2022-2023 Community Revitalization Fellowship – Feb 25

Posted by Center for Community Progress on January 25, 2022

Center for Community Progress invites applications for 2022-2023 Community Revitalization Fellowship

The Community Revitalization Fellowship of the Center for Community Progress is a learning opportunity designed to help cohorts of grassroots community leaders revitalize neighborhoods that are struggling with serious challenges related to vacancy, abandonment, and disinvestment.

Each year, six resident leaders from three communities (eighteen people in total) are selected as fellows. They participate in learning exchanges in each other’s communities that feature a mix of technical and leadership trainings as well as local neighborhood tours. Fellows also develop strategies or projects to improve vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties in their neighborhoods.

The Community Revitalization Fellowship is designed as an opportunity for participating fellows to gain knowledge about neighborhood stabilization and revitalization strategies, tools, and systems; lead a strategic and impactful revitalization strategy or project; build connections with fellows both within and across participating communities; strengthen relationships with local organizations, elected officials, and other local leaders; and increase effectiveness of resident-led neighborhood interventions and advocacy. The program will better equip fellows to advocate for and lead change that improves vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties through creative placemaking in their neighborhoods. The fellowship will also build the capacity of a key institutional partner in each of the communities to provide ongoing local support to the fellows and their neighborhoods.

Throughout 2022-23, the Community Revitalization Fellowship will focus on helping residents lead community-based efforts to improve vacant, abandoned, and deteriorated properties specifically through the practice of creative placemaking. The cohort roles and structure include:

Institutional Partner — Lead Applicant: Will provide support, mentorship, and logistical help to their community’s cohort of fellows during the application process and, if chosen, over the course of the fellowship. Community foundation, land bank authorities, or any established 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations with experience in revitalization and a deep commitment to resident engagement are invited to apply.

Fellows — Grassroots Community Leaders: Each community chosen for CRF will have a cohort of six fellows. This cohort comprises grassroots community leaders representing a diverse range of skills, connections to the community, and neighborhoods across the community.

The program features three learning exchanges for fellows in each of the three cohort communities; a virtual revitalization workshop for a broad group of stakeholders in each community; the opportunity to attend the Community Progress’ Reclaiming Vacant Properties Conference, and an award of $10,000 for a creative placemaking project designed by the fellows and $4,000 to support the institutional partners’ leadership in the program.

All organizations and individuals who are considering applying for the 2022-2023 Community Revitalization Fellowship are invited to join an informational webinar about the application process on Thursday, February 3, 2022, 12:00 p.m. EST. The webinar is optional, and registration is required.

For complete program guidelines, application instructions, and to register for the webinar, see the Center for Community Progress website.

Deadline: February 25, 2022