City of Covington offering small project grants up to $5K through annual Neighborhood Grant Program

Neighborhood organizations and similar groups have until Sept. 30 to apply for grants of up to $5,000 from the City of Covington to carry out small projects that will beautify or energize their local areas.

The City has allocated $30,000 for its annual Neighborhood Grant Program, which since 2018 has been used to fund small projects and events. Last year, for example, seven groups received grants to do things like plant flowers and create dog waste stations in Westside, erect pole-mounted gateway banners in Lewisburg, buy plants in Old Town/Mutter Gottes, plantings and a block party in Eastside, and refurbish gateway signs in Historic Licking Riverside.

“The grant program has a variety of benefits – it not only helps local areas fund neat projects but it also creates an opportunity for neighbors to come together to pursue a worthwhile goal,” said Walt Mace, Covington’s assistant director of Neighborhood Services. “So it builds both a sense of place and camaraderie in our Covington communities.”

See program guidelines for details and an application form. Administration of the program is being handled by The Center for Great Neighborhoods, whose staff will work with applicants during every step of the process.

“One of the reasons this program is so rewarding is that we see a lot of people step up with an idea and learn how to implement it,” said Cate Douglas, Community Building Director for The Center. “People in Covington really care about their surrounding neighborhoods, and we get to work with the City to help them make improvements.”

The Neighborhood Grant Program is a competitively awarded program. Keep in mind that projects must:

• Be neighborhood focused and initiated by residents who live in a neighborhood.

• Enhance the quality of life in the neighborhood through visible physical improvements or special activities, while providing neighborhood-wide benefit.

• Be sustainable and have demonstrated neighborhood support.

• Be implemented or executed by April 7.

Projects may include events, but the event budget should be less than $2,000 and the non-event portion of the budget must be dedicated to improvements that are more permanent. Events must be open to, and benefit, everyone in a community and should be unique and reflective of the neighborhood.

Applicants may be an existing Covington resident-led association, a group of individuals who are currently organizing a community association, or an informal group of neighbors.

Once you have an idea or project, groups must contact Cate Douglas with The Center for Great Neighborhoods (CGN) at 859-547-5550 or cate@greatneighborhoods.org for a general vetting of the project and to address any concerns.

If multiple grant applications are received from one neighborhood, the City may extend the option to combine them into a single proposal. Preference will be given to neighborhoods or areas that have not previously received funding.

The City hopes to submit proposals for approval to the Covington Board of Commissioners in October.

City of Covington

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