Tag Archives: Neighbourhood Small Grant

Neighbourhood Small Grant Applications Are Now Being Accepted Until April 18, 2024

7 Apr

The Neigbourhood Small Grant program is back for 2024.  The foundation of this program is connecting people within their own communities.  The premise of the program is fairly simple – the best people to affect change in a community, are those that live within it. When money is less of an issue, it allows more ideas to flow.  This is where the grants come in. The Neighbourhood Small Grants program allows you to apply for up to $500 for your idea to connect your community.

What have other people done?   A few ideas include book exchanges, clothing swaps, cooking classes, creating benches and community gardens.  Some other ideas include creating small care packages for seniors with a few spring flowers and crossword puzzles and/or word search games.  For young children, creating a scavenger hunt in a park with prizes or rock painting. People have also created art cards for seniors in long term care. Connection is the key and the ideas are only limited by your imagination and, of course, the $500 budget. Want more ideas or thinking about applying? We invite you to visit Neighbourhood Small Grants for more information and ideas on what others have done with their Neighbourhood Small Grant.

The basic principles of the Neighbourhood Small Grants Program:

  1. Small is beautiful. Small ideas are beautiful and manageable.
  2. Everyone has something to offer. Whether you can teach a skill or give some tips, or provide a service. We all have something valuable to share.
  3. It’s your project. You create how you want it to look and feel.
  4. Create your chosen family.  A platform to help build networks within your community.

Applications are now open until April 18, 2024.   Applications may be accepted for a second cycle in the Fall depending on whether funds are still available. This is a great opportunity to create something memorable for your community.

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Mindful Moves In Pandora Park July 26 – August 16

26 Jul

We invite you to check out another great opportunity to get outdoors and do some gentle exercise.   Mindful Moves comes to Pandora Park July 26 to August 16, 2023. This a free event that is sponsored by a Neighbourhood Small Grant and features gentle yoga, live music and happy grooves. The event takes place in Pandora Park by the community garden from 6:00 to 6:45 pm.  To register, scan the QR Code in the graphic provided, email them directly or visit Ticket Tailor.

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Free Outdoor Yoga Returns To Sunrise Park This Summer

18 Jun

Free outdoor yoga returns to Sunrise Park on Tuesday, July 4th.   This event sponsored by a Neighbourhood Small Grant is led by Ruby Wong and other certified yoga instructions. The group will host weekly one hour outdoor classes every Tuesday from July 4th to August 22nd at 7:00 pm at Sunrise Park which is located at Rupert and East 3rd Avenue. To register or learn more, visit them on Facebook at Sunrise Park Yoga, or email them directly at sunriseparkyoga@gmail.com.  

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Neighbourhood Small Grant & Greenest City Grants Now Available

7 Mar

NeighbourhoodSmallGrant2015Would you like to make your community a better place? If yes, consider applying for a Neighbourhood Small Grant. If you have not heard about this program, it is worth looking into. Speaking from experience this program is a great way to get to know your neighbours and build community. You can apply for grants of up to $500 for projects in your community. The aim of the program, which is funded by the Vancouver Foundation, is to connect and engage people within the community in which they live. Neighbours can get together and make an application for a variety of events. Some examples of past events include neighbourhood block parties, clean up campaigns, ethnic cooking classes, emergency preparedness plans, community gardens and an outdoor movie night. This is not for adults only, kids are welcome to get into the act.  The ideas are only limited by your imagination. Once your application is submitted, it is reviewed by a Resident Advisory Committee made up of residents in your neighbourhood. Applicants are advised in late May/early June if they receive funding and are usually asked to have their projects completed by November 30th. A Neighbourhood Small Grant is available to anyone in one of the following areas set out below. To apply for a grant, visit Neighbourhood Small Grant.  Application deadline is Monday, April 4, 2016 and open to residents in the following areas:

  • Carnegie – Strathcona – Ray Cam
  • Cedar Cottage – Hastings Sunrise – Renfrew
  • Mount Pleasant – Little Mountain
  • South Vancouver – Collingwood

This year, we see there is also an opportunity to apply for a Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grant. Again residents can apply for grants of up to $500 with the stipulation that the projects contribute to the City’s Greenest City Action Plan Targets.   Grants are given to projects that meet the following goals:

Mitigating climate change – Examples: A “Neighbour Challenge” to track sustainable behaviours i.e. measuring of household waste, food waste, green transportation trips.

Promoting greener forms of transportation – Examples: A “bike repair 101” session providing participants with knowledge and some basic tools (e.g. patch kit, tire levels, allen keys); a “walking school bus” or “bike train,” with prizes/incentives for participation; a community map where people can draw their bicycle route to work and link up with new buddies to ride together; promote walking through an organized tour about local history of neighbourhoods; a public art installation.

Creating zero waste – Examples: neighbourhood composting; building a community share sheds for tools, toys, or appliances.

Improving access to nature and planting trees – Examples: a workshop on the benefits and care of trees providing a small tree for each participant; building a community pollinator garden; a workshop on building nesting boxes for barn swallows with basic materials.

Breathing clean air – Examples: an awareness workshop about the use of renewable energy or carbon footprinting.

Making businesses greener – Examples: Working with a local green grocer business to use unsold food for an event to educate neighbours on reducing food waste; create a resource-sharing space for local businesses (for example, a small business book exchange or tool shed; a green business trade school event; or common marketing tool for local green businesses).

Clean Water – Examples: a workshop on rain gardens for boulevards; installing rain barrels on garden sheds in community gardens; a workshop on water-wise gardening practices; replacing an area of pavement with porous natural materials.

Green Buildings – Examples: hosting a “DIY home energy retrofit” workshop providing participants with starter materials (e.g. window insulation kit, door draft stopper, weatherstrip tape); a neighbourhood information session on incentives available to reduce energy use in the home, using available City of Vancouver brochures and other resources.

Lighter Footprint – Examples: a clothing and stuff swap; a school supplies swap; a repair café/fix-it fair event; a program for sharing in your neighbourhood

Growing and eating local food – Examples: develop a plan to pick neighbours’ unused/unwanted fruit and process this as a group (e.g. make jam, fruit leather, etc.); build a beehive and host a beehive workshop.

Residents in the following communities can apply for this grant:

  • Carnegie – Strathcona – Ray Cam
  • Cedar Cottage – Hastings Sunrise – Renfrew
  • South Vancouver – Collingwood

You can apply for both of the grants online. Please see their online application for more information.  The deadline to apply for the Greenest City Neighbourhood Small Grant is also Monday, April 4, 2016.

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