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Spaces to Places

Transforming Public Spaces into Vibrant Places for the Community.

2024 Community Outreach Grants: Apply Starting Jan. 2

December 7, 2023
Community Outreach, Smart Growth
By: Hannah Dannenfelser

Mark your calendar! On January 2, 2024, applications will open for the National Association of REALTORS ® (NAR) Community Outreach grants. One of the opportunities is the Placemaking grant, which funds the projects in this Spaces to Places blog. If you’re a state or local REALTOR® association, consider applying for a Placemaking, Fair Housing, Housing Opportunity, Smart Growth, or Rural Outreach grant for resources to advance initiatives within your state or local community. These grants are only for state and local REALTOR® associations.

The Community Outreach team has a few updates for the 2024 grant process, and a new Grants & Resources Manager who will be managing this blog! View the recent webinar “Championing Issues with Community Outreach Grants and Resources” to learn about how grants can be used, hear about updates for next year, and meet the team. A few key highlights for 2024:

  • As part of NAR’s Right Tools, Right Now, the 10% financial contribution requirement is waived for any association that requests reimbursement between January 2 through December 13, 2024.
  • Grants are first-come first-served and did run out early in 2023, so apply as soon as possible.
  • Grants are disbursed on a reimbursement model and all reimbursement receipts must be submitted by December 13, 2024. Receipts submitted after this time will not be reimbursed.
  • Learn more about the grants, and explore FAQs, on the landing pages: Placemaking, Smart Growth, Housing Opportunity, Fair Housing, and Rural Outreach.
  • For more questions about the Placemaking grant, email: PlacemakingGrants@nar.realtor.
  • Want to learn about how you can leverage all of our grants? Set up a Grant and Resource Planning session with the Community Outreach team.

We look forward to helping you build impactful community spaces, develop coalitions, partner with community leaders, and be recognized in your community.

The Drop Metal chandelier sculpture lights up Chandelier Alley just behind the now-famous chandelier mural.

Courtesy Downtown Huntsville, Inc.

Chandelier Alley in Downtown Huntsville, AL – Read about this alley activation funded by a Placemaking grant.

Wash & Wag volunteers at the grand opening helped the canine visitors to look their best.

Courtesy of Central South Dakota Board of REALTORS®.

Wash & Wag volunteers at grand opening in Pierre, SD. Read about this dog park funded by a Placemaking grant.

Parking lot (after image): Picnic tables and benches give community residents a place to enjoy a meal outdoors.

Courtesy of the Eastern Connecticut Association of REALTORS®

Gathering place with picnic tables and painted murals (not pictured) in Killingly, CT. Read about this pocket park funded by a Placemaking grant.

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Community Outreach Programs

Housing Opportunity Grant
Housing Opportunity Grants support state and local REALTOR® Associations’ affordable housing activities. The goal of the program is to position REALTORS® as leaders in improving their communities by creating affordable housing
opportunities.

Smart Growth Grant
Smart growth is an approach to development that encourages a mix of building types and uses, diverse housing and transportation options, development within existing neighborhoods, and community engagement. The Smart Growth Program offers state and local REALTOR® Associations to way to engage with government officials, community partners and the general public in planning and designing community’s future.

Diversity
Planned diversity initiatives makes good business sense. REALTOR® Associations with well-planned diversity programs create a stronger sense of community, particularly in neighborhoods with high concentrations of foreign-born and minority residents who are moving up the socioeconomic ladder and are buying homes.

NAR Placemaking Resources

Placemaking Guide: A Guide to Transform a Public Space into a Community Place
REALTORS® and state and local association staff can learn the details of Placemaking, the kinds of projects placemaking entails, how to organize them, and where to go for assistance and resources.

Placemaking Webinar Series
Our Placemaking Webinar Series will provide more in depth information on the various types of Placemaking and how REALTORS® were involved in Placemaking activities in their communities.

Placemaking Grant
The Placemaking Grant funds the creation of new public spaces, like pocket parks, trails & gardens, in a community. The grant focuses on “lighter, cheaper, quicker” placemaking projects, which can be built under a year and cost less  than $200,000.

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Smart Growth - Riverwalk in Pueblo, Colorado

Smart Growth

The healthier a community, the better the environment for REALTORS®. Keeping a community attractive, livable and functioning well is a complex task.