We’re seeking feedback about our giving process! One of our primary purposes is to support groups and organizations that are supporting our local (Emerson East and Eken Park) neighborhoods. There are several ways that we do this, one of which is by giving funds to local groups that are doing work in our community through our Giving Process. Every year, our Giving Committee coordinates this process, where groups can seek funding for work they are doing, ranging from supporting local arts to improvements at the elementary school playground to to native plantings in local parks to feeding high school kids. The process includes that we have chances for people to give feedback about it, and then revise the process based on that feedback. We’ve now gone through this process twice, in 2024 and 2025. We are asking community members (including NSNA members and groups who have received funds) to provide any feedback. We’ve put together a brief survey focused on things that you like and things that you’d like changed. We’ve intentionally left it short and open-ended so you can say as much or as little as you want. We will leave the form open until noon on September 17th.
Announcing Neighborhood Improvement Grant Recipients
Our Giving Committee has compiled the rankings from the June Neighborhood Association Meeting, and has awarded the following grants. Congratulations to these fantastic organizations supporting people in our neighborhoods.
Our annual giving process is funded by profits from Eken Park Festival as part of our charitable mission. This year, we distributed the full $4,500 that we budgeted.
The 2025 grants are going to:
Emerson Elementary PTO: $500
The Emerson Elementary PTO is teaming with the Girls on the Run team at Emerson for their community impact project to repaint the USA map on the Emerson Elementary blacktop. The community impact project will be executed on Thursday May 15th, weather pending. Repainting the map has been on the PTO’s to do list for the last year and the Girls on the Run team decided to repaint the map for their community impact project. The PTO is asking to be reimbursed for the cost of the paint and supplies. Supplies will be purchased May 14th, so our cost is not yet know. This project will be enjoyed by all those the visit Emerson Elementary. The school and MSCR regularly use this space as well as families using the playground equipment.
Madison Public Art Project: $1,000
“The mural, Siempre Aprendiendo, is unveiling May 31st, 2025 at 2200 Pennsylvania Ave. The full project scope can be found here: https://www.madisonpublicartproject.org/siempreaprendiendo This grant request is for funding to complement the mural, once installed, to offer community programming including guided mural tours, Paint in our Pocket Park! days, and a future Aldo Leopold bench making workshop which will offer additional seating in the gardens for the public to enjoy the mural installation. These workshops will be offered for 2025/6. All MPAP community programming is created to support diversity, inclusivity, and equity through public art offering creative and exciting new ways for the community to join together! “
Moms on a Mission Madison: $1,500
Moms On a Mission Madison is a grassroots organization ran by Moms and former moms of East High School students. For 5 years we have been doing violence prevention and intervention outside of East High School by providing snacks and other support for students in order to reduce student contact with police.
Sherman Middle School: $1,500
I am an 8th grade Special Education teacher at Sherman Middle School. Over the past year I have been working on finding learning opportunities and ways to fundraise to make field trips more accessible for all of our scholars. Many of our students struggle with paying for our field trips, so I have tried to do as much work as possible to lower the costs. Our end of year field trips are the last opportunities our 8th graders will have to spend time with each other before they transition to high school. While most of them will probably go to East, they may not see each other there, or they may move to another high school. Any funding that can help our students have affordable trips would be a huge help. Our two trips planned will be on June 6 and June 10. The first one will be a walking field trip to Warner Park for the students to take part in a kickball tournament on the baseball field that the Mallard’s play on. They will be tie-dying shirts that will then be personalized for the game. Our second trip will be to Kalahari Resort for the students to enjoy a water park adventure with their peers before their 8th grade promotion.
Want to get more involved in the decision-making for these funds? Join the Giving Committee by sending them an email. They’ll soon be evaluating this year’s process and proposing changes for the future.
NSNA Neighborhood Grant Applications are Open
The North Street Neighborhood Association is pleased to announce that the annual Giving Committee grant process has begun. Interested parties can apply for a North Street Neighborhood Association Neighborhood Improvement Grant at this link. Please note the Eligibility and Stipulation requirements shown, especially the application due date of Friday, May 16th.
To learn more about our annual giving process, or if you would like to be more involved, you can visit our Giving Committee page here. You can see the full details about the process in our policies [PDF].
NSNA Awards Grants to Neighborhood Projects
Reminder that the July NSNA meeting is NOT in two days, it will be on July 11th. Read on for an announcement about our first annual giving process! At the May NSNA meeting, association members had the opportunity to hear from the local organizations that applied for funding from the annual NSNA Giving Process, and rank the applicants to determine the allocation of funds. The process, overseen by the Giving Committee, is how the neighborhood association gives out funds raised through Eken Park Festival to support local projects.
This year year’s awardees were:
Emerson Elementary PTO, $1000 towards the purchase of a mat for their GaGa Ball Pit.
Emerson Eken Arts, $1000 towards the 2nd Annual Emerson Eken Art Walk (September 28, 2024).
Friends of Starkweather Creek, $924 towards purchasing native plants for the park at the corner of Commercial and McCormick.
Our co-chairs joined the Giving Committee chair to present the funds to a representative from each organization. We’re so glad to be able to support all three organizations with our first round of our giving process.
North Street Community Improvement Grant Announcement
The North Street Neighborhood Association is taking applications for Community Improvement Grants. These grants are awarded for community-building projects that specifically benefit the Emerson East or Eken Park Neighborhoods. Please submit the NSNA Neighborhood Improvement Grant Application by APRIL 15, 2024.
North Street Neighborhood Association 