HOW TO TELL YOUR ARP STORY WHAT | Projects, Investments, & Upgrades • What exactly will be funded? • Share project names, funding totals, and timelines. Example: The City of Wilson has published on its website a detailed list of their ARP investments. These will touch every corner of the city and, by balancing both immediate needs and long-term goals, are certain to yield generational returns. WHY | What does this mean for the community? Example: The City of Havelock is making water and sewer investments that not only provide needed infrastructure upgrades now, but also lay the foundation for a tremendous economic development opportunity. Growth is expected, and now Havelock is prepared to take advantage. WHO | Citizen Engagement • Community outreach is a key point of focus for both the U.S. Treasury and the people of North Carolina as a whole. • Share how you heard your community’s requests, concerns, and needs. Example: The City of Durham’s citizen engagement process is not simply an obligatory step of ARP—it is the crux of the program. Through a previously established culture of outreach and transparency, Durham has been able to work with individuals, community groups, and nonprofits for nearly a full year, resulting in 71 submitted projects for consideration. HOW | Process & Strategy • Pull back the curtain and share your approach to these projects. • When did discussions begin? How were projects considered? How did local leadership determine the biggest areas of need? Was capacity added or repurposed to take advantage of ARP? Example: The City of Mooresville did not create projects out of the blue. Rather, they pursued investments already decided upon through strategic planning efforts, long prior to receiving ARP funds. Additionally, the town put together an internal committee to vet each proposal, and each idea was thoroughly discussed by the Town Board of Commissioners. All across North Carolina, cities and towns are turning America Rescue Plan dollars into transformational investments. These are stories to take pride in. And towards your citizens, news outlets and more, it’s up to you to spread the word. Let’s hear about it. Here’s what to include. • The most important piece of any story: the conclusion. • Put into words why these investments are important for your town, and paint a picture of how it benefits the future outlook of the community. NCLM is publishing weekly case studies on our cities and towns’ ARP process, investments, strategy, and goals. Those can be found at arp.nclm.org/localplan. 919-715-4000 WWW.ARP.NCLM.ORG
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