Community Grants - Community Building Initiative, First 5 Sacramento Commission, County of Sacramento, California, USA

First 5 Sacramento offers Community Grants (through the Community Building Initiative/CBI) for activities that benefit children five and under and provide the opportunity for developing networks among families. The grants provide funding to small groups of parents or caregivers who live in Sacramento County and have ideas for activities that bring people together within their community. The process of bringing people together builds an important dynamic called "social capital" or the bond of the relationships that help us support each other.

Kids. Connections. Communities.

Research shows that kids do better in school and are healthier and safer when social capital and community relationships exist. People naturally look out for each other and help each other. Some activities that build social capital include:

parenting networks
playgroups
art & reading activities
neighborhood meet-ups

Activities like these are not the ends, but the means to get families together. They encourage people to interact and get to know each other. Coming together helps decrease isolation and increase trust. Connections in a community give families a chance to learn from each other, support each other, share, and speak up about what's important to them.

How can you get involved?

Everyday people have great ideas about what might work best in their community. And people get involved in different ways, like volunteering to lead, to support, to organize, and some like to just help out. But you CAN make a difference in your community, and we can help you.

There are two levels of grant funding available:

Phase 1 Community Grants

Smaller community grants for beginner groups to facilitate ongoing activities for up to one year. Objectives for all grant activities include:

1) To improve the well-being of children under five.

2) To focus on building relationships in the community.

Applications for amounts up to $5,000 will be considered. Applications are available in English, Spanish, Russian and Hmong.

Who can apply? Groups of at least 3 community members that live in Sacramento County.

How do I apply? Read through the application and connect with other community members to come up with ideas. Be sure to call and talk with CBI staff to share your project ideas and get answers to your questions. Complete an application by the application due date.

Apply for a Community Grant

When are the Community Grant applications due? Applications are due by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, March 5th, 2010.

Questions? Contact: Linda Fong-Somera, (916) 876-7386 or Julie Beyers, (916) 876-6529.

Phase 2 Community Grants

Larger, ongoing activities for up to two years. Applications for amounts up to $30,000 will be considered.

Who can apply? Applicants must have previously received a First 5 Sacramento community grant to be eligible to apply. This grant requires experienced grantees that are ready to shift their involvement to the next level and continue the momentum of their efforts, increase their activities and involve more families.

Applicants must also live in Sacramento County and address the objectives for the grants, benefit children five and under, and build connections in the community.

How do I apply? Read through the application packet and attend a mandatory application workshop. A RSVP is required for the application workshop. After the workshop, applicants will need to contact CBI staff to share their project ideas before submitting a complete application.

When are the Phase 2 Community Grant applications due? Applications will be accepted on an on-going basis, with the cut-off dates of 5 p.m. on Monday, March 22, 2010. Please note that applications will be accepted and reviewed until all funds are exhausted. If all funds are awarded, any future application deadlines will be cancelled. The current funding cycle ends on June 30, 2010.

Questions? Contact: Linda Fong-Somera, (916) 876-7386 or Julie Beyers, (916) 876-6529.

Total three-year funding for the Community Building Initiative is $3,000,000.

The Results?

By coming together through a variety of activities families have reported a whole host of successes including:

Feeling safer in their community and noticing decreased crime
Knowing their neighbors and allowing their children to play outside with other children
Seeing children improve their development and social skills as a result of the activities and meeting other families
Helping each other with child care, carpooling, and other important tasks
Learning about important community resources and parenting tips from each other

Support and Training Events

First 5 Sacramento staff is available to provide support to the grantees before, during and after the activities. Staff can provide tools, help develop plans and assist grantees as their projects progress.

Training events and gatherings are planned to support the community’s efforts to connect, learn about community building, network and share resources. Please join us for these informative, interactive and fun gatherings.

Trainings are coordinated by the Center for Collaborative Planning (CCP) with assistance from High Points Consulting. For more information about the trainings or to RSVP to CCP, contact Ha Nguyen at (916) 498-6960.

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Create Connections with a Community Grant

What is a First 5 Sacramento Community Grant?