About
Neighbors In Action (NIA) was launched by the City of Rochester in September 2024. In January 2025, the City was joined by partners Rochester Area Community Foundation and ESL Federal Credit Union to help fund and administer the program.
NIA, pronounced "NEE-uh," offers small grants, up to $10,000 each, empowering residents to come together and take purposeful action toward strengthening and improving their neighborhoods.
The initiative is based on Neighbors Building Neighborhoods (NBN), begun in 1996 by former Rochester Mayor William A. Johnson Jr. NBN was recognized nationally as a model for government and civic partnerships that inspired and supported hundreds of projects across the city that ranged from beautification initiatives to enhanced public safety.
Spring 2025 NIA grant awardees
Northeast
| Project | Amount | Description |
| Emergency Fire Extinguishers | $2,500 | Distribution of emergency fire extinguishers to elderly, single mothers, and families in the Unity Northeast Block Club Association. |
| Keeler Park Community Love | $3,715 | A picnic and Thanksgiving Turkey Giveaway with residents at Keeler Park Apartments. |
| Lockdown on Violence: YMCA Building Unity and Uplifting Community in Marketview Heights | $4,500 | A family-friendly event that offers a welcoming environment where neighbors can bond over a backyard BBQ-style gathering. Children can participate in recreational activities, and families can access essential resources in the Marketview Heights neighborhood. |
| Flower City Work Camp | $5,000 | Flower City Work Camp, a youth-driven initiative that provides critical home repairs, beautification efforts, and community outreach, improving safety, accessibility, and neighborhood pride. They also assist youth with leadership and civic engagement skills and serve local residents in underserved Rochester neighborhoods. |
| Walking for Rochester Community Cleanup Program | $5,000 | Walking For Rochester’s Community Cleanup Program will increase cleanup efforts throughout Rochester while educating residents on the connection between litter, public health, and environmental sustainability. |
| Railroad Street Festival | $5,000 | A family-friendly festival featuring food, music, entertainment, and art. |
| Garden and Mural Neighborhood Project – Avenue D | $5,000 | The People’s Pantry will create a garden and mural at the intersection of Avenue D and Joseph Avenue. |
| Joseph Avenue Festival | $5,000 | The Joseph Avenue Festival will be a family- friendly event featuring free food, games for children, pony rides, music and vendors. |
| Community Love Feast | $5,000 | Community Love Feast will be an event filled with food, community resources materials and inspirational workshops. |
| 11th Annual Music on the Boulevard | $5,000 | The 11th Annual Music on the Boulevard: Community Outreach Festival is a free family-friendly music festival, with live band performances that represent various genres of music, dancing and children’s activities. |
| Project Build & Revive | $7,000 | The Marketview Heights Collective Action Project will rebuild and revive the community garden on First Street. |
| Mural at Entrance to East Market Neighborhood | $7,481 | The East Market Neighborhood Association plans to create a large mural on a two-story commercial building on Fourth Street between Railroad Street and Hayward Avenue to define the entry point to the East Market Neighborhood. |
Northwest
| Project | Amount | Description |
| Dewey Avenue Business Corridor Neighborhood News Centers – Round 2 | $3,500 | This project will add 12 new large planters along the Dewey Avenue business corridor, filling requested locations and completing the planter initiative to enhance the area's appeal and unify its identity. |
| Dewey Avenue Tree Well Refurbishment | $4,000 | The street tree wells along Dewey Avenue, from Driving Park Avenue to W. Ridge Road, will undergo weeding and re-mulching to maintain their appearance and health. |
| Street Banner Upgrade | $5,000 | The 2018 Banner Project at the Center of Ridge, initially vibrant, has seen its banners fade and some damaged. This project will replace 44 new banners on 22 light poles. |
| Lakeside Winter Celebration | $5,000 | The Ontario Beach Park Program Committee’s 40th Lakeside Winter Celebration and Polar Plunge, on February 7-8, 2026, will include activities like the Chilly Chili Challenge, ice carving, sleigh rides, and a fireworks display, with over 2,000 participants taking the plunge to benefit Special Olympics New York. |
| Lyell Avenue Business Association (LABA) Community Building | $5,000 | This grant will advance Goal #6 of LABA's 2025 SMART goal plan by promoting networking, capacity building, and community development. |
| Lakeview Park Mall Tree Improvements | $5,000 | Trees at Lakeview Park Mall will benefit from an arborist's assessment to raise the tree canopy, improving both their health and aesthetics. |
