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 Community Action Grants
The Urban Land Institute and the Urban Land Institute Foundation are
pleased to present the Community Action Grants program, which
seeks to encourage entrepreneurial projects at the state, regional
and local levels to build community consensus for action and change.
Grants are awarded for creative, innovative community outreach,
research, or education programs. By encouraging new ideas and supporting
the most entrepreneurial projects, all communities can benefit because
successful projects can be replicated.
ULI is making up to $300,000 available annually to District Councils
and ULI members to seed these projects. The next deadline to
submit applications is September 17, 2008. Please
click here for a PDF version of the CAG application
guidelines. For a list of all grants awarded since 2005, please
click here.
How to Apply
The Community Action Grants criteria and application
guidelines have been updated to better engage District Councils and make
the grant program more consistent with ULI's goal of working at the
local level. Please click here for a PDF version of the application
guidelines.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- What is the purpose of
the grants?
- What are some project
ideas?
- How do I apply?
- Do I have to be a
ULI member to apply?
- What if I
do not belong to a District Council?
- How
many applications can come from or through any single District
Council?
- What is the size of
a typical grant?
- How long should the
application be?
- How can ULI
help me prepare an application?
- How
long after the awards are announced will the grants be
distributed?
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1. What is the purpose of the
grants?
ULI and the ULI Foundation have created the action grants program to
encourage entrepreneurial projects at the state, regional and local
levels, which build community consensus for action and change.
2. What are some project
ideas?
These project ideas are offered to help stimulate ideas for projects
that you and your district council might undertake. In all cases, there
should be a strong ULI role in grant ideas.
- Develop &/or implement a community vision or growth
plan
- Offer a land use/development educational
program for local ULI leadership, private and non-profit
developers &/or elected officials
- Organize regional/interjurisdictional cooperation
projects
- Develop programs or studies related to infrastructure,
sustainability & smart growth, urban revitalization, or
other topics relevant to your community
- Implement recommendations from a Technical Assistance
Program (TAP) or Advisory Services Panel
- Examine vehicles for gap financing
- Look for opportunities that expand the “ULI
brand” and public/private partnerships
- Fund a regional GIS database
3. How do I
apply?
ULI District Councils and individual ULI members, on behalf of
nonprofit organizations or jurisdictions, may apply for a grant.
ULI members should contact their District Council well in advance of the
deadline to discuss their application idea and/or to discuss
opportunities to partner with the District Council. In all
cases, a letter of recommendation from District Council leadership must
be included in the application package.
Applicants should submit grant requests electronically to actiongrants@uli.org. Should
the applicant choose to submit a hard copy of the application, in
addition to the electronic version, one unbound copy should be
mailed to:
Urban Land Institute
Community Action Grants
c/o Heidi Sweetnam
1025 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW
Suite 500 West
Washington, DC 20007-5201
4. Do I have to be a ULI
member to apply?
Yes, only District Councils and individual ULI members, on behalf of
nonprofit and government organizations, may apply for Community Action
Grants. As stated above, individual members should contact their
District Council to let them know of their application well in advance
of the deadline.
5. What
if I do not belong to a District Council?
Applicants who do not reside in a geographic area covered by a
District Council should submit grant requests directly to ULI. Please
email actiongrants@uli.org if you are uncertain
whether you are within a District Council jurisdiction.
6. How
many applications can be submitted each round by one District
Council?
There is no limit to the number of applications that can come from or
through a single District Council, but District Council leadership must
be notified of each application in advance of the application
deadline and given the opportunity to comment.
7. What is the size of a
typical grant?
Total funding for all grants awarded in FY06 was $213,584, and
in FY07, $230,000. For FY08, ULIF has made $300,000
available. CAG awards are generally limited to $25,000 or
less.
8. How long should the
application be?
There is no required application length, although the typical
application answers all of the questions in the application guidelines
and is 4 to 6 pages in length. Use the criteria and questions in
the application guidelines to help in preparing your
application.
9. How can ULI help
me prepare an application?
As a first step, review the application guidelines and resources
provided on this website. Further questions in developing an idea or
working on your application can be directed to Heidi Sweetnam,
Director, Urban and Public Sector Initiatives at 202-624-7170
or actiongrants@uli.org.
10. How
long after the awards are announced will the grants be distributed?
Grants will be made within approximately one month of the awards
announcements.
How to Get Help
with the Application Process
There are several places where you can go for help with your
application. Try the following:
- Contact Heidi Sweetnam, Director, Urban and Public Sector
Initiatives at 202-624-7170 or actiongrants@uli.org
- Your District Council counselor
All grant applications are to come through the District Councils. If
you do not live in a geographic area covered by a District Council,
please submit your application directly to ULI.
What's New?
Status Reports
To highlight the best practices and to summarize the work completed
to date in the Community Action Grants, ULI produces two status
reports per fiscal year. In addition, staff prepared an analysis of grants awarded per fiscal year.
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Completed Grants
In the first three years of the Action Grants program,
many grants have been completed. They have all successfully
fulfilled the Community Action Grants criteria, namely building
consensus for action at the local or regional
level, enhancing the profile of ULI as a trusted convener and
source of best practices, and forming alliances on various land use
topics. In addition, many of the grants have become annual programs for
their District Council, while others might be replicable by District
Councils in other communities. Below are links to the web sites or
summaries of completed grants:
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Upcoming Submission and Award Dates
|
Submission Date
|
Awards Announced
|
| March 21,
2008 |
ULI Spring Council Forum,
Dallas, Texas |
| September 17, 2008 |
ULI Fall Meeting, Miami
Beach, Florida |
| March 13, 2009 |
ULI Spring Council Forum,
Atlanta, Georgia |
Related Files
RPA Final Report (PDF File)
CAG Awards Matrix 05-08 (PDF File)
Structured Parking Report (PDF File)
Patco TOD Article 08_07 (PDF File)
Drachman Newsletter Fall 2007 (PDF File)
Vision North Texas Report (PDF File)
CAG Awards Summary Table (PDF File)
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