From NECN:

Mobile vendors supplying food deserts with healthy, affordable meals, spring break programs pairing sixth-grade girls with high-school mentors and a food and culture festival highlighting senior hunger are just three of sixteen innovative projects funded by the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods’ Small Grant Program in 2012.
With a goal of building livable, equitable and sustainable neighborhoods and communities for all, the Office of Neighborhood Involvement allocated funds to NECN for two funding categories: Neighborhood Small Grants as well as for Graffiti Abatement Projects. The Coalition received fourty-four proposals, with requests totaling $123,921.
With the support of Commissioner Amanda Fritz, NECN incorporated economic development as a funding priority this year. Both Oregon Outreach’s certified nursing assistant job training program and Port City’s creation of a micro-enterprise, training adults with developmental disabilities to remove graffiti on businesses on N Williams Avenue fit into this category.

The following projects are excellent examples of how people in inner north and northeast Portland are working together to improve the quality of our neighborhoods by building community, increasing volunteer capacity and forging new organizational partnerships (listed alphabetically):

Neighborhood Small Grants

Access to Healthy Food through Community-based Mobile Vending
Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, Inc. (PCRI) Granted $1,488
PCRI and Fork In The Road propose to provide low-income individuals with access to affordable, healthy food by bringing mobile vending into areas of concentrated need.

After-School Chess Programs at King, Woodlawn, Vernon and Faubion
Chess for Success Granted $1,500
Now in its 20th year, this project funds after-school chess clubs at Faubion, King, Vernon and Woodlawn schools.

Certified Nursing Assistant Program
Oregon Outreach Inc. Granted $2,571
This program provides free training and certification, increasing job prospects for northeast Portland residents and improving the diversity of the healthcare industry.

Finding Our Road to Success (FORTS)
Community Upgrade Granted $3,000
Finding Our Road to Success will engage twenty sixth-grade girls, along with their high school and college mentors, in an exploration of themselves and their opportunities for success.

Good in the Neighborhood Multicultural Music and Food Festival
GITN Planning Team Granted $1,500
Approaching its 20th year, Good In The Neighborhood has become an established community event, bringing together residents, local businesses, and community resources.

Healthy Homes, Healthy Teens
Josiah Hill III Clinic Granted $2,000
Through workshops, an art contest, blood lead screenings and other outreach, this project provides teens with resources to address and prevent health hazards in their homes such as mold, mildew, lead paint and toxic chemicals.

King School International Baccalaureate Mural Project
King School PTA Granted $2,000
This project will allow students to take a leadership role in changing the culture of their school and will restore community recognition of the King School as a safe and welcoming environment for all.

NE Community Kitchens Project
Kitchen Commons Granted $3,885
The NE Community Kitchens Project combines cooking and community by organizing two inter-generational and multicultural cooking groups and creating an inventory of kitchens which can host additional cooking groups or food entrepreneurs.

Summer in September Jambalaya Festival & Barbecue
Loaves & Fishes Centers, The Meals-On-Wheels People Granted $1,000
Started seven years ago, Summer in September encourages neighborhood residents to enjoy a tasty meal and interact with others in the community, all while supporting senior nutrition.

The Second Annual Boise-Eliot Music Festival
Port City Development Center Granted $600
The Boise-Eliot Music Festival brings hundreds of community members together to dance, listen to, and celebrate live music performances and participate in music workshops.

Tool Maintenance Manager; Group Loans
NE Portland Tool Library Granted $2,500
The Northeast Portland Tool Library (NEPTL) will hire a Tool Maintenance Manager and help purchase additional tools for a program supporting Portland non-profit groups.

Urban League of Portland’s Youth Vote Project
Urban League of Portland Granted $2,375
The Youth Vote Project will provide training and stipends for students to work with their peers, helping them gain a better understanding of their civic responsibility and opportunity they have to vote.

Youth Garden
Urban Farm Collective Granted $2,400
UFC’s Youth Garden program will provide students with tangible connections to their community and food system and instill skills necessary to be effective ecological stewards.

Graffiti Abatement Grants

Graffiti Abatement Project
Coalition of Black Men Granted $1,650
Coalition of Black Men will mentor teams of local youth as they work together to remove graffiti in Northeast Portland using power washers and matched paint.

Humboldt Welcoming Mural Project
Oregon Universal Granted $2,500
Oregon Universal Zulu Nation, Humboldt Neighborhood Association and students from Trillium Charter School will partner to design and execute and celebrate a community mural on the Vieng Lao building on North Killingsworth.

Port City Graffiti
Port City Development Granted $2,500
Port City will develop a graffiti abatement micro-enterprise that employs adults with developmental disabilities to remove graffiti and tagging that affects their facility and neighboring businesses.

Businesses and individuals interested in further supporting community-based projects such as those listed above may make donations of any amount to the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods’ Community Fund. The Community Fund provides essential seed money to projects organized by neighbors, neighborhood associations and community organizations to meet community needs. To learn more about how to support projects like these, please visit: www.necoalition.org.

About the Northeast Coalition of Neighborhoods: NECN is a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to neighborhood leadership, issue advocacy and community initiatives in inner north and northeast Portland. As a core part of the Portland Community Engagement System, NECN serves as one of seven district coalitions advancing neighborhood livability through highly inclusive civic engagement. We believe in creating healthy communities by engaging citizens to become directly involved in determining how their neighborhood evolves. For more information, please visit the Coalition’s website at necoalition.org.