Iowa City sees more applicants for grant program supporting neighborhood engagement

After some changes made to the Program for Improving Neighborhoods grant, the city saw more than twice the number of applicants apply in the last year than in the year prior.

Isabelle Foland, News Reporter

October 10, 2024

Jordan Barry/The Daily Iowan

Mayor Bruce Teague addresses the council during an Iowa City City Council meeting at the City Hall on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. After some changes to the Program for Improving Neighborhoods grant, there has been an increase in the number of applicants. The council allocates $20,000 to the PIN grant each fiscal year, according to T’Shailyn Harrington, Iowa City’s outreach and engagement specialist.

Twice as many Iowa City neighborhood associations have utilized the city’s long-standing Program for Improving Neighborhoods grant in the last year after the program was revamped.

According to the city’s website, the Program for Improving Neighborhoods grant, also known as PIN, is used to fund initiatives and projects that engage collaboration and connectedness in neighborhoods.

T’Shailyn Harrington, Iowa City’s outreach and engagement specialist that oversees the program, said the PIN grant has been around for about 30 years. The year before Harrington began working for the city in August 2023, the program only had three or four applicants. In the year she has been with the city, the program received 10 applications, she said.

The city council allocates $20,000 to the program each fiscal year, and neighborhood associations can apply for a maximum of $3,000, Harrington said. According to the city’s website, a grant cycle is typically announced in March, funds are given to the awardees in July and must be spent by the end of June the next year.

Any funds not spent must be returned to the city, Harrington said. Neighborhood associations must also keep receipts for the purchases they make using the grant dollars so the city can ensure the money is being put towards what was applied for, she said.

In Harrington’s time at the helm of the PIN program, she said she has worked to initiate more communication between the city and the neighborhood associations. She said she has made it a point to meet regularly with associations to discuss their needs and has helped coordinate meetings with other city staff and neighborhood associations.

A common issue with the grant in the past was that once a grant proposal made it to the desk of the city department that would be involved in the initiative, that was the first time the staff heard of the proposal, Harrington said. Now, she said she has worked to involve the relevant city staff or department from the beginning.

Harrington said the purpose of the program is to help strengthen Iowa City’s many neighborhoods.

“Bottom line is, our goal is to ensure that folks have the opportunity to feel uplifted and to amplify their neighborhoods with the support of the city,” Harrington said.

Judy Nyren, a member of the Lucas Farms neighborhood association, said the PIN grant has helped her neighborhood share its historical roots in the form of neighborhood signage telling people they are in a historic neighborhood.

The grant has also helped fund various neighborhood events, including the Lucas Farms History Days in the summer, which showcases the neighborhood’s historical buildings and stories.

Nyren said these events have brought the neighborhood together and instilled pride in its residents. The grant has made throwing these events easier because it helps cut down on time spent fundraising, she said.

However, as the grant program receives more applicants, there is only so much funding that can go around, Nyren said. Applying for a grant can also be daunting and time-consuming for a neighborhood association, which is made up of volunteers, she said.

Even with the challenges presented with grant programs, Nyren said city staff — especially Harrington — has been a great help in informing associations on how to apply and address their needs.

“I would say that I think the grant program is as good as it can be under the circumstances,” Nyren said. “And I think [Harrington] has done a great job of trying to make it user-friendly.”

The Wonderful Westside Neighborhood Association has used the PIN grant to fund its Sudanese Iowans Soccer Club, Mohamed Joreya, a member of the association, said.

The club has been around for three years and teaches soccer skills to over 100 children ages seven to 17, he said.

The association has used their cut of the grant to help pay for costs associated with the club, including renting fields and buying drinks for players, Joreya said. This has helped cut down on the cost burden for the parents of the club members, he said.

The grant program has shown the neighborhood that the city cares about what its residents are up to, Joreya said.

“It encourages us that the city stands with us and encourages us to go forward with this team,” Joreya said.