Montgomery County will again offer matching grants of up to $1,000 to help fund neighborhood events, according to an announcement from Silver Spring Regional Services Center Director Reemberto Rodriguez.

Neighborhood organizations, block groups, tenant groups, civic groups and similar organizations are eligible to apply to help fund events and activities that “promote community engagement, encourage capacity building, networking and stimulate the local economy,” according to the message.

Past grant winners include:

The Takoma Park Silver Spring Community Kitchen for its grand opening and ongoing community communication efforts

Woodside Park, for a neighborhood Oktoberfest celebration

Blair High School, for Carnival of Animals

Story Tapestries, for storytelling workshops

East Silver Spring Civic Association, for a neighborhood block party

Flower Hudson Tenant Association, for the apartment complex block party, and

Long Branch 5K, for a 5K run in commercial area to bring attention to businesses.

The funds must be matched by the sponsoring organization dollar for dollar in cash or in-kind contributions, and the event or activity must be held during this fiscal year (before June 30, 2020).

There is no deadline for application, but funding is limited. The first round of decisions for Silver Spring area applications will be made before Labor Day, Rodriguez said.

Groups that applied for funding last year may do so again this year, but must file a new application.

Completed applications for the Silver Spring Regional Area, which is the same as the Source of the Spring’s coverage area (south of the beltway, Four Corners, east to the Prince George County line, south to the Washington D.C. line and west to Rock Creek Park), must be submitted to Rodriguez.

Groups in other parts of the county should submit applications to their respective Regional Services Area Director, which are listed in the application form.

Block parties are just one type of neighborhood activity that could be funded under the grant program. Image from Pixabay.