The Southeast Uplift Board of Directors awarded twenty-seven neighborhood associations and community-based organizations funds through the 2010 SE Uplift Neighborhood Small Grants Program at their Board of Directors meeting on Monday, January 4. The Directors accepted the recommendation of the Neighborhood Small Grants Selection Committee and approved the release of $40,513 in funds to support community partnerships, capacity building activities to engage new and diverse neighbors and leadership skill development among underrepresented groups in the coalition area.

For the fourth year of the Neighborhood Small Grants Program, the City of Portland has allocated $178,831 in grant funds for neighborhood and community organizations to build community, attract new and diverse members and sustain current membership. These funds are distributed through the city’s seven neighborhood coalitions, with $40,513 in grant funds distributed to Southeast Uplift for the 2010 program year. Thirty-seven grant proposals were received, requesting a total of  $134,065.20 by the November 2, 2009 deadline.

In addition to the overall program guidelines, SE Uplift’s grant program identified preferred use of funds for projects that helped to build capacity in the neighborhood system, showed partnerships between neighborhood associations and under-represented communities and/or community-based organizations that support those populations and projects that helped to engage people of color, immigrants and refugees, renters, low-income residents, lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer residents, or people with disabilities in the civic life of their neighborhoods.

The following twenty-seven outstanding projects were awarded small grants:

1.    Sunnyside Swap Shop Co-Op, 4th Annual Sunnyside Neighborhood Useful Goods Exchange. Amount funded: $850.  Funds will be used for advertising and event-related expenses for the 4th Annual Useful Goods Exchange, an event held in conjunction with the neighborhood cleanup where unwanted items can be unloaded and either traded or purchased by those in need. The Useful Goods Exchange serves a great need, particularly among low-income neighbors and also is an opportunity for organizational relationship building and community building among neighbors.

2.    Laurelhurst Neighborhood Emergency Team, Disaster Preparedness Education.  Amount funded:  $1630.  Funding will be used to purchase educational equipment, which will help the Laurelhurst NET Team   in their efforts to raise awareness about the importance of emergency preparedness and attract new and diverse participation in neighborhood emergency teams.

3.    Franklin High School, FLIP:  Franklin Landscape Improvement Project.  Amount funded: $1050.  Plants, soil and compost will be purchased with grant funding to complete several phases of a larger landscape design for the grounds at Franklin High School.  Students, families, alumni and neighbors will work together through hands-on restoration of the campus landscape through this project.

4.    JOIN, JOIN Community Mural Project. Amount funded: $1749.  Funding will be used to create a permanent mural at JOIN’s new Home and Day Service Center in the Montavilla neighborhood.  The mural project will be a collaboration between JOIN and their constituents, the Marshall High SUN School, p:ear and the Montavilla Neighborhood Association.  The mural will culminate with an unveiling ceremony to bring community groups together for relationship building and education

5.    Portland Fruit Tree Project, Building Community & Access to Healthy Food in SE Neighborhoods. Amount funded: $1340.  Funds will be used to organize a series of fruit tree harvesting parties within the coalition area.  A large-scale outreach effort will be used to specifically target and engage participants from low-income and underserved communities.

6.    Lane SUN Community School, Art Connect:  Painting Our Way to a United Neighborhood.  Amount funded:  $1400.  Grant funding will support the creation of three community mural projects in the Brentwood-Darlington community.  Each mural project will be an opportunity to bring together the neighborhood’s diverse community members to beautify the neighborhood and create visual centerpieces, which will serve as points of pride in the community.

7.    Café au Play, Café au Play & Tabor Commons Community Celebration.  Amount funded: $2000.  Funding will be used for a day-long event to celebrate the completion of the community-owned building, Tabor Commons, which will be a community gathering space and the home of Café au Play, a family-centered coffeehouse.  The celebration will be an opportunity to honor and reengage community volunteers, as well as an opportunity to reach out to new organizational partners and members of diverse community groups.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
                
8.    Woodstock Community Business Association, Woodstock Farmers Market. Amount funded: $500.  Grant funds will be used as seed money for the creation of a farmers market in the Woodstock neighborhood.

