Stark County Neighborhood Partnership Grant (Canton, Alliance, Massillon)

The Stark County Neighborhood Partnership Grant, offered by the Stark Community Foundation, empowers neighborhood associations in Canton, Alliance, and Massillon to enhance community vitality. By leveraging the healthy neighborhoods framework, this grant supports projects focused on image, physical conditions, and resident involvement. Eligible applicants must be tax-exempt organizations impacting Stark County residents. This initiative aims to foster local investment and improve the overall desirability of neighborhoods, making them vibrant places for residents.

Neighborhood Grants
In collaboration with Community Building Partnership, Stark Community Foundation aims to empower as many residents as possible to transform their neighborhoods from within. Using the healthy neighborhoods framework created by national neighborhood strategist David Boehlke, grants are available to neighborhood associations to improve and expand revitalization efforts.
The elements of the healthy neighborhood framework are:

• Image and Identity

These are the attributes of a neighborhood that define who or what it is and/or what is unique to a neighborhood. Envision image as what insiders feel makes up a neighborhood, as well as what outsiders see looking in. Identity are the facets that define a neighborhood geographically, culturally and visually (think recognition).
Sample Projects: beautification projects, cleanups, community gardens, identity markers (banners, signs, etc.), branding, signage and marketing.
Physical Conditions
Physical conditions include the condition of the housing, structures and infrastructure of a neighborhood. The condition of a parcel affects adjacent parcels in parallel, both good and bad. Code enforcement, housing assessments and infrastructure queries are just some of the tools available to measure the physical conditions of a neighborhood.
Sample Projects: housing assessments, neighborhood cleanups, sidewalk replacement projects and housing rehab projects/incentives.
Involvement and Investment
This is the investment of Time, Effort and Money (TEAM) that residents are willing and able to contribute to the strength of the neighborhood. Financial investment comes in the form of residential improvement, beautification projects and infrastructure upgrades. Time and effort include the involvement of residents in neighborhood meetings, skills and wills exercises and project/volunteer participation.
Sample Projects: general neighborhood beautification via volunteers, meeting participation, residential improvement projects, community events and gardening projects.
Market
The culmination of Image and Identity, Involvement and Investment and Physical Conditions leads to the overall market values and desirability of living in the neighborhood. Generally measured by housing values and sales figures, comparisons to baseline values can be made as a measure of the market strength of a neighborhood. Total dollars are not always the best measurement; often change in values tell a more complete story.

Eligibility

Only neighborhood associations from Alliance, Canton and Massillon are eligible to apply at this time.Neighborhood associations can apply through a fiscal agent. Eligible applicants must be a tax-exempt private agency, 501(c)(3) organization (that is recognized as a public charity) or government entity.Projects must directly impact residents living in Stark County.Projects are encouraged to include at least one of the healthy neighborhoods elements:Image and IdentityPhysical ConditionsInvolvement and InvestmentMarket