NEIGHBORHOODS
NEIGHBORS A C O MMU N IT Y O F
E
very community, whether it has 300 residents or
associations meet regularly and have access to a team of
130,000, is made up of neighborhoods. Neighborhood
City staff who get to know them personally.
associations play an important role in strengthening
the relationships of people living in a community together,
Many people may not realize that Cedar Rapids
and serve as unique partners to City staff.
neighborhood associations are formalized through the City
Cedar Rapids neighborhood associations often take the
projects, with proper certification.
and can receive up to $10,000 in funding for neighborhood
lead on their own community-scaled projects — organizing social events, fundraisers, and other public improvements on a grassroots scale. Recent projects have included
Want to start a Neighborhood Association? Gather your neighbors together and cast a vision. What role do you want to serve in the community? All associations start
coffee with neighbors, back-to-school concerts, park
with a small group of people willing to commit to their
improvements, National Night Out events, and historic neighborhood tours, just to name a few.
community, and City staff is here to help.
In addition to fostering strong ties with their neighbors,
To find information on existing neighborhood associations, visit the City’s website and click “Neighborhood Services”
associations also bridge the gap between City staff and
under the “For Residents” tab. You can also reach out to
residents. Public engagement is extremely important to City-led initiatives, and neighborhood association leaders often provide helpful feedback to City staff as well as
the Community Development Department by emailing CommunityDevelopment@cedar-rapids.org.
help share information on City programs. Neighborhood
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Neighborhood associations bring people together at a grassroots level for fun activities and relationship-building.
OUR CR
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MARCH 2020