| Garden Improvements at Lyell Library and Brayer Street | $9,190 | The project aims to enhance the garden at the Lyell Branch Library garden with educational technology, improve water access for local gardens, and create a community orchard on vacant lots in the Lyell Otis area, involving local schools and organizations. |
| CHNA Reimagined! | $10,000 | The Charles House In Action (CHNA)/JOSANA project aims to revitalize neighborhood connections by organizing community events, such as a cookout/picnic, restoring local parks, and engaging residents through clean-up efforts and youth outreach. |
| Charlotte Neigborhood Association, Neighborhood Branding | $10,000 | This organization aims to rebrand with the support of grant funds, updating its logo, banners, pamphlets, and community signs to better reflect its younger, more active Board of Directors and membership. |
Southeast
| Project | Amount | Description |
| Food for Meetings | $1,200 | Neighbors Building Neighborhoods from the previous Sector 6 (NBN6) will provide meals during their in-person meetings that are held during the dinner hours. |
| New Resident Welcome Totes and Annual Neighborhood Picnic | $1,733 | The Hickory N.U.T.S will give new renters and owners welcome totes that will include information about the local neighborhood and local businesses. In addition, funding will support their annual summer party in Marie Daley Park. |
| NEMNU Recruitment and Branding | $1,964 | North East Main Neighbors United (NEMNU) will utilize funding for the continuation, enhancement, and growth of their current recruitment initiatives. |
| Copeland Street Fresh Fest | $2,500 | The Copeland Street block club will host a variety of residential need-based events during the weekend of August 8 – 10. This event will provide residents with educational resources on hazardous waste, in addition to the opportunity of addressing resident’s specialty recycling needs. |
| Our Beloved Community Park Bench & Garden | $2,500 | The Grand & Webster Block Club located at the gateway into Beechwood will enlist neighbors to continue a project from last year to rejuvenate Our Beloved Community Park with remediated rich soil and flowers. |
| Sassy in the South Wedge | $2,500 | For a dynamic array of activities and entertainment that showcases the rich diversity and creativity of the LGBTQ+ community. These activities include live music, and fun interactive activities that encourage participation and foster a social, inclusive atmosphere. |
| Funding for Multiple Needs – ABC Streets | $2,587 | The ABC Streets Neighborhood Association will be working on beautification and gardening projects and other activities, including hosting more neighborhood events to connect their neighbors, host a speaker series, and focused city meetings to discuss current topics. |
| NOTA Restoration, Beautification, and Fellowship | $3,000 | Neighborhood of the Arts Neighborhood Association (NOTA) is looking to continue tending to the corner gardens along University Avenue, stocking and maintaining the outdoor food pantry, and helping support the Dimitri House. |
| ACE Branding and Beautification | $3,000 | Atlantic/Culver/East Main Neighborhood Association (ACE) welcome signs at their neighborhood boundaries in addition to flower pots on Culver Road to create a more attractive and inviting area. |
| South Wedge Community Gardens | $3,428 | South Wedge Community Gardens will rebuild garden plots at the Cypress and Hamilton Gardens. The grant will also help them to rebuild a fence, replenish soil and compost for the garden beds, and purchase tools for use by members. |
| Community Workshop Event Series | $4,000 | The South Wedge Planning Committee will hold a series of events that will focus on topics including, but not limited to: senior citizen focused assistance, business and employment, homeowner or buyer assistance. |
| Large, Self-Watering Flower Pots for Monroe Avenue | $4,950 | The Lock 66 Neighborhood Association will procure six large self-watering planters to be placed at prominent corners along Monroe Avenue between Wilcox Street and Amherst Street. |
| North Winton Village Neighborhood Projects | $5,000 | Winton Village Neighborhood Association will work on a variety of projects including hosting community events at the Linear Garden, as well as a family friendly event with the North Winton Village Businesses. |
| Beechwood Rising Friday Night Teen Takeovers | $5,000 | 441 Ministries will host an organized youth program “Beechwood Rising” to help build relationships and positive assets for teens by inviting them to a monthly evening gathering (or special activity) that is safe, engaging, and enriching. |
| Connected Communities Supported Block Clubs | $5,000 | Connected Communities Supported Block Clubs will recruit block club captains, train block club ambassadors, engage residents and bring positive change within their neighborhoods. |
