Neighborhood Mini Grant (NMG) Program

The application is now closed. Staff will distribute award notification letters by August 1, 2025.

The Neighborhood Services Division (NSD) in the Department of Community Planning Housing and Development (CPHD) through the Neighborhood Mini Grant (NMG) Program seeks to strengthen the Arlington community by building broader, diverse, more inclusive communities to enhance Arlington’s civic life. The program’s goals are to provide Arlington neighborhoods with funding opportunities to encourage civic and community building through a variety of activities, programs, events, and projects that promote racial equity, diversity, and inclusion.

This grant program will use up to $20,000 and the maximum grant amount will be $1,000 per applicant. To further the Countywide goal of promoting racial equity, diversity, and inclusion, this grant program will offer the opportunity for groups to seek to become more inclusive by reaching out to diverse populations residing within their neighborhoods and to include them in their events, programming, or activities. 

Eligible activities will be programs, events, or projects that increase neighborhood connections, build capacity, and support resident-led action by:

• Promoting neighborhood pride and building community.
• Addressing a pressing neighborhood need/opportunity.
• Improving the neighborhood’s capacity to build civic and social capital.
• Strengthening relationships and improving communication between residents, community leaders, and other community organizations to benefit neighborhoods.

Potential projects could include but are not limited to:

• Community events (e.g., block parties, festivals)
• Community engagement/outreach to promote inclusion and encourage involvement in community efforts/activities
• Public health and safety activities (e.g., education, neighborhood clean-ups, walking, biking, yoga, safe routes to school) 
• Small-scale projects that encourage volunteerism and community building (e.g., beautification, building a little free library, community gardens)

This is not an exhaustive list of potential projects and applicants are encouraged to present in their application other projects/activities that meet the vision of this program.

Eligibility Requirements and Evaluation Criteria 

To be eligible to receive a Neighborhood Mini Grant, applicants can be the following:

• 501(c)(3) or (c)(4) organizations, civic associations, and community groups with tax identification numbers located in Arlington County. 

If a group is interested in applying and does not have 501(c)(3) or (c)(4) status, they should consider obtaining 501(c)(3) or (c)(4) status or partnering with a qualifying 501(c)(3) or (c)(4) non-profit organization to serve as their Fiscal Sponsor and project partner. This is a reimbursable grant. Eligible Project expenses paid by the grantee or the Co Applicant/Fiscal Sponsor may be reimbursed by grant funds. 

Application Period

The grant application period was from April 1, 2025, to June 30, 2025. A formal NMG award letter will be sent to grant recipients by Aug. 1, 2025. 

Process and Timeline

Final grant awards will be based on scored evaluation criteria.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria: