$100,000 Our Town Grant Awarded to National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations
Connecting nonprofit community developers and artists to uplift low-income communities is the purpose of a $100,000 Our Town grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) to the National Alliance of Community Economic Development Associations (NACEDA). The NEA initiated a national field-building component to its Our Town program for the first time in its history in 2015. NACEDA is one of five national organizations receiving these first-time field building awards.
The mission of the NEA’s Our Town grant program is to transform communities into lively, beautiful and resilient places with the arts at their core. NACEDA will use its Our Town grant to develop systematic approaches to engaging nonprofit community developers in creative placemaking with arts-based associations.
“The arts reveal the heart and soul of our nation,” said Secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Julían Castro. “We’re proud to work with the NEA to create neighborhoods of opportunity where culture is honored and creativity can flourish. Together with our partners, we’ll give more Americans the chance to experience life in a vibrant and thriving community.”
“The community development and arts fields already work together to improve low-income neighborhoods, but they approach the work differently and, too often, separately,” stated NACEDA Executive Director Frank Woodruff. “By bringing together community developers and artists as creative placemaking partners with shared goals, we will forge strong relationships that promote physical, social and civic transformation in low-income communities.”
NACEDA will partner with Americans for the Arts to develop creative placemaking immersion programs in at least three regions of the country. The programs will facilitate relationship building while providing training and technical assistance to community developers and artists.
“To the NEA, the future of creative placemaking relies on investing in partnerships that embed the arts in long-term community develop-ment,” said NEA Director of Design Programs Jason Schupbach. “The NACEDA and Americans for the Arts partnership exemplifies a new and exciting approach to this work and we look forward to sharing the results of their project with the field.”
NACEDA will provide approximately $69,000 in technical assistance, resources, and training to facilitate at least three regional creative placemaking immersion programs among their members. NACEDA and Americans for the Arts will issue a request for proposals to NACEDA members in Summer 2016 that encourages strong participation with local and regional arts partners. The two national membership organizations will launch the program with a national scan of creative placemaking knowledge and relationships pertinent to community development practitioners and their arts-based partners.
“Creative placemaking is a vital mechanism utilizing the transformative power of the arts to create and sustain a place that residents and businesses can not only be proud of, but enthusiastically call home,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “We look forward to working with NACEDA to develop these programs, which will benefit local businesses, create local jobs, boost tourism revenue, and improve the quality of life for residents.”
NACEDA Board Member Jamie Schriner-Hooper, Executive Director of the Community Economic Development Association of Michigan, commented, “The state of Michigan has invested significant time and resources in placemaking, including arts-centered creative place-making, to improve our great state for people of all backgrounds. This new partnership will bring national resources to communities in a valuable and collaborative new way.”
The NEA announced 69 Our Town awards totaling almost $5 million today. For a complete listing of projects recommended for Our Town grant support, visit the NEA web site at www.arts.gov. Project descriptions, grants listed by state and by project type, and resources are available as well. The NEA’s online resource, Exploring Our Town, features case studies of more than 70 Our Town projects along with lessons learned and other resources. The Twitter hashtag is #NEAOurTown15.
