The City of Asheville is launching a pilot grant opportunity this summer that will fund programs that address the opportunity gap for school-aged youth.
Through feedback from the Housing & Community Development Committee (HCD), community members, and Community & Economic Development Department staff, work is underway to refine the scope of the Strategic Partnership Fund (SPF) program to address impacts of the opportunity gap by supporting school-aged youth in and out of the classroom.
In an effort to test recommendations prior to finalizing the comprehensive restructure of the SPF program, the City of Asheville is implementing an SPF pilot in Fiscal Year 2022-2023. This pilot will provide much-needed financial resources to the community at the start of the July 2022 – June 2023 budget year while providing necessary data to finalize long-term program refinement.
Interested applicants should attend an information question and answer session on Monday, June 27, 2022 at 2:30. Here is the link to join the virtual meeting.
For questions please contact: 2022strategicpartnershippilot@publicinput.com
Applications
The City will accept applications for the pilot grant program from June 22 to July 12, 2022.
The following are key eligibility application criteria for this pilot grant program:
- Applicants must be certified non-profit organizations.
- Award minimum will be $20,000 per program.
- Applications for less than $20,000 will not be considered.
Programs selected for grant funding need to address the opportunity gap for school-aged youth in one of the following categories:
- Education
- Community and Social Context
- Neighborhood and Physical Environment
Additional grant program details were provided during the June 21 Housing and Community Development Committee meeting. Housing and Community Development Committee meeting materials are posted online.
What’s Next: Application Timeline
The table below shows the intended schedule for the application process.
The City will make every effort to adhere to this schedule.
Strategic Partnership Fund Schedule |
|
|---|---|
Event |
Date and Time |
| Issue application | June 22, 2022 |
| Non-mandatory Application Pre-proposal Virtual Meeting | Monday, June 27 at 2:30 p.m. |
| Applications Due | July 12, 2022 at 5 p.m. |
| Virtual applicant presentations to Housing and Community Development Committee | July 14, 2022 at 9 a.m. |
| Recommended allocations presented to the Housing and Community Development Committee | July 19, 2022 at 9 a.m. |
| Recommended allocations presented to City Council | July 26, 2022 |
Applications and additional information can be found at this link.