Working together to create a cleaner, greener and more sustainable Charlotte
Keep Charlotte Beautiful (KCB) inspires and educates people to act every day to improve and beautify their community environment.
KCB was founded in 1974 and is one of the nation's first Keep America Beautiful affiliates. The KCB board works closely with neighborhood organizations and homeowner groups, as well as with area businesses, schools, and local governments, to create a healthier environment. KCB programs enhance the quality of life for Charlotteans by providing opportunities to maintain and improve the cleanliness and beauty of our city.
Get involved!
Ready to get involved? Explore the portals below to find out more about Keep Charlotte Beautiful.
For more information about how to get involved with KCB programs, call 704-353-1235 or email kcb@charlottenc.gov
Stay up to date on all things sustainable in Charlotte and beyond.
Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
Sign up for our volunteer opportunities.
The Keep Charlotte Beautiful (KCB) Board works to improve the cleanliness of the city through enhancing public awareness of litter control and recycling, promoting community service, sponsoring programs and events, and promoting partnerships to ensure the city sustains a clean and healthy environment.
View vacancies and download applications for the KCB and other city council boards and commissions by visiting the City Clerk webpage. Board vacancies arise occasionally, and Keep Charlotte Beautiful accepts applications year-round. The board meets every other month and hosts multiple activities throughout the year
Board Documents:
Keep Charlotte litter-free.
Whether you’re looking for a one-time volunteer event or a long-term investment in your community, Keep Charlotte Beautiful has you covered! Learn more about our programs below.
Request supplies and report a cleanup
Looking for free materials for your cleanup? Keep Charlotte Beautiful lends out safety vests, reusable gloves, litter grabbers, and trash bags for FREE to all Charlotte residents. We simply ask that you fill out a cleanup report and return the materials within one week of your event. Use the links below to request supplies and report your cleanup. Please be sure your volunteers sign a liability waiver.
Adopt-a-City-Street
Join more than 400 active volunteer groups who clean up hundreds of miles of city streets. Neighborhoods, businesses, families, and individuals can make a difference in their community by adopting a City street through this FREE grassroots litter removal program. By adopting a street, volunteers commit to clean up along at least a mile of road three times or more each year. Volunteers also have the ability to remove illegal signs, report graffiti, and mark storm drains.
As an Adopt-a-Street volunteer, you will receive:
- Two "adoption" signs with your name installed along the adopted route
- Clean up supplies (litter pickers, gloves & safety vests loaned for the duration of volunteer service) on a lending basis
Great American Cleanup
The Great American Cleanup (GAC) is the nation's largest annual community improvement program. It takes place from March 1 to May 31. We encourage all Charlotte residents to clean up litter during this period, and the Keep Charlotte Beautiful Board hosts a large-scale beautification event ties to this opportunity each year. Check out highlights from previous years and more information about this year’s opportunity (as it’s developed) below.
Keep Charlotte Beautiful offers two grant opportunities each year: the Tree Care Grant and Beautification Grant. Find out more about both opportunities below.
KCB Offers $8,000 Beautification Grant Opportunity; submit your ideas by November 13th!
Keep Charlotte Beautiful (KCB) is currently accepting Letters of Intent for its Beautification Grant, an annual opportunity which awards up to $8,000 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? Consider attending a pre-application workshop:
- Wednesday, October 16th: 6:00 PM- 7:00PM
Workshops will be presented using the Microsoft Teams online meeting platform. Online and phone-in access instructions will be provided to registered attendees prior to the workshop. Please visit our Neighborhood Training Programs and Resources page to register.
KCB Core Principles Eligible Project Opportunities
Litter Prevention
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.
Waste Reduction & Recycling
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
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 Greening
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)(DOCX, 48KB) by Wednesday, November 13th.
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, 2025.
- 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
Tree Care Grant
Caring for our Trees Together
Charlotte takes pride in having one of the most expansive tree canopies in the country. We couldn’t achieve this without the hard work of Charlotte residents like you! In order to celebrate the rich biodiversity found in our urban forests, educate the public on how to take action to maintain our canopy, and protect our forest for years to come, Landscape Management and Housing & Neighborhood services are proud to present this year’s Tree Care Grant. This is a fantastic first step in ensuring our city’s canopy remains vibrant for years to come.
Eligible organizations citywide can apply for matching grants of up to $3,000 for tree care initiatives including canopy assessment, ivy removal, small tree/ sapling pruning, mulching and tree focused education and community events.
Applications are accepted once per year. Tree Care projects may run concurrently with open Neighborhood Matching Grant projects. The current application deadline is January 6, 2024
Required Pre-application Workshops
Neighborhoods interested in participating in the Tree Care Program must attend or view a pre-application workshop.
- Monday, November 25th: 6:00 PM- 7:30PM
Workshops will be presented using the Zoom online meeting platform. Online and phone-in access instructions will be provided to registered attendees prior to the workshop. Please visit our Neighborhood Training Programs and Resources page to register for your preferred Workshop.
Please contact jonathan.hill@charlottenc.gov with any questions or concerns.
How to Apply
Required Documents
For more Information:
Contact Jonathan Hill,jonathan.hill@charlottenc.gov, to learn more about participating in the program.
Keep Charlotte Beautiful doesn’t work alone in keeping our city clean and beautiful. Explore the opportunities of some of our partners below.
Neighborwoods Tree Canopy Program
CommunityWoods, a collaboration between the City of Charlotte and TreesCharlotte is a community tree planting initiative aimed at keeping the tree canopy healthy and beautiful while achieving Charlotte's goal of a 50 percent tree canopy coverage by 2050.
Neighborhoods interested in planting trees in their community can apply to participate in this program in the spring of each year. Selected neighborhoods receive trees and planting supplies and receive tree planting and care training. Neighborhood residents work together to plant trees in individual yards and common areas.
Want to learn more and start an application? Visit TreesCharlotte (https://treescharlotte.org/get-trees/neighborhoods/ )
Stream Cleanups
Charlotte Mecklenburg Storm Water Services offers frequent volunteer events in Charlotte’s waterways and a longer-term Adopt a Stream program. To learn more visit Storm Water.
Park Cleanups
Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation partners often with Keep Charlotte Beautiful to offer park and street cleanups around Charlotte, but they also offer other beautification and cleanup events.
Bee City USA
On March 13, 2023, Charlotte City Council passed a resolution designating Charlotte as a Bee City USA affiliate, joining 23 other North Carolina towns and cities in the program committed to supporting pollinators. Charlotte will partner with local beekeepers to educate the community on bees, enhance habitats and reduce the use of pesticides.