Chapter 12 – Project Ideas
Organizing neighborhood projects and activities is a great way to promote your neighborhood association to the community. Most importantly, neighborhood projects give Associations an opportunity to build relationships and unity. People do not join Neighborhood Associations to attend meetings, they join to either accomplish a goal or to build a stronger connection to the neighborhood they live in. In a diverse city, such as Rochester, it is essential that neighbors can unite to discover what they have in common. Capitalize on this common ground to initiate activities that showcase the community.
In choosing a neighborhood project, focus on a specific issue that will demonstrate action and results. Get the whole community behind the project by promoting the event as much as possible. This will provide lots of participation for you to establish a large membership base. If you are successful in achieving your goals or effecting change on a single issue, it demonstrates that your Association is an effective group. This establishes credibility for the organization, which is crucial for sustainability. Small projects build confidence and power to tackle more complicated issues facing your neighborhood.
Consider one of the following projects to bring your neighbors together:
- Neighborhood clean up
- Street improvements
- Park improvements
- Youth projects
- Tree planting
- Community garden
- Crime watch program
- Murals
- Parades
- Tool lending libraries
- Paint swap
- Neighborhood t-shirts
- Candidate forums
- Neighborhood cookouts
- Welcome neighbors packet
- Asset mapping
- Yard of the month
- Speakers on topics of interest to the neighborhood
- Representatives to attend City Council and School Board meetings
- Back to school party
- Neighborhood scrap book or video
- Skills exchange (example: Ex-boxer in the neighborhood sets up an afternoon boxing program for kids. The kids mow and care for his yard.)
- National Night Out celebration
- Neighborhood newsletter, website, directory, or telephone tree