Grant Funding Available

• Design, develop, and implement creative engagement strategies to solicit input from communities that have historically been under-represented in land use planning processes in the County. 
• Document the community’s ideas and priorities for the plan.

We are looking for outreach activities that are different from traditional County public meetings. We want to support whatever approaches work best for diverse communities. Creative engagement strategies might include questionnaires, social media, art, community festivals, or pop up events; but, we are leaving the specifics up to you–you know best what works for your community.

OPZ anticipates having the capacity to support 2-3 organizations with roughly $5,000-$15,000 dollars per organization.

We know that it will be challenging to select 2-3 organizations that represent all the geographic and demographic communities of Regions 5, 6, and 8–though this is our goal. We aim to provide additional avenues for the public to be involved in the planning process.

The organizations will be selected based on responses to the questions in the Notice of Funds Available that will be reviewed by a team of County staff.

Based on demographic data from previous public outreach efforts, we identified communities that have been historically under-represented in planning processes. We hope to partner with organizations connected to these groups and best able to represent their voices. The groups identified include: 

(1) communities of color

(2) households earning less than area median income

(3) youth (under 35 years old)

(4) renters 

Selected organizations will enter a grant agreement with the County. Therefore, to be eligible organizations must meet the County’s grant agreement requirements. The organization must be:

• A 501c3.
• In good standing with the Maryland Department of Assessments.

• County agencies are not eligible for this grant. 
• The Library system and foundation are eligible. 
• Churches with a 501 (c) (3) status are eligible.