May 29, 2010; Source: Building Neighborhoods | It should be no surprise to anyone. The federal budget problems that have been cutting into programs meant to address the continuing recession are slicing into programs that many nonprofits have been anticipating eagerly. Patrick Lester’s outstanding blog reporting on Promise Neighborhoods tells us that the implementation moneys for the Promise Neighborhoods program in the Department of Education are in jeopardy—and so are the moneys for HUD’s Choice Neighborhoods program. The money that nonprofits around the nation have applied for is only the Promise Neighborhoods planning money, just $10 million nationwide. Only 20 grantees will be selected for these $500,000 planning grants, but the Department of Education has released a list [PDF] of 941 potential applicants. Lester’s blog says that about 100 of the applicants are universities or somehow connected to universities and 170 are rural possibilities. Potential doesn’t mean actual, so the number of groups that put in full applications might be less. Nonetheless, without implementation money, this might be planning for an unfulfillable promise.—Rick Cohen
About The Author
Rick joined NPQ in 2006, after almost eight years as the executive director of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP). Before that he played various roles as a community worker and advisor to others doing community work. He also worked in government. Cohen pursued investigative and analytical articles, advocated for increased philanthropic giving and access for disenfranchised constituencies, and promoted increased philanthropic and nonprofit accountability.
