When applying for a SWNI Small Grant opportunity it will be helpful for you to identify what category your project will into. Your project may overlap into several areas or only hit on one area, and either is fine. When writing your application you may want to guide your narrative to emphasize what areas your project will be focusing on. This will allow the review committee to more clearly understand how your project will benefit the SW community. If you are not sure what category your project belongs to, let us know. We may need to reevaluate your goals or we can help you reword your project to be more clear. 

 

 

1. Outreach Mobilization: Door-to-door canvassing, a frame signs, building membership and outreach to neighbors and businesses. This category deals with sustained involvement and not for specific one-time events. Communications: Designing new websites, email lists and forums, newsletter mailing to all households, signs to increase awareness etc.

 

2. Targeted Outreach Strategies: To build ties with people traditionally not involved including low-income families, minorities, GLBT, young adults, immigrants, and people with disabilities.

 

3. Relationship Building:  Between neighborhoods and local organizations such as schools, PTA’s, churches, non-profits and businesses. Community picnics, block parties, and movie nights. This category is different then outreach mobilization in that this category focuses on one-time events to make initial connections and to introduce a specific group etc.

4. Accessibility: Providing language translation and interpretation, facilitating cultural understanding/adaptation, childcare or other efforts to make neighborhoods activities more accessible.

 

5. Community Beautification: Street tree plantings, neighborhood clean-ups. General improvements that are esthetic in nature but NOT functional.

 

6. Community Design: Builds place-making projects such as planning for playgrounds, intersection repairs, and community gardens. Sign caps and neighborhood ID markers also fit in this category. Improvements that may be esthetic in nature and ARE also functional.

 

7. Crime Prevention: National Night Out, foot patrols, and block watches.

 

8. Cultural Enrichment and Diversity: Culturally specific fairs, festivals or education. This deals with projects that aim to improve the communities understanding of the racial diversity that surrounds them or to improve the integration of a new or minority population into the community (i.e. Somali Neighborhood Involvement Community Engagement resource video)

 

9. Education: Brings together community to identify and link community needs and resources in a manner that helps people to help themselves and to raise the quality of life within their community.

 

10. Public Health: Projects related to overall community wellness. Projects may include health fairs, stress reduction, education on public health topics (i.e. immunization, hearing health, flu, and illness from environmental factors (i.e. mold, windmills or toxins) etc.