Neighborhood Grant Program

OLD APPLICATION - USE FOR REFERENCE ONLY - 2012/2013 Grant Application 

City of Tempe Neighborhood Grant Allocation Summary

2012 Neighborhood Grant PowerPoint Presentation

Tempe’s neighborhood grant program supports efforts to improve and enhance community spaces and cultivates opportunities for neighbors to commission artwork and other improvements. The art sites are inventive and sometimes unexpected. An irrigation standpipe serves as a backdrop for historical dialog, and an entry wall is now a canvas for a metalworker. The neighborhood grant program is funded and run by the Neighborhood Services Division and supported by the Public Art program.

Funding
One hundred and fifty thousand dollars ($150,000) has been allocated for grant proposals of a communitywide benefit. The maximum grant amount is $10,000. A match of at least one half (1/2) of the total project cost is required for homeowner associations and multi-housing communities.

Background
Tempe’s Maryanne Corder Neighborhood Grant Program was created as a means to invest in resident-initiated projects designed to enhance the quality of life in our neighborhoods. Applications are solicited on an annual basis. The program was renamed the Maryanne Corder Neighborhood Grant Program by the City Council in November 2004 in honor of the City’s first Neighborhood Program Director.

Eligible Applicants
1. Neighborhood Associations in Tempe registered with the Neighborhood Services Division
2. Homeowners’ Associations in Tempe registered with the Neighborhood Services Division
3. Apartment communities that are fully certified in the City’s Crime Free Multi-housing Program

Applicants are welcome to coordinate efforts and submit a joint application that combines resources for mutually beneficial community projects. For example, any combination of neighborhood and homeowners’ associations and crime free multi-housing communities can partner together on improvements that benefit all members of the community, such as a traffic calming or park project.

Eligible & Ineligible Projects
To be eligible for funding, a project must be a capital improvement project that benefits the entire neighborhood rather than just a few residents. Capital funds may only cover project completion costs and CANNOT BE FOR MAINTENANCE OR OPERATION costs these projects may impose. Projects that would fix a self-imposed code violation are also ineligible. Projects must be a one-time expenditure and be completed within one year from the date of the City Council's approval.

Previous grant projects include, but are not limited to: energy conservation, security lighting, traffic calming, landscape and beautification, park improvements, signage and art projects. A complete list of previously funded projects is available at http://www.tempe.gov/neighborhoods/grantallocations.htm or by contacting the Neighborhood Services Division.

Homeowners’ association requests may not be for maintenance projects covered in the associations annual budgets such as entry gates, roofing repair, common ground and pool maintenance, painting, road repair (for private streets) etc. -- these would NOT be funded.

Apartment community requests should be for enhancements only, NOT for regular maintenance projects or for those required by law (i.e. pool fences).

Community Involvement
A critical component of any grant project is the community involvement and benefit. All residents of the community must be notified of the opportunity to apply for a grant and provided a chance to propose and comment on project ideas. Applicants should carefully plan out and document how the community is going to be involved in the selection of a project as well as the execution. Grant projects can provide an opportunity for hands on involvement from residents, such as planting trees or creating elements of an art project.

Guidelines:
The City’s Neighborhood Service Team (NST) allocates grant funds referencing the following guidelines:
1. Improves health and safety of residents
2. Benefits a significant number of residents and the City at large
3. Addresses a known neighborhood deficiency
4. Complements other neighborhood projects (private or City)
5. Provides an environmental benefit, such as water and/or energy conservation
6. Enhances the aesthetics of the neighborhood
7. Accessible to all members of the community

*Please note that a preference may be given to those associations that have not previously received funds.

Contents
One application must be submitted per project. Materials will not be returned.

The application must be legible or typed on 8 1/2 x 11 paper compiled and submitted in the following order: 

Application form (limit to four pages provided) including details of staff contact if required
Bids for project work
- Minimum of two itemized bids, including appropriate permit fees and sales tax
- The amount requested must match a bid amount.
Proof of notification (i.e. sample of newsletters or postcards sent out to all residents)
Drawings and/or pictures describing the project - color is preferred
Any other background information
- Lighting projects must include lighting plans, light fixture schedules, light fixture cut sheets, bulb type and
proposed source of electrical feed.
- Landscape projects must include landscape plans, details, proposed plant list, irrigation source and
proposed retention.
- Wall, fence or gate projects require elevations, details and site plans.
- Signage projects must include elevations of signs, all text, what materials and colors will be used and if
lighting is involved.
- if public area, show dimensions on sidewalks, ramadas, playgrounds, etc. to meet accessibility requirements

Procedure for application:
Each neighborhood/homeowners’ association wishing to apply for funding will submit the application form to Neighborhood Services by the established deadline (TBD). Late or incomplete applications will not be reviewed. Applications will be processed through site plan review and then reviewed by city staff representing all city departments and/or divisions. Staff will make recommendations for funding to the City Council. The City Council will review the recommendations during an Issue Review Session and formally vote on the funding amounts at a formal City Council meeting. Grant applicants will be notified of funding decisions in writing.

Estimated Timeline: 
August/September – Applications due 
September/October – All site plan review of applications completed 
September/October – Revisions from site plan review due 
September/October – Applications distributed for staff review 
October/November – Grant funding meeting
Date TBD – Formal Council approval