‘LOVE YOUR BLOCK’ GRANT PROGRAM EXPANDS, SEEKS COMMUNITY IDEAS
Published on February 14, 2022
HARTFORD’S ‘LOVE YOUR BLOCK’ GRANT PROGRAM EXPANDS, SEEKS COMMUNITY IDEAS FOR NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS
HARTFORD, CONN (February 14, 2022) – Today, the City of Hartford and the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving announced that the Love Your Block grant program will be expanding to offer two categories of funding, a LYB Resident Grant and a LYB Community Grant. The LYB resident grant will continue the work of the original LYB program, awarding grants to resident-led projects of $2,500 or less. However, this year, resident groups are also able to team up with non-profit organizations for the LYB Community Grant, which can offer up to $25,000 in funding.
The City and the Hartford Foundation are inviting members of the public to submit ideas that would help clean, green, and beautify Hartford neighborhoods this spring and summer. Ideas can focus on project planning, implementation, and/or maintenance of past projects. Ideas may come from formal or informal groups of Hartford neighborhood residents, including Neighborhood Revitalization Zones, faith groups, and/or nonprofit organizations .
Interested residents or community partners can submit ideas here. Idea submission will be open from Monday, February 14th to Monday, March 7th. Ideas will be reviewed by City and Hartford Foundation staff and as needed, connected to City departments, nonprofits or other professional services that can help make their idea a reality. Ideas will be considered for feasibility, alignment with City plans for the neighborhood, and ability to complete the project within the 2022 season. Ideas that meet this criteria will be invited to submit a streamlined application through either the City of Hartford (for resident led projects) or the Hartford Foundation (for nonprofit led projects). The City of Hartford’s Office of Community Engagement will be hosting info sessions about the Love Your Block grant’s Call for Ideas on Thursday, February 17th at 12 PM and Wednesday, February 23rd at 6 PM.
“The Love Your Block program is about putting our community in the driver's seat when it comes to designing and implementing projects for a cleaner, greener, more beautiful city," said Mayor Bronin . "We're thrilled to be able to expand the Love Your Block program this year, and so grateful to the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving for their partnership. We encourage everyone who loves their neighborhood, loves Hartford, and wants to make their block more beautiful to put their ideas forward, and we look forward to working together to turn those ideas into action."
“The Hartford Foundation is excited to deepen our collaboration with the City and many others on the Love Your Block program,” said Hartford Foundation Senior Community Impact Officer Erika Frank. “Since its launch, we have been inspired by the incredible ideas generated by Hartford residents, nonprofits and businesses. We firmly believe that those who live and work in neighborhoods are best situated to identify areas of meaningful improvement. By empowering our City, residents, and community partners with the resources to work together to clean, green and beautify, we hope to contribute to citywide resiliency.”
“We’re making it easy for our residents to submit an idea and make their community better,” said Janice Castle, Director of the Office of Community Engagement. “City residents often tell me, ‘Hartford should do x’ or ‘it would be nice to see y’. Well, now you can submit those ideas and potentially win funding for that project, thanks to the Hartford Foundation. If we can inspire a resident to share their ideas and see it come to life, to me that’s true community engagement”
The Love Your Block grant program is a component of Love Hartford, a broader initiative led by the City of Hartford, the Hartford Foundation, and other partners to help beautify Hartford neighborhoods and encourage community resiliency. The program brings together city leaders and citizens to revitalize neighborhoods one block at a time. It began when Hartford was one of ten cities chosen by Cities of Service to receive $25,000 in funding over two years (2019-2020) and two AmeriCorps VISTAs. Other activities supported through the initiative include Love Hartford week, the Neighborhood Ambassadors Program, and the annual Hartford Urban Gardeners Awards (HUGS) convened by KNOX, Inc.