The Neighborhood Initiatives Fund Program (NIF)

The Program, administered by the URA’s Economic Development department, will provide grants in order to help unlock the economic and placemaking potential within neighborhoods; support vision-to-action community investment strategies that build an equitable Pittsburgh; and formalize collaborative partnerships across the City.

Details

NIF is intended to assist nonprofits (including government agencies) and community-based organizations with neighborhood-scale projects. These projects include efforts that encourage neighborhood investment through vacant property reclamation and stewardship, historic preservation, brownfield redevelopment, public infrastructure improvements, and/or other eligible efforts. Nonprofit organizations with for profit development partners are also eligible to apply.

Pilot round schedule:

• October 1, 2019 - Applications were due
• November 2019 - Funding awards
• December 2019 - Enter into grant agreement
• December 2020 - Funds must be expended

2020 round schedule:

• TBD

There are two tiers of available grants:

• Tier 1 grants will fund up to $20,000
• Tier 2 grants will fund up to $100,000

A match is not required for Tier 1 grants. Tier 2 grants will require a 2:1 match; for every two dollars ($2) of Program funds invested into a project, there must be at least one-dollar ($1) match invested in the project. Matching funds must come from non-URA and non-city sources.

How to Apply

Complete the program application (below) and submit it along with all required attachments to Matt Reitzell at mreitzell@ura.org.

Information Sessions

Information Sessions Presentation

Information sessions for the pilot funding round were held in various locations around the city.  See the link above for the presentation.  Information sessions will be scheduled for the next round once it is finalized.

More Information

Program Fact Sheet
Program Guidelines
Frequently Asked Questions
Sample Tier 1 Grant Agreement
Sample Tier 2 Grant Agreement