Use of small grants in Boston during the early years of Making Connections helped to clarify the elements of a complex community change initiatve by putting residents in charge of the funds. Residents built capacity by deciding how to use resident-selected short-term, small dollar projects ($2,000 to $5,000) to authentically engage neighborhoods in – and build local leadership for – longer-term community change efforts.
Criteria for Boston’s Family Strengthening Small Grant Fund
1. Develop a strong panel of residents to direct the grant making.
2. Train and educate both the residents who make the grant decisions and those who get the grants.
3. Work together to come up with grant criteria.
4. Work at getting the word out.
5. Provide good staff support and technical assistance.
Residents used small grants to promote the greater good by funding projects that benefitted the neighborhood as a whole and that were aligned to a broad vision for community change. Residents applied directly to recieve the grants
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