We recently received word from Lois Maag, from The City of Seattle, about the Neighborhood Matching Fund, a partnership of community groups and Seattle Department of Neighborhoods:

The program provides awards up to $100,000 for neighborhood-based projects, helping to fund everything from park improvements to cultural centers. New online application forms, streamlined guidelines and increased awards are among changes for 2010 funding applications.

[For example,]  a grant of $250 last summer helped neighbors on Letitia Avenue South participate in Night Out, a national crime prevention event. The dollar amount might seem small, but it enabled the block party to expand from “a small number of concerned citizens” to the larger neighborhood, said Karma Norman, one of the organizers.

The funding paid for printed invitations, signs, decorations, paper plates and other items. About 45 neighbors barbecued and played live music, told stories and put names to faces, and faces to homes. Learning who was who was “the best part,” Norman said. “I feel more secure and safe in my neighborhood, knowing who lives where.”

Neighborhood Matching Funds are awarded in four categories, with deadlines approaching for two of them. Small and Simple Fund applications are due January 11. The letter of intent deadline for Large Projects Fund is February 8. For more information, go to www.seattle.gov/neighborhoods/nmf/ or call 206-233-0093.

Got an idea for a project?  If you’re looking for a community group to work with, look no further than the Green Lake Community Council, Friends of Green Lake, and Sustainable Green Lake.  Ideas for neighborhood-based projects are always welcome at all three of these great groups.  Bring your enthusiasm to a meeting and you may find like-minded folks who will work with you on a Neighborhood Matching Funds application.