Neighborhoods and Quality of Life

Neighborhood Grant Programs

City of Columbus and Franklin County Community Gardens Grant Program

Recognizing the important role community gardens play in, among other things, providing access to healthy foods, bringing neighbors together and enhancing the beauty and character of a neighborhood, Mayor Michael B. Coleman, the Franklin County Commissioners and Columbus Bicentennial sponsor Fifth Third Bank teamed up to offer grant funding for these efforts. Administered with the help of the Institute for Active Living at the Columbus Foundation, partner organizations will grant awards up to $4,000 to meet the unique needs of each garden location including supplies and services. Additionally, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company has partnered to supplement grant awards with product donations. Award recipients will be announced by May 1, 2012. Click here for more information.

Chase 200Columbus Neighborhood Grant Program

The JPMorgan Chase Foundation has invested $200,000 to help the effort to get neighborhoods across seven counties involved in celebrating the 200th birthday of Columbus. The program is administered by the Greater Columbus Arts Council.

The grant program seeks to inspire neighborhoods to get creative and help create a community that is more inspired and proud of the increasing vitality of Columbus. Participants are encouraged to explore the role their specific neighborhood has played in the city’s 200-year history and develop cultural, educational, diverse and multigenerational activities that may include legacy projects, works of art, customized performances, and other creative programs/activities.

The final deadline for applications was Wednesday, February 15, 2012.

Click here for information on the recipients and projects from the second round of applicants in February 2012.

Click here for information on the recipients and projects from the first round of applicants in October 2011.

Important Information regarding the Chase 200Columbus Neighborhood Grant Program:
Grant Guidelines
Evaluation Rubric
How To Apply Online
Login To Online Application
Press Release on Chase 200Columbus Neighborhood Grant Program

NOTE: If you are a grant recipient you will need to add the 200Columbus logo, Chase logo and the GCAC logo to any printed promotional materials and web page related to your project.

Download the 200Columbus toolkit and logo here.

Download the Chase logo:
Chase logo color low res .jpg (523 x 97, 72 dpi)
Chase logo black and white low res .jpg (523 x 97, 72 dpi)
Chase .eps logos (both color and black & white included)

Download the GCAC logo:
Go here. Any of the first three versions of the logo appearing on this page (GCAC double stacked, GCAC single stacked and GCAC horizontal) are acceptable to use in acknowledgement of GCAC’s support of your grant.

PACT – Near East Side

Partners Achieving Community Transformation (PACT) is a partnership between the City of Columbus, The Ohio State University, the Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority(CMHA) and Near East Side stakeholders.

PACT’s vision is to create a healthy, financially and environmentally sustainable community where residents have access to safe and affordable housing, quality healthcare and education, and employment opportunities on the Near East Side of Columbus, Ohio.

Learn more:
http://eastpact.org/

Franklinton Creative District

The East Franklinton Creative Community District Plan is a planning effort with several major components: public engagement to understand the values and interests of the community, as well as the arts community in growing a “creative district”; very detailed market studies to understand fully the residential, retail and office markets and their potential in this district; an urban design approach to guaranteeing reinvestment occurs in an organic fashion commensurate with the grittiness of East Franklinton; and an implementation strategy that brings all parties together to jointly move forward on a common vision.

The city has established a working group with representatives from the Planning, Economic Development and Housing Divisions, Franklinton Development Association, Columbus Metropolitan Housing Authority, and developer Urban Smart Growth. The city has hired a multi-disciplinary consulting team being led by Goody Clancy, an urban design and planning firm headquartered in Boston. The planning process will be about 12 months in duration and a final plan should be proposed as an amendment to the Franklinton Plan (2003) in the summer of 2012.

Learn more:
http://development.columbus.gov/planning/efccdp.aspx

Weinland Park Collaborative

The Weinland Park Collaborative is a neighborhood investment project coordinated out of a partnership among the International Center for Poverty Solutions at OSU, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, United Way of Central Ohio, the Columbus Foundation, City of Columbus and many others.

