Community Placemaking Grants: Civic Spaces

Community Placemaking Grants: Civic Spaces is sponsored by Project for Public Spaces (with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and General Motors for Fall 2025 grants). This initiative creates indoor pop-up spaces that promote civic and social life in urban and rural BIPOC and/or low-income communities in the Northeastern United States.

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‍ In many American cities, not only are public spaces inequitably distributed and poorly maintained—but the people in the communities with the least access also rarely have the opportunity to shape public spaces themselves.

Project for Public Spaces’ Community Placemaking Grants enable US-based nonprofits and government agencies to address this inequality of access by working directly with local stakeholders to transform public spaces or co-create new ones. We do this by providing direct funding, technical assistance, and capacity building facilitated by Project for Public Spaces.

Project for Public Spaces is actively seeking philanthropic contributions from companies, foundations, and private individuals for the next round of Community Placemaking Grants. This fall, with generous support from General Motors (GM) , Project for Public Spaces will support two public space transformation projects that engage and improve the experience of underserved members of the community.

The selected applicant will have the opportunity to work with local residents and partners to facilitate a placemaking process in collaboration with Project for Public Spaces that results in physical and programmatic improvements to the space. ‍ Informational Webinar Recording: Learn more about the selection process and grantee experience.

Each selected recipient will receive: $75,000 in funding for physical and programmatic improvements to a public space Design, research, community engagement, and implementation support from the Project for Public Spaces team Leadership development opportunities to meet and learn from fellow grantees and participate in Project for Public Spaces trainings and conferences Eligibility requirements: The recipient organization must be a U.S.-based 501c(3) nonprofit or local government agency.

The project site must be an outdoor space that is free and open to the public. The project site must be a destination for people from across the city, town, or region. (However, the site does not have to be located downtown.)

The site must be located in an area where GM has a facility. See application instructions (pp. 9-10) for list of eligible counties.

Applications are now closed . Grant recipients will be announced in January 2023, and grant activities will conclude by November 1, 2023. To view the application questions, timeline, and evaluation criteria, please review our application instructions in advance.

Before applying, please review the full application instructions . Still have questions? Read the FAQs or contact us at grants@pps.

org . Community Placemaking Grants: Civic Spaces Many BIPOC, rural, and low-income communities across the United States lack access to dedicated civic spaces where community residents can organize, engage in public dialogue, and work to address local issues. This gap in our civic infrastructure hampers efforts to foster community leadership, build social cohesion, address systemic inequalities, and ensure government accountability.

To help address this critical gap, Project for Public Spaces is excited to announce Community Placemaking Grants: Civic Spaces , a new initiative in partnership with CultureHouse and with support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to create indoor pop-up spaces that promote civic and social life in both urban and rural BIPOC and/or low-income communities in the Northeastern United States.

The program will offer a total of two nonprofits or public agencies collaborating with nonprofits in the Northeast (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, and/or Vermont) $60,000 each in direct funding, along with placemaking technical assistance and capacity building from the Project for Public Spaces and CultureHouse teams.

Over the 18-month grant period, this initiative grantee organizations will not only implement a three-month, indoor pop-up community space, but also learn how to initiate and manage these spaces and promote civic engagement for the long term.

Each selected recipient will receive: $60,000 to support the temporary physical improvements and operation of an indoor pop-up space Research, community engagement, design, and implementation support from the Project for Public Spaces and Culture House teams Leadership development opportunities to meet and learn from fellow grantees and participate in Project for Public Spaces trainings and conferences Eligibility requirements: The recipient organization must be a U.S.-based 501c(3) nonprofit or local government agency.

The site must be located in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, or Vermont. The community served by the space and organization must be primarily (50%) BIPOC and/or low-income. The grantee organization should reflect the community it serves in its staff, and leadership.

The grantee must have a space (or partnerships to secure a space) that is indoor, free, and open to the public, and the grantee organization must have the permission to occupy and alter the space. The grantee must be committed to hosting local groups and organizations representing a variety of perspectives and causes. Informational Webinar Recording: Learn more about the selection process and grantee experience.

Applications are due by Friday, February 21, 2025 at 11:59pm EDT. Select applicants will be invited to a second round interview. If the applicant is not the owner of the project site, letters of recommendation from the site’s owner are required.

Grant recipients will be announced in mid-April 2025, and grant activities will conclude by September 2026. To view the program’s full scope as well as the application questions, timeline, and evaluation criteria, please review our Application Booklet in advance.

