Neighborhoods Rising Fund (NRF)

The NRF is a funding collaborative that annually provides grants for high-impact, innovative community projects and neighborhood revitalization initiatives. These efforts help build stronger, more effective neighborhood organizations and community groups and benefit low- to moderate-income areas throughout the Greater Kansas City Metropolitan Area. Projects and initiatives should be documented as created by the community, which means vetted through inclusive, neighborhood-wide decision-making and resident-involvement processes. To date, selected projects and initiatives have ranged from public safety and cleanup initiatives to property and public space improvements, as well as identity-building and resource-sharing events.

The NRF funds solutions for communities, created by community residents. The NRF prioritizes grantmaking for projects that are responsive to neighborhood needs and representative of the community’s collective vision for its future. The NRF awards grants to projects and initiatives that demonstrate broad-based community support and have been vetted through inclusive, neighborhood-wide decision-making and resident-involvement processes. Typical NRF projects come from priorities expressed by the neighborhoods over the last six years, including initiatives around:

• Neighborhood health and safety – defined as programs and projects that support the health and well-being of community members.
• Public spaces, parks, and gardens – defined as spaces open to all community members for leisure and activity, including but not limited to green spaces, farming, orchards, and urban agriculture.
• Environmental Stewardship – defined as the education and practice of responsible use and protection of the environment.
• Membership development and social cohesion – defined as programs and projects related to connecting, recruiting, retaining, and developing community members and/or stakeholders.
• Neighborhood cleanups – defined as programs and projects related to cleanliness and beautification of the community.
• Celebration of arts and culture – defined as programs and projects that protect, preserve, and celebrate traditions, culture, arts, etc. in the community.
• Digital inclusion – defined as programs that create and expand access to technology, including but not limited to educational programs geared toward combating the digital divide.

For the NRF Prioritization Process, see https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5f3b466111e9d514b05f4cf2/t/6400b64d7382926606e2268e/1677768269989/Updated+2023+NRF+Application_FILLABLE.pdf#page=4.

NRF Applicants must demonstrate:

1. The project will benefit residents in qualified low-to moderate-income neighborhoods.
2. The project will provide a direct service or benefit to the community identified in the proposal.
3. The benefits of the project will be accessible to all members of the designated community.
4. The application will prove that a comprehensive and inclusive approach, with neighborhood-wide decision-making and resident-involvement processes, was utilized to identify the need for the proposed project.
5. The project will support short- and long-term plans for neighborhood improvement.
6. The project will be financially feasible.
7. The project will leverage resources and funding from other community partnerships (that can include volunteers, supplies, in-kind contributions, and more) if the cost of the project exceeds the amount requested from NRF funding

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