Last month, Philadelphia LISC announced a request for applications for West Philadelphia Capacity Building Grants Program. Philadelphia LISC is the local office of LISC, a national nonprofit community development organization which combines corporate, government, and philanthropic resources to help community-based organizations revitalize underserved neighborhoods.

The grant program is being administered in coordination with the Mayor’s Office of Community Empowerment and Opportunity, and the goal is to provide small grants to support volunteer-led, community-based civic organizations who are coordinating neighborhood revitalization efforts in the West Philadelphia Promise Zone. The grants are designed to assist community-based civic organizations to build capacity, improve delivery of services, enhance community outreach efforts, and make neighborhood improvements.

Grants can be used for the following purposes:

• Community outreach and resident engagement
• Capacity building and training for Board, Staff and Community Residents including (but not limited to) proposal writing, fundraising, budgeting, board development and strategic planning.
• Projects, programs, and services that support leadership development and resident civic engagement

Eligible organizations must be located and offer services in the West Philadelphia Promise Zone, have an annual budget of no more than $50,000, and be volunteer led.

Each grant award will be no more than $3,000 per organization, and a total of $30,000 in funding is available. Applications are being accepted on a rolling basis.  More information and the application is available on Philadelphia LISC’s website

Image via Mo Manklang