2024 Neighborhood Vibrancy Grant

The City of Fishers 2024 Neighborhood Vibrancy Grant is a matching grant program designed to fund creative and innovative ideas that enhance the community's beauty and positively impact the lives of residents in a smart, vibrant, and entrepreneurial manner. While a specific "foundation mission alignment" isn't explicitly stated for a city grant, the program's purpose clearly aligns with a civic mission of improving the quality of life and fostering community engagement within Fishers. The grant aims to transform public spaces and encourage sustainable practices, reflecting a strategic priority of community development and environmental stewardship. The target beneficiaries of this grant are neighborhood groups and Homeowners Associations (HOAs) located within Fishers City Limits. The impact goals are to make the community a more beautiful place to live, and to affect the lives of the community at large. This is achieved through projects that focus on design, construction, or installation, with a strong emphasis on visibility and positive effect on Fishers as a community. The program's theory of change appears to be that by providing financial incentives for resident-led improvement projects, the city can foster a greater sense of community pride and improve the local environment, leading to a more vibrant and livable city for all. Priorities for the grant include projects with the greatest visibility and positive effect on Fishers. Preferred projects range from converting high-maintenance lawns to native plantings, installing shoreline plantings and rain gardens, creating Monarch Butterfly Waystations and Wildlife Habitat Corridors, establishing Neighborhood Community Gardens, and improving common area trails and parks with amenities like picnic shelters and accessible playground equipment. Other priorities include connecting neighborhood walking trails, installing solar lights or other renewable energy projects, and improving pedestrian connectivity or tactical urbanism. Grants are competitive and will not be awarded for recurring or maintenance items, emphasizing the focus on new, transformative projects. The expected outcomes include more aesthetically pleasing public spaces, enhanced biodiversity through native plantings and habitats, improved recreational opportunities, increased pedestrian connectivity, and the adoption of sustainable energy solutions. Measurable results could include the number of acres converted to native plantings, the number of new community gardens established, the linear feet of trails improved or connected, and the number of solar lights installed. The maximum amount to be awarded per project is $25,000, and applicants must provide at least 20% of the total project cost, ensuring local investment and commitment to the success of these community-driven initiatives.