NeighborWorks Accepting Applications for the Beautiful Blocks Program NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania Beautiful Blocks program is still accepting applications for our 2024 program cycle! Residents of the City of Scranton, City of Carbondale, and (new for 2024!) City of Pittston are invited to join with their neighbors to apply for our Beautiful Blocks program. Beautiful Blocks provides matching grants of up to $1,000 per property to groups of five or more residents in participating communities to help them make exterior improvements to their homes. The Beautiful Blocks program seeks to make neighborhoods throughout Scranton, Pittston, and Carbondale more attractive places to live. Eligible exterior improvements include everything from landscaping and painting to larger projects like sidewalks, front porch repair, door and window replacement, and more! This is the first year Beautiful Blocks is available to residents of the City of Pittston. Also new this year, Scranton residents who decide to replace their front sidewalk are eligible for an additional $3,000 in grant funds, on top of the $1,000 standard grant and the property owner’s $1,000 match. Our Beautiful Blocks program closes for applications at the close of business on Monday, March 18. Don’t miss your chance to improve your neighborhood through this innovative and engaging program! Interested residents are asked to read and review our pre-application instructions, before working with neighbors to complete the pre-application document. These items are available on our Beautiful Blocks homepage, where interested residents can also access video testimonials from our past program cycles. More information is also available by contacting Gerard Hetman, NeighborWorks Northeastern Pennsylvania Community Development Specialist, at (570) 558-2490 or ghetman@nwnepa.org.
Pennsylvania American Water Environmental Grant Program Pennsylvania American Water announced today that applications are now being accepted for the company’s 2023 Environmental Grant Program. The program offers funding for innovative, community-based environmental projects that improve, restore or protect the watersheds, surface water and groundwater supplies in local communities. “So many of our communities and local organizations work to improve our environment and our water resources,” said Marcus Kohl, director of water quality and environmental compliance for Pennsylvania American Water. “We’re proud to continue offering this grant to support those initiatives and positively impact our natural resources.” To qualify, proposed projects must be: Located within the Pennsylvania American Water service areaCompleted between May and November of the grant funding yearBe a new, innovative community initiative or serve as a significant expansion to an existing programBe carried out by a formal or informal partnership between two or more organizationsProvide evidence of sustainability (continued existence after the grant monies are utilized) A panel of judges will evaluate the applications based on environmental need, innovation, community engagement and sustainability. Information and applications can be found on the Environmental Grant Program page of the company’s website, under News & Community. For additional information, please contact pa.communityrelations@amwater.com. Applications must be postmarked by March 31, 2023, and recipients will be notified in late April. In 2022, the program awarded nearly $75,000 to 13 recipients, including: Berks Nature (Berks County); Dormont Stormwater Authority (Allegheny County); Eastern Pennsylvania Coalition for Abandoned Mine Reclamation (Luzerne County); East Pikeland Township (Chester County); Ellwood City (Lawrence County); Fairview Township (York County); Indiana County Conservation District; Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority (Lackawanna County); Lackawanna River Conservation Association (Lackawanna County); Three Rivers Waterkeeper (Allegheny County); Silver Spring Township (Cumberland County); Warren County Conservation District; and Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley (Northampton County.)Established in 2005, this annual grant program has donated more than $650,000 to fund more than 135 projects to protect and improve the environment across the Commonwealth. Last year, 13 organizations received funding for their community-based projects, including the Watershed Coalition of the Lehigh Valley. Funding was used to plant live-stake nurseries to be used for future riparian zone plantings and streambank stabilization projects. One of these nurseries was planted in Lake Heritage, Adams County. More information about this nursery planting can be found on Pennsylvania American Water’s YouTube page.
Lackawanna County Grant Process Still Accepting Applications Annually the United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties supports a grant program in Lackawanna County with funds collected from individuals, corporations and employee groups made up of Lackawanna County residents during the United Way campaign. This is the first year United Way is implementing the “Lackawanna County Community Impact Grant.” This is a small grant that is built and targeted for grass roots organizations with limited administrative capacity. An effort to try and serve more diverse populations residing in Lackawanna County that may experience difficulties when applying for other funding streams. Organizations can apply for funding for one program with a limit of a $10,000 request. To Qualify: An organization must have an organizational budget of less than $400,000.Organizations must be a 501(c)(3) organization or partner with a United Way approved 501(c)(3) organization.Organization has bylaws that state the purpose of the organization, make provisions for the size of the Board of Directors and provide rules for: selection and tenure of board members, the number of officers and committees, financial and legal procedures, and quorum requirements.Organization has proof of current directors’ and officers’ liability insurance.Organization maintains compliance with all applicable legal licensing requirement and maintains appropriate insurance coverage.All program requests must fit within the one of the 3 priority areas of United Way which are Education, Health and Economic Mobility. Application Guideline: Receiving funds in one fiscal year does not ensure that the grant will be renewed in the following year(s). It is imperative that the organization does not count on United Way funds as a recurring funding stream.In the benchmark section, be sure to state clear numbers of individuals impacted by the program. It is understood that this is a projection until the program is completed. The actual number of impacted individuals must be included in the report section at the end of the fiscal year.While the Committee may fund a capital item, the preferred usage of the United Way funds is for programs that impact individuals in the community.If there are any questions concerning this application process, please contact William Craven via email at wcraven@uwlc.net This grant process is overseen by a group of volunteers that make funding decisions based on the applications that are submitted to the United Way. It is the responsibility of these dedicated volunteers on the Lackawanna County Funds Distribution Committee to ensure donations are spent in the most cost-efficient method in priority areas for the residents of Lackawanna County. All the decisions are made by local volunteers and then approved by the United Way Board of Directors. The Funds Distribution Committee members are the stewards of the community fund. In order to receive login information, you must first contact Will Craven (wcraven@uwlc.net) to receive login credentials. Applications are now available to any organization that meets the above criteria. Application submission deadline is September 21st. For more information, visit, uwlc.net/lackawanna-county-grant-process