Strengthen Community Ties

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September 18, 2017
If you have an idea that will strengthen community ties in Whatcom County, Whatcom Community Foundation wants to hear from you. Applications for Project Neighborly grants are available September 1, 2017. Proposals are due Wednesday October 4 by 3 pm. All projects must take place in 2018.
 
The Project Neighborly grant program is for people who have great ideas about how we can all become better neighbors. It fuels efforts to increase kindness and curiosity, and build trust among the people who share this place.
 
Last year was the first year of the program in which 27 ideas, ranging from neighborhood bowling, forums and fire prevention activities, to a block party truck, urban planning events and a Lummi Island tea party, were funded. Projects came from all corners of the county and all manner of groups, from neighborhood associations and faith organizations, to schools, local government and tribes, non-profits, Western Washington University and the Bellingham Herald.
 
“We were thrilled the community response and even more excited to see the projects in action,” http://www.whatcomcf.org/our-story/blog/ said Community Foundation CEO Mauri Ingram. “We hope to build on that momentum, and encourage anyone who has an idea to apply.”
 
The most important criteria? Connect people who do may not otherwise meet.
Neighborly grants are intended to spark ideas and make the necessary resources available to bring them to life. Maximum grants of up to $5,000 will fuel inspiring, actionable, relevant projects that develop a sense of community and promote neighborliness throughout the rural and urban areas of Whatcom County.
Successful projects will result in more area residents being neighborly – kind, considerate and helpful — to everyone they meet. The initiative’s ultimate aim is to forge more and better relationships communitywide, sparking better ideas and decisions, and, a happier, healthier place for everyone.
Apply online for a Neighborly Grant here: http://www.whatcomcf.org/community-impact/grants/project-neighborly-2018/
The Community Foundation is investing $100,000. Anyone can help the possibilities pool grow by making a gift online https://wcf.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create?funit_id=1456  or mailing a contribution to: Whatcom Community Foundation, 1500 Cornwall Avenue, Suite 202, Bellingham, WA 98225.