| Upper Monroe Revitalization Initiative | $10,000 | Upper Monroe Neighborhood Association (UMNA) will replace a worn and defaced neighborhood sign at the corner of Monroe Avenue and Engel Place. Funds will be used for upkeep of their community gardens, to help with associated printing of flyers, and to hold community events. Garden upkeep, new signage, flyers, and events in Upper Monroe. |
| Swillburg: Community, Connect, Celebrate | $10,000 | The Swillburg Neighborhood Association will use the funding for their Swillburg neighborhood festival and events including a garden project to help improve the beds at the School #35 Community garden and a Jazz Walk Sign project. |
Southwest
| Project | Amount | Description |
| Arnett Boulevard Beautification | $2,500 | The Arnett Block Association will renovate and replace street light banners and flowers for the Arnett Bird and Butterfly Garden. |
| SWEM Food Cupboard Delivery | $3,000 | Southwest Ecumenical Ministries Community Services will provide free, nutritious food delivery to those in need in the Southwest. |
| Hamilton Tenant Association | $4,000 | Southwest Ecumenical Ministries Community Services will provide free, nutritious food delivery to those in need in the Southwest. |
| Garden Outreach & Connection | $5,000 | The Rotary Club of Rochester Southwest will create and distribute a community needs assessment survey, three events, a mural, and improvements for the community garden at Kirkland and Kenwood Avenues. |
| Liberty Pole Way Beautification and Community Garden | $5,000 | Downtown ROC will beautify Liberty Pole Way, including planting a flower garden and commissioning a mural. |
| Sankofa Arts Initiative 2025 | $5,000 | The Burch Community Foundation will use the funding to kick off their Sankofa Arts Initiative at the Foundation’s 2nd Annual Community Carnival on Saturday, July 5, 2025. The initiative will serve as an incubator for youth activities focusing on health and wellness, arts disciplines, and educational programs. |
| Project 5C – 19th Ward Community Cats | $5,000 | 19th Ward Community Cats will provide TNVRM (Trap, Neuter, Vaccinate, Return, and Monitor) services for feral cats in the 19th Ward as well as to help foster and rehoming lost, stray, or abandoned cats. |
| Summer Celebration Picnic and Senior’s Garden | $5,364 | The Southwest Area Neighborhood Association will create a garden for seniors and host a community picnic and resource fair. |
| Summer Neighbor Engagement Events – Corn Hill | $10,000 | The Corn Hill Neighbors Association will use the funding for new resident welcome kits and community events including a picnic, an ice cream social for National Night Out, and a summer gazebo concert series. |
Neighbors in Action
Contact
Eligible applicants include neighborhood associations, non-profit organizations, and community groups that are a designated 501(c)(3). Neighborhood groups that do not possess a 501(c)(3) designation can work through a fiscal sponsor that qualifies to apply.
A broad range of community projects qualify, including:
- Community beautification (e.g., gardens, murals, public art)
- Neighborhood festivals or events
- Youth or senior programs
- Environmental sustainability projects
- Educational or health-focused initiatives
Grant amounts vary based on the program and project scope. Grants can range from a few hundred dollars up to $10,000.
Evaluation criteria include:
- The impact and benefit of the project on the community
- Feasibility and sustainability of the project
- Alignment with the program’s goals and priorities
- Clear and realistic project plan and budget
- Community involvement and support
The first round of NIA grants were awarded in spring of 2025. Please check back in early 2026 for information on the next round.
If your application is successful, the funds will be disbursed in one lump sum. Specific details and instructions will be provided upon grant approval.
A final report will be required, and receipts, invoices or other proof of purchase will be required for all expenditures.
Yes. Details of these administrative costs must be provided in the application.
If a funded NIA project encounters unforeseen challenges, it’s important to contact your NIA Community Program Planner to discuss potential adjustments or extensions.
No.
The City of Rochester has created four new positions in its Neighborhood Service Centers to help coordinate NIA and build capacity in neighborhoods. You can reach your quadrant’s NIA representative via email at:
- Northwest: NW-NIA@CityofRochester.gov
- Northeast: NE-NIA@CityofRochester.gov
- Southwest: SW-NIA@CityofRochester.gov
- Southeast: SE-NIA@CityofRochester.gov
What's my NSC area
Use the map below to find out which Neighborhood Service Center your address belongs to. If the map isn't working on your device, click here to open it in a new browser tab.
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