Hyperlocal Micro-Grant Fund
Outcomes
In order to support the creative ideas, civic actions, and cultural practices that are upheld by long-term, generational residents, and invested community members, I initiated a hyperlocal community micro-grant program in Bedford Stuyvesant, Brooklyn as the community engagement coordinator at The Laundromat Project. The Fund was the first initiative to come out of a new community engagement strategy during the pandemic and after the organization’s office relocation to Bed-Stuy.
Community
Goals
In 2020, the Laundromat Project moved their office and programming from Harlem and Queens to Bed-Stuy and the community engagement team began the process of building relationships and learning how to be responsive to this new community. Bed-Stuy is a historical Black neighborhood in Central Brooklyn and a culturally rich enclave facing rapid displacement, change, and gentrification. The community engagement team conducted a “listening tour” where we engaged in conversations with over 80 community members, including community leaders, artists and cultural workers, business owners, organizers, and nonprofit leaders to learn more about the neighborhood. In almost all of those conversations, we heard from residents that gentrification was among their primary concerns. This micro-grant fund came out of a research project I led to respond to the questions, “how can a community arts organization support anti-displacement efforts?” and “how can it build trust among long-term and generational residents in a neighborhood experiencing rapid displacement?” after The Laundromat Project’s recent storefront relocation to Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
Support creative initiatives led by Bed-Stuy community members that nurture creativity, uplift local legacies, ignite conversations or collaborations, and foster community building.
Process
I facilitated visioning and brainstorm sessions with staff to determine our goals and come up with initial program iteration ideas. before outlining a proposal and timeline for one.
I conducted online research and conversational interviews with organization’s that had similar programs community fund or project funding programs to learn about their application formats and program designs. I prioritized using inclusive and accessible language in the outreach materials and throughout the application and using an expansive definition of creativity and art to encourage a larger number of community members to see themselves as eligible for the Fund. I also designed application support touch points, like a virtual program information session and one-on-one application support phone or video calls with a staff member in which we provided proposal feedback, tech support, and reviewed draft responses for clarity. The support sessions allowed me to identify questions and language in the application process that were unclear or dissuading to some applicants and make live adjustments through the process.
With equity at the center of our work, we prioritized applications from historically marginalized groups and long-term, generational Bed-Stuy residents and conducted in-person and online outreach. I organized a panel of staff and community leaders to review and select the Fund recipients.
43+ place-based initiatives that build community, nurture creativity, and uplift cultural legacies.
The Create & Connect Fund was launched in 2020 and during my time at the Laundromat Project, we funded 24 creative, community building projects by individuals, collectives, and community groups. It has supported a range of proposals—from a community garden centering Black trans and nonbinary folks, a wellness program for and led by women in NYCHA, to a community event hosted by the oldest Black women’s benevolent society in the U.S., and more. After completing two successful application phases of the program, I completed a comprehensive evaluation compiled from applicant and recipient feedback, with recommendations for adjustments to make the program stronger. The Create & Connect Fund continues to run today, and has supported 43 community-based initiatives, and counting.
The micro-grant program has provided support for interdisciplinary, grassroots projects that might not otherwise receive funding. It has allowed recipients to continue to engage more people, further the next iteration of a successful project, and pay themselves for their time as organizers and creators.
In addition, the Fund provided the Laundromat Project information about their new community, like neighborhood cultural hubs, what residents care about and what topics and gathering spaces are important to them.
“The Create and Connect Fund provided the needed financial and creative assistance to jumpstart a (re) connection to the community. As gentrification continues to spread throughout our neighborhoods, the Laundromat Project and their amazing staff provide a cultural anchor for neighborhoods to connect people, places, and heritage together through vital placemaking projects. This is an important process for communities to retain their identity and cultural continuity, a tool of resistance to these displacement processes”