Seven Grassroots Community Improvement Projects Awarded “Fund for Germantown” Micro-grants by Germantown United CDC

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Germantown, Philadelphia, PA (October 1, 2015): Germantown United CDC is proud to announce the next round of grantees for the Fund for Germantown, the organization’s micro-grant program supporting community-driven beautification projects in Northwest Philadelphia’s Germantown neighborhood.

Since the program launched, 17 micro-grants have been awarded, with funds supporting a wide range of projects from greening to murals, neighborhood bulletin boards, cleanups and other community-building activities.

Through generous seed-funding by local real estate developers Howard Treatman and Ken Weinstein, Germantown United CDC distributes small grants ranging from $100 to $1000 to local organizations, civic associations, businesses, and individuals seeking to beautify the Germantown neighborhood. The grant program is part of Germantown United CDC’s ongoing efforts to promote and facilitate the revitalization of Germantown’s business corridors through a sustainable, creative, and community-driven approach to economic development.

The focus of the Fund for Germantown is to support projects that will have an immediate physical impact on the neighborhood. The fund provides grants for physical improvements across Germantown including, but not limited to, landscaping, signage, painting, reclaiming empty lots, and waste removal.

The latest Fund for Germantown winning projects ideas are:

• Artist and photographer Tieshka Smith will launch the Peaceful Places public signage project in Germantown’s storied Penn-Knox neighborhood, next to the Central Germantown business corridor
• Fitler Academics Plus, a public elementary school in Germantown serving students in grades one through eight located at 140 W Seymour St (at Knox St) will paint ground murals and organized games in the school’s playground
• West Central Germantown Neighbors civic association will enhance their community orchard and garden project at the Tulpehocken Train Station, a SEPTA Regional Rail station at 333 W Tulpehocken St (off Walnut Ln and Wayne Ave)
• Support to sustain the ongoing streetscape beautification efforts of Men Who Care of Germantown around their headquarters at 180 East Tulpehocken St (at Morton St)
• The Imperfect Gallery will install an interactive sidewalk mural outside of the gallery and community space at 5601 Greene St, adjacent to the Maplewood Mall pedestrian plaza and shopping corridor
• Freedom Gardens, a project by Germantown resident Susan Guggenheim, will connect local gardeners who would like to share their crop free of charge with Germantown residents looking to improve their diets with home-grown produce; Freedom Gardens will be identified by lawn signs and online via Google Maps
• Support to sustain Chew-Belfield Neighbors Club’s ongoing cleaning and beautification projects in East Germantown

“We are excited to support these small projects that have a big impact”, says funder Ken Weinstein. “These kinds of initiatives are exactly what we had in mind when we envisioned the Fund for Germantown”, said Howard Treatman. “It’s been great to see how Germantown United has been able to empower the community and leverage grassroots efforts.”

This is the third round of giving for the Fund for Germantown, which launched in the summer of 2014 and features two grant cycles per calendar year. The deadline for the next Fund for Germantown grant cycle is December 31, 2015. Funding guidelines may be found on Germantown United’s website at www.germantownunitedcdc.org. To request an application, email [email protected].

ABOUT

Germantown United Community Development Corporation is a 501(c)3 organization that was created to promote and facilitate the revitalization of Germantown’s business corridors through a sustainable, creative, and community-driven  approach to economic development. Founded in 2011, Germantown United CDC’s focus is to work with residents, businesses and community organizations to create an inspirational vision of Germantown’s business corridors and surrounding neighborhoods, create innovative case studies and sustainable business models to attract green-oriented developers, and recruit forward-thinking investors committed to fostering sustainable economic growth and development for all Germantown residents.