wealth-building).
- CDFI Fund / Opportunity Finance Network: OFN is the national association of CDFIs, supporting community development financial institutions in deploying capital to underserved markets. It is directly comparable to LC's Catalyst Fund family and inclusive capital deployment work, with shared funders and overlapping grantees.
- Robin Hood Foundation: Robin Hood is a major New York-based poverty-fighting nonprofit that combines grantmaking, impact investing, and advocacy to address economic mobility. Its dual structure of grant capital and program-related investments (Poverty Tracker, Blue Ridge Labs) directly mirrors Living Cities' grant-plus-PRI model.
- The Kauffman Foundation: Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is the $10M+ co-lead partner on LC's $100M Catalyst Fund III, focused on entrepreneurship and equitable economic opportunity. As a direct co-investor in LC's flagship fund and an aligned mission organization, Kauffman is a close strategic peer.
- Main Street America: Main Street America is LC's co-lead implementation partner on Breaking Barriers to Business, with 45 years of evidence on commercial corridor revitalization and 2,000+ community partnerships. As the operational arm for B3 across five southeastern cities, MSA is a deeply integrated peer in LC's delivery model.
Broad incumbents
- Annie E. Casey Foundation: AEC is one of the largest U.S. private foundations focused on child welfare, family economic success, and racial equity. As a Living Cities member institution, it is broadly comparable as a peer funder operating in the same philanthropic ecosystem with overlapping grantees and shared outcomes focus.
- Ford Foundation: Ford Foundation is a global philanthropic leader and one of the original PRI proponents supporting Living Cities' Catalyst Fund. As a major LC member institution with its own racial equity and economic opportunity programming, Ford is a broad incumbent in the same collaborative funding space.
- Kresge Foundation: Kresge's American Cities Program directly funds place-based community development work in cities like Memphis, New Orleans, and Fresno—overlapping geographies and outcomes with Living Cities' Closing the Gaps Network. As an LC board-represented member, Kresge is broadly comparable as a peer funder.
Emerging players
- Urban Institute: Urban Institute is a major economic and social policy research organization that produces data and analysis on housing, community development, and racial equity. Its research-to-action model parallels LC's Center for Wealth Equity, and it serves as a research partner to many of LC's member foundations.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Living Cities social profiles
Digital presenceLiving Cities financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Living Cities leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles14 records
Living Cities funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds1 record
Investors1 record
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Living Cities M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments2 records
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Living Cities
What does Living Cities do?
Living Cities is a member collaborative of philanthropic foundations and financial institutions that deploys catalytic grants, manages impact investment funds (Catalyst Fund family including the $100M Catalyst Fund III), and convenes city governments, community organizations, and capital providers to close racial income and wealth gaps across U.S. cities. It delivers initiatives such as the Closing the Gaps Network (24 cities), Breaking Barriers to Business (5 southeastern cities), Business Starts and Growth, and Year of Reckoning, alongside research and strategy through the Center for Wealth Equity.
Is Living Cities a public or private company?
Living Cities is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Living Cities founded?
Living Cities was founded in 1991. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Living Cities based?
Living Cities is headquartered in New York, United States, in the North America region.
How does Living Cities make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Member Institution Contributions are the primary driver. The others are catalyst Fund III and Investment Vehicles and initiative Grants and Program Funding.
Who are Living Cities's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC), Enterprise Community Partners, CDFI Fund / Opportunity Finance Network, Robin Hood Foundation, The Kauffman Foundation and Main Street America. Broad incumbents are Annie E. Casey Foundation, Ford Foundation and Kresge Foundation. Urban Institute is listed as an emerging player.
Does Living Cities have an API?
No public API is recorded for Living Cities.
What industry is Living Cities in?
Living Cities's product category is Impact Investing and Community Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGALAA, Impact Investing & Social Finance (Funds, CDFIs, Microfinance), with a secondary code of BPAGAKAB, Community Foundations. Its NAICS code is 81321 and its SIC code is 8300.