Working together with Weinland Park residents, the Collaborative is working to connect people to their neighbors, to offer opportunities for education and jobs and to improve the neighborhood by fixing up vacant houses, planting community gardens, making homes and streets safer as well as much more.

Learn more:
http://www.weinlandparkcivic.org/collaborative.php

Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Families

Announced in 2008 and led by Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Families (HNHF) is a five-pronged public-private collaborative, focusing on neighborhood revitalization in Columbus’ South Side, with the goal of impacting more than 10,000 residents annually. HNHF is focused on creating tangible outcomes in the areas of Affordable Housing, Health and Wellness, Education, Safe and Accessible Neighborhoods and Workforce Development. This initiative is currently building on efforts around the recently-designed and opened Livingston Avenue Elementary School, Nationwide Children’s Hospital and current South Side housing improvement.

View the report that reviews the first two years of the Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Families initiative.

Learn more:
http://www.nationwidechildrens.org/healthy-neighborhoods-healthy-families

OSU East/ Near East Neighborhood Revitalization

In order to improve health care and housing opportunities on the Near East Side, OSU is investing $10 million dollars from City-supported TIF to work with residents and organizations to improve access to quality medical care and improve area housing stock.

Learn more:
http://council.columbus.gov/advrel_content.aspx?id=26806
http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/aboutus/keeping_in_touch/archive/2011/06/13/serving-our-communities.aspx

Linden Village Housing Initiative

Linden Village is a comprehensive local redevelopment initiative designed to revitalize and make a visible improvement in a defined target area surrounding Linden’s neighborhood high school over the next two years (2011-12). Multiple strategies – including housing repair and development strategies — will be implemented by a coalition of organizations and community residents in a collaborative effort

Learn more:
http://www.greaterlinden.org/index.html

King Lincoln District

The King-Lincoln District is an area rich in history and heritage. In 2002, a formal plan was adopted to guide revitalization efforts of this neighborhood. The results of its implementation to date have been tremendous, and most notably include the reopening of the historic Lincoln Theatre in 2009. Ongoing efforts continue to stimulate the revival of the neighborhood by creating a synergy that is readily apparent throughout the burgeoning collection of businesses and cultural attractions.

Learn more:
http://kinglincolndistrict.com/
http://www.lincolntheatrecolumbus.com
http://www.columbusneighborhoods.org/content/king-lincoln

Central Ohio Community Development Neighborhood Summit

Community Development Neighborhood Summit
Jan. 24, 2012; 9 a.m.-4:15 p.m.
Veterans Memorial

The Community Development Collaborative of Greater Columbus hosted the Community Development Neighborhood Summit, a conference in honor of the city’s Bicentennial to celebrate and highlight the creative partnerships and projects that are moving our community forward. The Neighborhood Summit allowed neighborhoods to convene together to experience stories; to celebrate and honor success; to learn; to inspire each other and our communities; and to take our ideas and energy out to continue building vibrant and healthy communities. Click here for more information.

Neighborhood Partnership Grants

The Columbus Foundation, United Way of Central Ohio, PNC, Bob Evans, and the Osteopathic Heritage Foundation are partnering to present the 2012 Neighborhood Partnership Grants Program (NPG). The program is designed to support neighborhood organizations and improvements in low- and moderate-income areas of Franklin County.

To qualify, projects should be designed to be resident driven, but they are not required to be large or sophisticated for grant consideration. They should be focused on at least one of the following areas: community and economic development, education and public awareness, crime prevention and safety, safe and decent housing and the Columbus Bicentennial 2012.

Learn more:
http://www.liveunitedcentralohio.org/npc-grant-process

Wonderland

Wonderland is an emerging non-profit that aims to catalyze the full cultural and economic potential of Columbus’ creative community. The organization seeks to provide the creative community with facilities and resources to become more productive, and to provide the public with opportunities to experience, and become involved with, arts and culture in Columbus.

Learn more:
http://wonderlandcolumbus.com/