9.    Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association, Multi Language Invitational- Information Mailing. Amount funded: $2750.  Grant funding will be used to create and mail an informational flyer from the Brentwood Darlington Neighborhood Association to all area residents.  This mailing will be translated into four languages and will include an invitation to community events and provide information about neighborhood association activities to generate additional community involvement. 

10.     Hosford Abernethy Neighborhood Development Association, Pocket Park Plaza Project/ “Roots of Our Neighborhood.” Amount funded: $1000.  Funds will be used to organize a community event in conjunction with the annual Division Clinton Street Fair & Festival, at the site of the proposed pocket park/plaza project, SE 19th & Division.  The event will help raise awareness about parks, open spaces and community gardens and highlight the historical and cultural connections to such places in the neighborhood.

11.      SE Portland Tool Lending Library, SE Portland Tool Lending Library.  Amount funded: $2100.  Grant funds will provide seed money to get the SE Tool Library up and running.  This money will help to purchase important tools that are not received through donation, provide event-related expenses to host four workshops and support outreach efforts to raise awareness about the new tool library.

12.      Whitman Elementary School, Mural & Beautification Earth Day Celebration. Amount funded: $1860.  Funding will be used for a beautification project to make the school grounds more welcoming with benches to promote a community meeting space and a new community mural.  Students, families and neighbors from diverse backgrounds will be engaged though project activities as well as at an Earth Day community celebration to unveil the mural.    

13.     South Tabor Neighborhood Association, South Tabor Neighborhood Harvest Festival.  Amount funded: $1350.  Grant funds will be used for varied outreach efforts, including translation of materials to reach diverse participants, and event-related expenses for a community-wide Harvest Festival, which will include entertainment, refreshments, harvest-related activities and holistic health workshops.  This festival will help to engage South Tabor residents, foster volunteerism and celebrate the health and wellbeing of neighbors.

14.      Richmond Neighborhood Association, Movie in the Park:  Sewallcrest Park.  Amount funded: $500.  Funds will be used to support pre-movie entertainment and live music accompaniment for the silent film, “The General.” This event will help to build new and diverse participation in the neighborhood association and will serve as an enjoyable family-friendly community event.

15.      Woodstock Neighborhood Association, Woodstock Neighborhood Picnic & Park Project.  Amount funded: $2100.  Funds will be used to support the 6th Annual Woodstock Picnic, a family-friendly, non-commercial event, which celebrates the Woodstock community and allows neighbors an opportunity to meet one another and enjoy refreshments and entertainment at Woodstock Park.  Additionally, funding will help to support the Woodstock Park Project with their efforts to seek input from neighbors to identify needs and desires for the park that would increase use and unite the neighborhood.

16.      American Iranian Friendship Council, Laurelhurst International Music Festival.  Amount funded: $2400.  Funds will support event-related expenses for an International Music Festival to bring musical performers from Latin America, the Middle East and other parts of the world to Laurelhurst Park. In addition to the music, many community agencies and non-governmental agencies will be invited to promote their activities, which will help build relationships among Laurelhurst neighbors and diverse cultural groups in the area.

17.      Jim Bridger PTA, Living La Vida Healthy! Carnival. Amount funded: 2375.  A neighborhood carnival with the theme of promoting healthy summer habits will be held with the support of grant funding.   Funds will cover event related expenses such as promotional materials to generate participation and bicycle lights for the neighborhood bike ride. 

18.      Impact Northwest, Early Childhood Fathering Group.  Amount funded: $2294.  Grant funding will allow the Community Dad’s Group to increase their support meetings to occur once a week rather than bimonthly.  The group gatherings are facilitated by male volunteers and have been specifically designed to strengthen the father-child relationship, build community among fathers and ensure that fathers have access to resources and a community support system.  Funds will be used for outreach, refreshments and transportation to ensure that the program is open and accessible to all fathers.

