The City of Abbotsford is proud to once again partner with the Vancouver Foundation and Abbotsford Community Foundation to offer grants in support of small-scale community projects, through the Neighbourhood Small Grants (NSG) program. Through the program, a total of $20,000 in grants is available this year for Abbotsford residents, to support initiatives that bring neighbours together and foster a greater sense of belonging and community spirit.
Aimed at encouraging residents to take part in building and strengthening the community, grants of up to $1,000 will be awarded for creative and impactful projects led by Abbotsford residents, to help bring their community projects to life.
The Neighbourhood Small Grants Residents Committee will select successful projects based on the following categories:
- Neighbourhood Connection: Activities that enhance community engagement, such as block parties, multicultural celebrations, workshops, and sports events.
- Neighbourhood Beautification: Projects that refresh or beautify public spaces, including gardening, park clean-ups, art installations, and community improvement initiatives.
- Neighbourhood Safety: Projects that improve safety of the neighbourhood environment, including activities like landscaping for visibility and surveillance, street lighting, graffiti clean-up and block watch activities.
Recipients of last year’s grants focused their initiatives on bringing neighbours together, giving back and helping their neighbours learn and grown, and included a variety of projects such as park clean-up events, a celebration of cultures, a community garden seed swap and compost spreading event, samosa and tea neighbourhood gathering, teaching people to upcycle fabrics into new garments and creating care packages for cancer patients and children in hospital.
The City of Abbotsford is committed to building healthy neighborhoods that are socially connected and believes the most meaningful changes come from within the community. By providing grants to help cover costs for neighbourhood projects and supporting activities that connect residents, City Council hopes to encourage residents to bring forward ideas that promote connection and community spirit.
All Abbotsford residents and students are eligible to apply for the grant, provided their community project is held in Abbotsford, inclusive and free to attend. Grant applications are being accepted now until April 14. To apply for a grant or to join the NSG Residents Committee, visit www.abbotsford.ca/grants.