Mayor Mitch Landrieu, Neighborhood Capacity Building Initiative Kick Off Creating Communities for Change Effort in New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS, LA – May 12, 2014 – (RealEstateRama) — Today, Mayor Mitch Landrieu, The Neighborhood Capacity Building Initiative (NCBI) and the Mayor’s Neighborhood Engagement Office announced the Creating Communities for Change campaign. The NCBI is a collaborative training program designed to enhance community development across New Orleans through training, skills development, and small grants that build neighborhood and organizational capacity. Backed by the Mayor’s Neighborhood Engagement Office and executed in partnership with NeighborWorks America, the effort brings together eight diverse non-profit organizations to build community capacity for local change. The initiative is funded by a Rockefeller Foundation grant aimed at building citizen engagement in the long-term recovery of New Orleans.
“New Orleans is a city of neighborhoods, driven strongly by those that live and work in those communities,” said Mayor Mitch Landrieu. “In order to build the city we’ve always thought we could be, we must continue to invest in our communities. I am proud to partner with NeighborWorks America and other stakeholders, supported by the Rockefeller foundation, to roll out the Creating Communities for Change initiative.”
The Creating Communities for Change initiative focuses on enhancing the skills of community residents and stakeholders to create stronger community development infrastructure to enhance residents’ ability to engage productively with all stakeholders and advance neighborhood-level change.
“NeighborWorks America believes resident engagement is an essential component of effective and sustainable community development and we are excited to partner with the City of New Orleans to bring the Neighborhood Capacity Building Initiative,” said NeighborWorks America’s Donald Phoenix. “This training is designed to empower residents to make positive changes within their own neighborhoods by developing resident leaders, facilitating community building events and activities, and supporting resident-driven groups and initiatives.”
Starting mid-May, the initiative will offer a series of capacity building workshops for New Orleans residents. Participating organizations will then have the opportunity to apply for grants of up to $10,000 to support community-based initiatives. Neighborhood Capacity Building Initiative (NCBI) will launch its Creating Communities for Change initiative Saturday May 10th, from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. at the Sojourner Truth Community Center, located at 2200 Lafitte St. New Orleans, LA 70119.
“The Mayor’s Neighborhood Engagement Office continues to have an active role in the community,” said Ray Bolling, Mayor’s Neighborhood Engagement Office. “We support neighborhood-based initiatives that will make our city and its residents stronger.”
Click here to register for May 10, 2014.
