How to Apply for the Community Improvement Grant

 Much Needed: Community Grant Evaluators

The few, the proud... the community grant evaluators! (or "jurors" if that sounds more prestigious.) Yes, the CoHoUS Board is searching for four EXCELLENT volunteers to help evaluate Community Improvement Grant submissions, due October 31. This is your chance to be a good cohousing citizen and serve the cohousing "nation".

Do you have a few hours to give to this worthy project? We have specific criteria to guide the ranking process, and we anticipate a fairly small field of submissions. Please contact Dave Wann in Harmony Village if you're interested, willing, or not above being bribed. davewann [at] comcast [dot] net (303) 216-1281.

About the Grant

What does your community need to make it even better than it is now? The Cohousing Association of the U.S. will award a $2,500 grant to the built (existing) cohousing community that proposes the best project plan for an improvement or improvements that accomplish one or more of the following:

• Increases the quality and quantity of social connections in the cohousing community with a much-needed physical or organizational improvement.
• Enhances the level of sustainability in the community, with economic, structural, technical, or procedural improvements.
• Provides a model for other communities on how to establish and maintain strong ties with the surrounding town or city and/or with other cohousing communities in the region.

The application deadline is October 31, 2008. Please submit applications to grant committee chair Dave Wann (see address below). The winning proposal shall not exceed 10 pages (no smaller than 12-point font) including illustrations, pictures, and other documentation. It will be easily replicated in other communities; will demonstrate a clear procedure for implementation; and show tangible evidence that the community strongly supports the proposal and will make the project successful. Applicants also should document past successes in community projects, if available.

The winning community will make a commitment to share project details with other communities. At the discretion of Coho/US, all applications may be posted to the Cohousing.org website in the Members Area. The winning applicant must also provide post-completion documentation by June 1, 2009 that will similarly be posted to the Members Area and will be presented in a Plenary Session at the 2009 National Cohousing Conference on June 25-28 in Seattle, Washington.

$2,000 of the grant will be disbursed when the winner is announced; the remaining $500 will be disbursed after successful completion of the project.

Proposals will be evaluated by a team of six cohousing associates, and the winning community will be announced on January 1, 2009. Out of a possible 100 points, the following scoring matrix will determine which proposal will receive funding:

20 Points    Meets a well-documented need and has community support.
20 Points    Has a strong implementation plan and project “champions.”
15 Points    Is a permanent, maintainable project.
15 Points    Is replicable in other communities.
10 Points    Enhances the social strength of the community.
10 Points    Sustains economic, civic, or ecological systems.
10 points    Shows creativity, originality and enthusiasm.

Submit grant applications to Dave Wann, Harmony Village, 1015 Cottonwood Circle, Golden, Colorado 80401. Questions? Contact the grant committee by calling Dave at 303 216-1281 or emailing him at davewann [at] comcast [dot] net.