Collective Impact Lincoln is requesting proposals for at least two more neighborhood projects it can help fund with mini-grants in late 2019 or early 2020.
The mini-grants, which can be as much as $500, are “a way to connect with your neighborhood and your community to bring about positive change,” said Nancy Petitto, Civic Nebraska’s Collective Impact Lincoln program manager.
In 2019, Collective Impact Lincoln has awarded mini-grants to community organizations and individuals in the project’s six focus neighborhoods – Belmont, Clinton, Everett, Near South, Hartley and University Place. Funds are awarded to projects that bring community members together and fulfill a neighborhood need.
Collective Impact Lincoln has given out eight mini-grants so far this year. They include:
- Tree planting in the Clinton neighborhood. The project aims to plant at least 15 trees in the neighborhood to increase tree diversity and resilience. It also will help build residents’ physical and mental well-being and help create a greater sense of community.
- “Adopt a Block” program in the Everett neighborhood. This project aims to reduce littering through education and resident action. The neighborhood association partnered with a club at Everett Elementary School to raise awareness and provide education on the topic of littering to encourage residents to develop good habits and take responsibility for community cleanliness.
- Litter cleanup event in the Clinton neighborhood. This project focuses on cleanup across the neighborhood while also distributing information about litter cleanup and general information about the neighborhood.
- UNI Days Festival in the University Place neighborhood. The festival and fundraiser was a multi-day celebration hosted by the University Place Community Organization. It brought neighbors together, supported local businesses and charitable groups, and raised money for area schools and the Child Advocacy Center.
- A Little Free Library at CEDARS Youth Services Northbridge. The project provides neighborhood children and families access to books. CEDARS offers an educational component with this LFL by promoting the Read Aloud 15 Minutes program and involving the community to keep books in a variety of reading levels available.
- A scavenger hunt in the Belmont neighborhood. The Belmont School and Neighborhood Advisory Committee aims to provide positive engagement through a scavenger hunt in the Belmont Neighborhood. The committee hopes to help people feel safe and highlight local businesses, organizations, and spaces.
- The Great Plains Music Festival in the Clinton neighborhood. The Great Plains Music Festival brings together the greater Lincoln community through music, advocacy, and action. Musicians, artists, concert-goers, and local businesses communicated through shared passion and formed lasting bonds with one another. The festival took place in the Clinton neighborhood and was organized, run by, and otherwise entirely funded by local youth, and was a source of encouragement and inspiration to underrepresented groups.
- The People’s Puppet Parade in the Near South neighborhood. The People’s Puppet Parade was designed to bring joyful action into the community and share skills with neighbors in theatrics, puppetry, and playmaking. The focus was to spark joy and inspiration by collectively reimagining the communities we wish to live in. The parade was held in the Near South neighborhood during Streets Alive on Sept. 22.
Petitto said there are funds remaining for two more mini-grants, to award either by the end of this year or by spring 2020.
To apply for a grant, applicants can do one of the following:
- Fill out our online form.
- Download the form and email it to nancy.petitto@civicnebraska.org.
- Print the form and mail it to Collective Impact Lincoln, c/o Civic Nebraska. The mailing address is printed on the form.
Collective Impact Lincoln, launched in 2017, creates lasting and meaningful resident-led investment and positive change in a half-dozen Lincoln neighborhoods. Through canvassing, community events, and our Community Builder Workshops, neighbors examine their communities’ natural strengths and take up new ways to improve them.
Collective Impact Lincoln is a partnership between Civic Nebraska, Nebraska Appleseed, and the South of Downtown Community Development Organization.
