Arkansas Community Development Society

ARKANSAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY

GRANT APPLICATION PACKAGE

2014 Arkansas Community Development Society Grant Program Guidelines

The Arkansas Community Development Society grant program was established in 2008 to promote the community development process in Arkansas. Up to $5,000 will be available for award to a single applicant in 2014.

ACDS has an opportunity this year to provide community grant funding through a new, creative approach, using “crowd-sourcing.” ACDS will be holding a conference on October 30, 2014, and one of the sessions will consist of several communities presenting a variety of their own ideas for an innovative community development project. These presentations will be limited to 7 minutes (they are known as “ignite” sessions) and may include a power point presentation.

Eligible Recipients

Eligible recipients are all Arkansas cities and counties, regional organizations, and non-profit organizations that have as their purpose the promotion of community development activities that are in line with the “Principles of Good Practice” as published by the Community Development Society (CDS):

 Promote active and representative participation toward enabling all community members to meaningfully influence the decisions that affect their lives.  Engage community members in learning about and understanding community issues, and the economic, social, environmental, political, psychological, and other impacts associated with alternative courses of action.  Incorporate the diverse interests and cultures of the community in the community development process; and disengage from support of any effort that is likely to adversely affect the disadvantaged members of a community.  Work actively to enhance the leadership capacity of community members, leaders, and groups within the community.  Be open to using the full range of action strategies to work toward the long-term sustainability and well being of the community.

Eligible Activities

Eligible activities include activities that promote community leadership, community involvement and the expansion of community activities to include broader segments of society. Special consideration will be given to projects that can be shown to have a major impact on the community.

Application Process

Applications must be submitted, to ACDS by September 26, 2014 (postmarked). The review committee will chose a selection of finalists chosen to present their project in competition at the ACDS Annual Conference for the ACDS grant award. Grant applications should be submitted to:

Jean Noble ACDS Grants Committee Chair Arkansas Economic Development Commission 900 W. Capitol, Ste. 400 Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 Phone: (501) 682-7389 Fax: (501) 682-7394 e-mail: [email protected]

For more information or for grant applications, visit the website of the Arkansas Community Development Society: http://arcds.org/

Scoring Criteria

 A clear project narrative that succinctly describes the need for the project and how it will foster community development in your area. The narrative should also stress any elements of the project that are particularly innovative or that easily lend themselves to replication and sustainability, as well as the readiness of the applicant to proceed with the described activities as soon as the grant funds are received. Include also a list of persons who have a leadership or project evaluation role.  The extent to which the proposed activities match the CDS Principles of Good Practice.  The number of persons who will directly or indirectly benefit from the activities proposed by the application and how they will benefit.  The extent to which the grant makes use of other cash and in-kind contributions to leverage the grant funds.  Broad community support, including representation of both local governing officials AND citizens, and/or regional partnerships  A project milestone with accurate dates for the completion of each phase of the project.

Ultimately, the grant recipient will be determined by a vote of Participants at the 2014 ACDS Conference.

The grant recipient will be required to present their winning presentation and project successes since award at the 2015 Arkansas Community Development Conference to be held in the Fall of 2015. ARKANSAS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT SOCIETY GRANT APPLICATION

Name of Applicant

Address

City State ZIP

Contact Person E-Mail

1. Describe the need for the project and how it will foster community development in your area. The narrative should stress any elements of the project that are particularly innovative or that easily lend themselves to replication and sustainability, as well as the readiness of the applicant to proceed with the described activities as soon as the grant funds are received. Include also a list of persons who have a leadership or project evaluation role.

2. Describe how the proposal will further the “Principles of Good Practice” of the Community Development Society. 3. Explain how many persons will benefit directly or indirectly from the proposed project and how they will benefit.

4. To what extent will the requested grant funds be leveraged with other contributions from cash or in-kind services?

Source Cash Amount of In-Kind Services

5. Provide a brief milestone schedule for the completion of the project, demonstrating your readiness to proceed after the award of grant funds.

Activity Expected Completion Date

(Replace suggested activities with actual project milestones.)

(Application Submission) (Grant Award) Preparation of Detailed Plans Start of Project Completion of Project

6. Is there anything else you would like us to know about your project? Please limit to one additional page.

Attachments:  PowerPoint Presentation (for example): Yes □ No □  