This year, LISC Houston sought to reset and redefine our premier Community Development outreach and funding program, Small Grants. Since the inception of this program, now entering its eight year, over 52,000 participants have organized 100s of projects that leveraged millions towards community building. LISC Houston’s Small Grants program is designed to provide more flexible funding to our communities in order to create civic engagement and advance affordable housing and development, spur business development, increase family income and wealth building, improve access to quality education, and foster healthy lifestyles and communities. The focus of the program is on making direct impact and investment within neighborhoods and bringing communities together and this year, we sought to make it better by updating and restructuring our outreach efforts, streamlining the application submittal process by making it digital, and finally, bringing in our partners and supporters to help evaluate applications. In this year’s effort, we sought to grow the reach and impact of the program and we will have more than 400 volunteers- a leverage of more than $83,000- rolling up their sleeves and collaborating with nearly 100 partner organizations across Houston to support thousands of their fellow residents and build community in some of the city’s most under-resourced neighborhoods.
After receiving more applications than we have in LISC Houston’s Small Grants program’s history, a 61% increase over last year’s total, LISC Houston is happy to share that we have selected 14 projects that will have immediate impact within our Houston communities. The awarded agencies represent 6 different GO Neighborhoods- Acres Homes, Alief, Denver Harbor, Gulfton, Magnolia Park, and Third Ward. These 14 partners also reflect 3 of LISC Houston’s 5 GO Neighborhoods impact areas or pillars- Education, Family Income and Wealth, and Health. With these projects, LISC Houston will be investing over $67,000 into these neighborhoods and supporting various local initiatives across our city like Complete Communities Action Plans and Super Neighborhood Council initiatives. These projects will be supporting causes like healthy food access in Acres Homes, community clean-up projects in Denver Harbor, financial literacy in Alief, cultural fairs and arts celebrations Magnolia Park, and many others. We look forward to seeing these projects come alive in the coming months and sharing the impacts with our partners and stakeholders! For more information about the Small Grants program, click here.
Acres Homes
Acres Homes Community Advocacy Group- Hey Neighbor! - Civic Association Capacity Building; The Acres Homes Community Advocacy Group will work with active civic associations and agencies to identify meaningful ways to attract more neighbors to attend local meetings through block walking/canvassing initiatives, community engagement creation, and developing effective communication strategies.
Acres Homes Super Neighborhood Council 6- Acres Homes Brunch En Blanc; A community brunch designed to introduce the community to healthier eating options and share alternative/healthy food selections with the attendees in a relaxed environment
BenCheri Educational Center- Summer “STEAM 44” & Literacy Enrichment Program; This project will provide STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) and literacy enrichment where participants will engage in interactive workshops led by STEAM professionals and educators.
Memorial Hermann CBC (MHCBC)- The Little Park with the Big Heart; Introducing the community to a "Walking Meditation" path designed with inspirational markers that are visually attractive with language to inspire mindfulness moments, while enjoying the physical and mental benefits of an outdoor walk at Highland Park.
Young Audiences of Houston- Advancing the Arts in Classrooms and Communities; A community-wide arts festival and children's costume giveaway with a series of workshops and presentations to educate residents on arts in education, social and emotional learning, and cultural awareness.
Alief
Mpower Y.O.U., Inc- Financially Lit, Financially Fit; We will implement a financial literacy program for high school students enrolled in Alief ISD. The program will consist of a series of youth financial education workshops and will culminate with a larger financial literacy experience known as a Financial Reality Fair.
South Asian Folk Arts Council- Qawwali & Gospel Music and Workshops; Celebrating the Alief BIPOC community, the project celebrates Alief's status as one of the most diverse areas in Houston by inviting communities of color to sing and speak with one another.
Denver Harbor
Houston ToolBank- Tool Trot Kick-Off & Community Cleanup; To promote an environmental mindset, Tool Trot participants and volunteers will pick up trash and conduct a neighborhood cleanup while starting their step goals for a walkathon. During the two-week walkathon, participants are encouraged to take their trash grabbers with them and clean their neighborhoods and communities as they go. In addition to the beautification aspect, it helps to reduce pollution and encourage healthy ecosystems.
Gulfton
Culture of Health Advancing Together- The Gulfton Story Trail: Rising in Refuge; The Gulfton Story Trail is an immersive art experience of 12 multidimensional murals, born from the poetry written by Gulfton students, expressed visually by muralists, and experienced by residents and visitors, blending Gulfton’s stories with their own.
Magnolia Park
East End Communities Collaborative- Through the Eyes of Our Community; Using the power of pictures to express the feelings and concerns of a community, the storytelling inspired by images of a shared space and experience will help neighbors realize that others also share their concerns, and in small and larger groups, discover great ideas and the confidence to join with others to initiate positive change and transform residents into advocates and activists.
Magnolia Park Arts & Community- First Fridays in Magnolia Park; A series of events to provide a positive celebration of the cultural heritage of this 97% Hispanic community with artists, speakers, and musicians performing culturally relevant programs on the first Friday of the month at La Casita de Colores.
Third Ward
Emancipation Economic Development Council- Third Ward National Night Out; National Night Out is an annual community building campaign that promotes and enhances the relationship between neighbors and law enforcement while bringing back a true sense of community. The purpose is to promote neighborhood camaraderie, access to resources and opportunities for civic engagement in order to create a more connected, safer and caring place to live.
Friends of Columbia Tap- Third Ward Tribute Trail; This project is to revitalize Third Ward and preserve its culturally rich African-American history while making the Columbia Tap Trail more connected, sustainable, and equitable for all, with a focus on LGBT+ and people of color over age 50 by coordinating and implementing physical activity programming, social interaction, and learning about the trail's history and ecological value.
Tour de Hood- We See People- Beautiful Minds; This project will educate youth between the ages of eight - fourteen years old on how to access ways to understand, use, and manage their emotions to relieve stress, better communicate, overcome challenges, empathize with others, and diffuse conflict.