This post is shared from our friends at Cities of Service.
We are excited to announce that applications are open for Love Your Block, the Cities of Service grant program that brings city leaders and residents together to build stronger neighborhoods, one block at a time.
Eight cities will be selected to receive a $100,000 grant over two years to support resident-led efforts fighting blight and to fund a Love Your Block Fellow drawn from the community, as well as up to two AmeriCorps VISTA members and technical assistance from expert Cities of Service staff. The AmeriCorps VISTA member(s) and Love Your Block Fellow will serve in city hall to build capacity for resident engagement.
This year’s program will focus on helping cities to partner with community groups and activate resident volunteers to repair, remediate, or otherwise address blight in their neighborhoods.
About Love Your Block
Love Your Block brings city leaders and residents together to build stronger neighborhoods, one block at a time. Through the program, cities award mini-grants to residents and community partners to reduce blight and spur neighborhood-driven change.
Since 2009, Cities of Service has helped nearly 50 cities implement Love Your Block. More than 26,000 community members have revitalized over 3,500 community spaces, creating nearly 750 art displays, cleaning 98,000 square feet of graffiti, removing 6 million pounds of trash, and much more.
A recent study by the Urban Institute also found that Love Your Block both helped cities fight blight by supporting resident-led projects, and formed reciprocal relationships between citizens and city hall that helped spur citizen-centered innovations in policy and practice.