KCB Offers $5,000 Beautification Grant Opportunity; submit your ideas by November 17th!
Keep Charlotte Beautiful (KCB) is currently accepting Letters of Intent for its Beautification Grant, an annual opportunity which awards up to $5,000 for community beautification projects. This competitive grant is open to neighborhoods, businesses, nonprofits, schools, and individuals citywide.
Projects must fall within the four tenets of Keep Charlotte Beautiful: litter prevention, waste reduction and recycling, beautification, and community greening. For more information about these principles and project ideas, please see the table below.
Want to lean more? Attend the KCB Beautification Grant Pre-Application Workshop:
Want to know more about the grant and application process?
Use this link to register for the KCB Beautification Grant Pre-Application Workshop or call 704-432-4802 to RSVP to learn more about project opportunities, deadlines and the application process.
KCB Core Principles & Eligible Project Opportunities
Clean-Your-Block Parties and educational efforts that promote litter removal & prevention
Eligible expenses:
Branded safety vests, t-shirts, temporary signage, gloves, tools/tool rental and marketing efforts.
Clean-up supplies including litter sticks, trash and recycling bags and safety vests are available upon request through Keep Charlotte Beautiful.
Competitions and educational campaigns, decorative trash cans and recycling bins, pet waste stations, cigarette butt boxes and other methods to improve collection of waste and recycling
Eligible expenses:
Program supplies, signage, bins, design fees and installation.
Beautification and placemaking enhancements, decorative elements including sculpture, painted pavement, murals, mosaics, decorative signal cabinet wraps, seating & benches. Façade improvements may include help your neighbor campaigns to manage lawns, landscaping and minor exterior home repairs, painting and other enhancements.
Eligible expenses:
Design fees, supplies and installation.
Community gardens, hydroponic gardens, street plantings, moveable planters or hanging baskets, trees, shrubs and other landscaping to promote bees, butterflies and other species, food production and clean air.
Eligible expenses:
Gardening tools/tool rental, design, signage, decorative elements including planter boxes and benches, potting soil and perennial plants*.
*Must include at least 50% native plant species.
Applicants may request up to $150 for food and/or non-alcoholic beverages, when incorporated as a meaningful component of the proposed project.
Ready to get started? Submit a Letter of Intent (LOI) by Sunday, November 17th.
Letters of Intent must include the following:
- Project description in 250 words or less
- Project location, amount requested, tentative date when the project will take place, and entities involved
- Why the group is applying for this grant
- How this project will enhance applicant's community
Submit your LOI via email to KCB@charlottenc.gov, or call 704-432-4802 for questions and alternative submittal options.
Grant Considerations:
- Grant funds are provided as reimbursement upon project completion with submission of qualified receipts, unless other arrangements are made. No match is required.
- Grant funded activities may not begin prior to contract signing, and must be completed by December 31st, 2020.
- Projects are subject to review and approval processes through Keep Charlotte Beautiful and the City of Charlotte. When applicable, written property owner permission is required.
After you apply:
KCB Board Members will review LOI's, select finalists will be invited to submit a formal grant application. Grant applications will be reviewed using a competitive scoring process in accordance with these criteria:
Scoring Criteria
Possible Points
- Project Impact & Need - 25 Points
- Project Design - 25 Points
- Level of Participation & Community Involvement - 10 Points
- Project Budget - 20 Points
- Sustainability with ongoing costs or maintenance needs - 15 Points
- Adopt-a-City Street Participation* - 5 Points
Total Possible Points - 100 Points
For questions please call 704-432-4802, or e-mail KCB@charlottenc.gov.