The Neighborhood Small Grants Program (NSGP) strengthens neighborhoods in the City of Knoxville by supporting a wide range of community-based initiatives through grants and technical assistance.
The program is aimed at
resident-controlled, resident-led, democratically run neighborhood groups such as:
neighborhood watch groups, neighborhood associations, neighborhood organizations, tenant associations, and homeowners associations.
The NSGP’s Primary goals are to:
A. Encourage neighborhood organizations to connect neighborhood residents with one another — and to engage the skills and knowledge of the residents.
B. Build neighborhood capacity to plan and implement neighborhood improvement strategies.
The NSGP’s Secondary goals are to:
C. Increase the number of residents and resident leaders (including youth) involved in responding constructively to neighborhood issues, problems, and opportunities.
D. Strengthen each neighborhood’s connection to other neighborhoods, existing community assets, and partnership opportunities.
Your neighborhood’s project must meet both Primary goals and at least one Secondary Goal.
The City of Knoxville has approximately $20,000 available under the NSGP in the round of grants to be awarded in early 2025 for projects carried out in calendar year 2025. Awards to support one-year projects can range from $500 to $5,000 or $6,500 if partnering with another neighborhood, public school, umbrella neighborhood group, or non-profit. To be awarded $6,500, the applicant must have previously participated in the NSGP and turned in all required paperwork/documentation on time.
If more groups apply for the program than the City has the ability to fund, then the City will prioritize low-income applicants. This would be based on census data.
However, the City has been able to fund all groups that have applied for the program in the past that have submitted the correct paperwork and followed their by-laws.
Mandatory Grant Workshops will be:
Pre-Application Workshop A
-
10 a.m. Saturday, March 16, 2024 (Zoom)
Pre-Application Workshop B
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6 p.m. Monday, March 18, 2024 (In person)
Pre-Application Workshop C
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5 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, 2024 (Zoom)
Neighborhood groups need to send a representative to ONE of the mandatory grant workshops in order to qualify for a grant submission.
NEW THIS GRANT CYCLE: This representative must be the primary contact for the application if the group chooses to apply for the program.
If you would like someone from the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment to review your Grant Application for completeness, it needs to be in our office by
4:30 p.m. on Monday, July 8, 2024.
ALL FINAL GRANT APPLICATIONS ARE DUE BY MONDAY, July 22, 2024 no later than 4:30 p.m.
In
August/September, members of a citizens evaluation committee, composed of current and former neighborhood leaders, conduct site visits to learn more about each applicant's proposed project.
In
October-November, recommendations are announced, grants go to City Council for approval, and contracts are signed for projects that will be carried out the following year.
In
December, the Office of Neighborhood Empowerment receives the funding to release to neighborhood groups/fiscal sponsors.
Here are the Guidelines and the Application:
• NSGP 2025 Guidelines
• NSGP 2025 Application
• Sample Grant Application
• Sample Close-Out Report
• Sample Volunteer Match Log
• Sample Expenditure Chart
For information about placemaking or project ideas for the NSGP, please check out
ONE's Placemaking Guide.
See the list of grant recipients since 2015
Other resources neighborhoods might benefit from are listed in our
Neighborhood Funders Guide.