City Offers $4k Grants For East Harlem Public Events

EAST HARLEM, NY — East Harlem community groups hosting public events in the neighborhood can get financial aid from the city through a grant competition that's accepting applications until late February.

The Mayor’s Fund to Advance New York City will award ten grants of $4,000 through the city's Building Healthy Communities initiative to organizations that utilize public space to put on free community programs and events. Organizations from Brownsville, Brooklyn also qualify for the grant money, according to city records.

Grant applications must be submitted by Feb. 26, according to a request for proposals that was released this month. Grant winners will be announced by March 27, according to the city document.

Staff with the Mayor's Fund and Building Healthy Communities will score each grant application on the following criteria:

• An applicant's history/role in the East Harlem and Brownsville neighborhoods;
• An applicant's experience in hosting programs and events at public spaces;
• Event and program factors such as proposed activities, location, outreach strategy and the population that will be engaged;
• Budget.

All programs funded using the grant money are required to be open to the public and free of charge, according to the city. Applicants must be able to track and report the attendance and will be required to submit a report to the city in the fall detailing how the grant money was used.

Interested community groups can send in their applications by email to fundrfp@cityhall.nyc.gov with the subject line "Our Streets and Spaces." The deadline is Feb. 26. Applicants must include a one-page description of the planned event, a proposed budget and a "doing business" form with their applications.