As a reader of this community-focused blog, you no doubt recognize how meaningful your neighborhood is to your day-to-day life. The City of Raleigh also realizes that our neighborhoods play an important role in making Raleigh a desirable place to live. That is why we offer funds to neighborhood groups for projects that make their neighborhoods stronger.
Neighborhood Improvement Funds in amounts up to $1,000 are available for projects such as community gardens, festivals, newsletters and web pages. In recent months, Neighborhood Improvement Funds have enabled groups to beautify the entrance of their subdivisions and to expand a neighborhood picnic shelter. In past years, Neighborhood Improvement Funds have paid for playground toys, neighborhood entrance signs and even a park bench.
The City provides the money to encourage residents to get involved in their neighborhoods by planning and carrying out betterment projects. The funds are available to homeowners associations, garden clubs and community watch organizations, as well as small groups of neighbors.
The Community Services Department administers Neighborhood Improvement Funds, and we believe the program helps us fulfill our mission of promoting improvements to the quality of life in Raleigh’s neighborhoods. Earlier this year, we reorganized the program by splitting it into two categories:
- Level One provides up to $250 for a neighborhood group, including neighborhood residents who do not belong to a formal organization. You can fill out a simple application for Level One funding and receive an answer with two weeks.
- Level Two provides up to $1,000 to neighborhood-based organizations. To be eligible, an organization must provide a matching sum, but the match does not have to be in cash. Volunteer labor and donations count toward the match. Organizations that apply for Level Two funds can expect an answer within three weeks.
I encourage you and your neighbors to work together to propose a project for Neighborhood Improvement Funds. Applications for the current fiscal year are due by June 1, 2012. If your project is free and open to all residents of your neighborhood and if it provides a public benefit, your application will stand a good chance of approval.