Grants of up to $10,000 to Oregon neighborhood associations, homeowners associations, and community groups in eligible locations for programs and projects that benefit local residents. Applicants must consult with program staff prior to applying. Eligible activities provide a public benefit to the Lake Oswego community.

The Neighborhood Enhancement Program (NEP) supports neighborhoods by providing grants for projects or programs that provide a community benefit.

Grant Criteria

1. Provide a public benefit to the Lake Oswego community. Projects providing neighborhood benefit and applied for by City-recognized neighborhood associations will receive funding priority over homeowner associations and other groups.
2. Have neighborhood/community support.
3. Identify and provide detail on who will be responsible for completing the work, including the project coordinator(s) and the role of any consultants or vendors.
4. For physical improvements, be located on public land. 
5. Be designed for either no maintenance or low maintenance if maintained by volunteers.
6. Not fund ongoing or annual expenses of the organization (funds may be used to initiate an ongoing program or fill a temporary funding gap, but should not be used to support ongoing or annual expenses).
7. For emergency preparedness projects, demonstrate coordination with the City’s liaison at PrepLO to ensure that resources are made available to residents through a coordinated community effort.
8. For neighborhood parties, picnics and other social events, funding is generally limited to $300. This funding is intended to cover refreshments and other expenses for community-building events. Though invasive species removal projects are generally not eligible for NEP grant funding, applicants are encouraged to apply for funding to support neighborhood cleanups, ivy pulls, or similar volunteer events to remove invasive species.

Qualifying projects in neighborhoods that have not previously received a grant may receive priority over neighborhoods that have received past NEP awards. Projects that leverage matching funds or in-kind contributions may also be prioritized.

Following is a partial list of project ideas that have been implemented in past years and/or support the community benefit criteria. Applicants are not limited to these projects, but are encouraged to review the list for inspiration.

• Small Capital Projects, such as playground improvements, park kiosks, outdoor benches, and similar projects that are not part of the City’s Capital Improvement Plan.
• Public Art, such as purchase/installation of an existing sculpture (not commissioning new works) for a prominent location in a neighborhood, as part of the City’s permanent art collection.
• Wooden Neighborhood Signs, up to two per neighborhood, to strengthen neighborhood identity.
• Emergency Preparedness, such as creating a neighborhood directory, or training neighborhood block representatives in emergency response. Emergency preparedness projects should generally be designed for neighborhood or community-wide benefit, and applicants must develop a plan for sharing the information needed for residents to access the supplies.  All applications related to emergency preparedness must show proof of coordination with David Kainoa, the city's liaison with PrepLO - a community group with knowledge and resources related to emergency response.  Some individual items may be considered if paired with training or as an event tie-in.
• Neighborhood Communication, such as creating a website for your neighborhood association.
• Neighborhood Sustainability, such as holding a recycling event for electronics, furniture, appliances, oversized plastic, etc.; or creating a community tool library.
• Community Building, projects such as events to build relationships, get more people involved in the neighborhood, help build partnerships between neighborhood organizations, or help underserved populations.