19.      Creative Science School, Montavillage Spring Fair. Amount funded: $2000.  Grant funds will be used to organize the Montavillage Spring Fair, which will celebrate the Montavilla neighborhood, help to build relationships among community groups and reach across all demographics of the neighborhood. 

20.      Chess for Success, Chess for Success After School Program.  Amount funded:  $500.  Funding will help to purchase chess equipment and books to support the after-school chess clubs in neighborhood schools.

21.      Mt. Tabor Neighborhood/ Tabor Space, Expansion of Village Practice at Tabor Space.  Amount funded: $500.  Grant funds will be used to support a community event to celebrate the first anniversary of Tabor Space, a community-gathering place and coffeehouse within the Mt. Tabor Presbyterian Church.  The event will be an opportunity to bring community members together as well as to raise awareness about the space as a community resource.

22.      Eco-mUNITY, Richmond Eco-mUNITY Kiosk Project. Amount funded:  $500. Funding will be used to stream video live at 10 of the Richmond Neighborhood Association’s meetings in 2010.  The goal is to reach and engage more members of the community, who have been unable to attend the monthly association meetings.  This new communication strategy will be used in addition to other methods such as the newsletter and website, to get information out into the community and potentially increase involvement in local decision-making.

23.      Community Music Center, Community Music Center Family Fridays.  Amount funded:  $1990. Grant funding will support the Community Music Center’s Family Friday concert series, which provides family friendly, affordable live music opportunities in the Creston-Kenilworth neighborhood.  Funds will be used for promotional materials to increase awareness of and participation at these events and for stipends for the local musicians.

24.      Moreland Farmers Market, Moreland Farmers Market’s Opening & Closing Day Event.  Amount funded: $1075. In an attempt to increase the reach and accessibility of the Moreland Farmers Market, grant funds will be allocated for a cooking class for low income seniors, transportation costs for bus rides to and from market for seniors and people with disabilities, and a mailing targeted to seniors to raise awareness of about the EBT machine and the free rides provided.

25.      NW Institute for Social Change, Summer Documentary Program:  Sharing Solutions. Amount funded: $500. Grant funds will be applied towards the Northwest Institute’s Summer Documentary Project, which will result in the production of a documentary about a civic project happening within the coalition area.

26.      Montavilla Neighborhood Association, Montavilla Family Fair & Movie.  Amount funded: $2010. Funding will support the Montavilla Neighborhood Association’s efforts to host a kids’ carnival, a health fair and a movie night.  The wide range of activities will likely reach a large number of community members from varying age groups and backgrounds.  Funds will be used for promotion of the activities and event-related expenses.

27.      VOZ Workers’ Rights Education Project, Creandos Puentes.  Amount funded: $2190.
Grant funding will help to support a series of neighborhood cleanups and “From Corner to Center” culture, art and community events.  Both events will be an opportunity to create positive interactions between the day laborers and neighboring businesses and community members.  Additionally, the events will build leadership and provide an opportunity for day laborers to demonstrate their commitment to the community.

The projects that were approved for funding are excellent examples of how the community is working together to improve the quality of our neighborhoods by increasing volunteer capacity and building partnerships with community organizations through sustainable projects. The SE Uplift Board wants to thank all of the community groups and neighborhood associations that applied for funds this year. It was obvious that everyone worked very hard on their proposals and demonstrated leadership and dedication to their communities.

Southeast Uplift Neighborhood Coalition is one of seven coalitions in Portland, serving twenty neighborhood associations and eleven business associations under our umbrella of support. Southeast Uplift is a 501c3 nonprofit organization governed by a volunteer Board of Directors who represent the coalition’s neighborhood and business associations, and community-based organizations. Southeast Uplift provides an organizational structure and forum to empower the community to effectively resolve issues of livability and community development.