On Monday, Janurary 3, 2011, the SE Uplift Board of Directors approved grant funding for fifteen community projects as recommended by the Neighborhood Small Grants Committee.

The Office of Neighborhood Involvement has allocated $22,594 in grant funds to SE Uplift for management of the 2011 Neighborhood Small Grant Program.  The overall goal of this grant program is to provide neighborhood and community-based organizations the opportunity to build community, attract new and diverse members and sustain current membership. Forty grant proposals were received, by the November 1, 2010 deadline, requesting a total of  $142,194.50.

Each year a grant selection committee convenes to review applications in depth resulting in recommendations to the SE Uplift Board for approval.  This year the committee was comprised of two members from the SE Uplift Board of Directors, one member from a neighborhood association board, one member from a business association board and one member from the SE staff. 

During the month of November, committee members reviewed and scored each application to assess how well applicants had addressed the grant guidelines and SE Uplift’s preferred use of funds. Each member’s scores were then compiled into a spreadsheet ranking the average score of projects from highest to lowest. 

The selection committee met on December 9th, 2010 to review the scores and discuss each proposal in-depth.  With the total amount of requested funds at approximately $120,000 over the grant funds available, the committee decided on an evaluation method that considered various aspects of each project to determine if the project could be viable with reduced funding. The committee reviewed project budgets to determine whether line items seemed reasonable and identified areas where funding could be reduced, while still ensuring project completion.

After much deliberation, the grant selection committee decided to recommend that the SE Uplift Board of Directors fund the following fifteen outstanding projects.  The Board unanimously voted to approve their recommendations.

1.    Feast for Southeast, Lifehouse Church. Amounted funded:  $1000.
Feast for Southeast is a Thanksgiving Day event for the community, by the community. Volunteers will work with one of Oregon Culinary Institute’s chief instructors to plan and prepare this meal, which will be free and available to all neighbors.  The Thanksgiving Day event will establish a time and place where long-standing relationships can be built among diverse community members.

2.    Montavilla Kids Carnival, Portland City Blessing Church.  Amount funded:  $2400.
Portland City Blessing Church will host a summer festival at Montavilla Park, with activities for all age groups including a kids’ carnival, a movie-in-the-park and a health and resource fair.  The goal of the event is to help build community and leadership opportunities, expand and diversify active community members and provide underserved neighbors with community resources.

3.    Community Dads Group, Impact Northwest. Amount funded:  $3000.
Impact Northwest will increase the frequency of their Community Dads Group from once a week to twice a week. The group gatherings are facilitated by male volunteers and have been designed specifically to strengthen the father-child relationship and ensure that fathers have access to resources and a community support system. 

4.    Sunnyside Useful Goods Exchange & Neighborhood Cleanup, Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-Op, Windward Education & Research Center. Amount funded:  $200.
The Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-Op will host the 5th Annual Useful Goods Exchange, an event held in-conjunction with the neighborhood cleanup where unwanted items can be donated, traded and reused by families in need.

5.    Montavilla Farmers Market Opening Day Celebration, Montavilla Farmers Market. Amount funded:  $1200.
The Montavilla Farmers Market will host an Opening Day Festival to celebrate the start of their market season and bring community members together to enjoy fresh, local food; learn about healthy eating and engage with community-based organizations.

6.    Employment Self-Help Outreach Project, Sunnyside Neighborhood Association. Amount funded: $500.
The Sunnyside Employment Self-Help Group will conduct an outreach project, consisting of town hall events and the development of a website and a video documentary, to generate more participation in the group and neighborhood association activities.

7.    Compassion Southeast, Compassion Connect. Amount funded:  $1000.
The Compassion Southeast clinic addresses the most basic needs of the uninsured, under-insured, homeless and nearly homeless members of SE Portland.  The clinic will offer free basic medical and dental exams, immunizations, chiropractic care, vision exams and resources from social service organizations.

8.    Jim Bridger PTA, Books and Bikes at Bridger. Amount funded:  $2500.
Jim Bridger PTA will host a neighborhood fair with the theme of promoting healthy summer habits.  The fair will include a neighborhood group bike ride, games and a journal making activity for students.

9.    Second Annual Picnic in the Park, Buckman Community Association. Amount funded:  $2000.
The Buckman Community Association will host the 2nd Annual Picnic in the Park.  The goal of the event is to provide a venue for all Buckman neighbors to come together to share food, drinks, activities and fun, while strengthening old friendships and building new connections in the community.

10.    Lake Carlton Transformation, Woodstock Neighborhood Association.  Amount funded:  $2000.
The Lake Carlton Transformation project targets the most notorious unimproved road in SE Portland.  The project will serve as an example of some inexpensive, alternative community-based improvements that can be done on unimproved roads across the city.

11.    Chess for Success After-School Programs in Nine Title I Elementary & Middle Schools, Chess for Success.  Amount funded:  $400.
Chess equipment will be purchased in support of after-school chess clubs in neighborhood schools throughout the coalition.

12.    Community Music Circles on Harrison Hill, St. David of Wales Episcopal Church. Amount funded :  $1550.
Community Music Circles will connect local musicians with JOIN clientele for a ten-week group music circle course.  The classes will be held with a sliding scale fee and an instrument library will be created to make the program more accessible for all community members.

13.    Maximum Capacity, a project to build a connected community, Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood Development Association.  Amount funded:  $937.
The Hosford-Abernethy Neighborhood Development Association will produce a neighborhood-wide mailing to generate the participation of block leaders that will be able to effectively communicate about issues of importance to the neighborhood.  The creation of a block leader system will be a solid communication structure for the neighborhood association.

14.    Montavillage Spring Fair, Creative Science School. Amount funded:  $1550.
The Creative Science School will host the 2nd Annual Montavillage Spring Fair, an event to help build relationships among neighbors and community-based groups.  The fair will offer a variety of activities for neighbors of all ages to enjoy.

15. Creston-Kenilworth Neighborhood Banners, Creston-Kenilworth Neighborhood Association. Amount funded:  $2357.
The Creston-Kenilworth Neighborhood Association will design and install utility pole banners along major streets in the neighborhood to create a visible neighborhood symbol and communicate a sense of neighborhood pride.

The projects selected for funding are excellent examples of how the community is working together to improve the quality of our neighborhoods by building community, increasing volunteer capacity and forging new organizational partnerships through sustainable projects. The grant selection committee believes that the Neighborhood Small Grant Program adds great value to the community and to the neighborhood associations within our coalition area.