With the support of like-minded partners, Project for Public Spaces manages grant, technical assistance, and leadership programs that help local partners to transform their public spaces. Learn more about becoming a Social Impact Partner today. Due: Friday, February 21, 2025 at 11:59pm EDT Applications are now closed.

Before applying, please review the full application instructions . Still have questions? Read the FAQs or contact us at grants@pps.

org . Fall 2025 Grants: Streets as Places & Destination Stations Project for Public Spaces’ Community Placemaking Grants with General Motors are now open!

The program offers three nonprofits or public agencies $100,000 each in direct funding, as well as placemaking technical assistance and capacity building from our team, to transform a street or mobility hub into a lively community gathering place that improves street safety and mobility.

We're also excited to expand the eligible geography for this opportunity to include communities in 10 U.S. States: Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Tennessee and Texas. Informational Webinar Recording: Learn more about the selection process and grantee experience.

This cycle, we have two initiatives of focus for applicants to choose from when applying: Streets as Places will improve street safety to allow streets to fulfill their role as the most accessible public spaces across the U.S. Destination Stations will improve user experience and awareness at mobility hubs for public transit, EV charging, and micro-mobility through public space amenities, programming, and improved safety and accessibility.

The selected applicants will have the opportunity to work with local residents and partners to facilitate a placemaking process in collaboration with Project for Public Spaces that results in physical and programmatic improvements to the space.

Each selected recipient will receive: $100,000 in funding for physical and programmatic improvements to a public space Design, research, community engagement, and implementation support from the Project for Public Spaces team Leadership development opportunities to meet and learn from fellow grantees and participate in Project for Public Spaces trainings and conferences Eligibility requirements: The recipient organization must be a U.S.-based 501c(3) nonprofit or local government agency.

The project site must be an outdoor space that is free and open to the public. The recipient organization must have the authority or permission to make physical improvements to this space. The project falls into one of the two initiatives for this cycle: Streets as Places or Destination Stations The project site must be a destination for people from across the city, town, or region.

(However, the site does not have to be located downtown.) The site must be located in Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Tennessee, or Texas. Applications close on Monday, October 13, 2025 at 11:59pm EDT .

Select applicants will be invited to a second round. If the applicant is not the owner of the project site, letters of recommendation from the site’s owner are required. Grant recipients will be announced in December 2025, and grant activities will conclude by October 31, 2026.

To view the application questions, timeline, and evaluation criteria, please review our Application Instructions in advance. With the support of like-minded partners, Project for Public Spaces manages grant, technical assistance, and leadership programs that help local partners to transform their public spaces. Learn more about becoming a Social Impact Partner today.

Applications close on Monday, October 13, 2025 at 11:59pm EDT. Applications are now closed. Before applying, please review the full application instructions .

Still have questions? Contact us at grants@pps. org .

In a renewed effort to transform underused outdoor public spaces in Northwest Arkansas into welcoming community gathering places and third places , Project for Public Spaces is now accepting applications for the Community Placemaking Grants with the Walton Family Foundation.

Within the three-year partnership, the program will offer eight nonprofits or local government agencies in Benton and Washington Counties, Northwest Arkansas $100,000 each in direct funding and will include placemaking technical assistance and capacity building from our team, including community engagement, design and planning, and implementation support.

This first cycle will select four grantees, with a second cycle launching this fall to award the remaining four projects. Selection will be based on several criteria, including a commitment to social cohesion and inclusion, strength of community relationships, and project viability.

Each selected recipient will receive: $100,000 in funding for physical and programmatic improvements to a public space Design, research, community engagement, and implementation support from the Project for Public Spaces team Leadership development opportunities to meet and learn from fellow grantees and participate in Project for Public Spaces trainings and conferences Eligibility requirements: The recipient organization must be a U.S.-based 501c(3) nonprofit or local government agency.

The project site must be an outdoor space that is free and open to the public. The recipient organization must have the authority or permission to make physical improvements to this space. The project site must be a destination for people from across the city, town, or region.

(However, the site does not have to be located downtown.) The site must be located in Northwest Arkansas’ Washington or Benton County. Informational Webinar Recording: Learn more about the selection process and grantee experience.

Applications close on Monday, August 3 at 11:59pm ET. To view the application questions, timeline, and evaluation criteria, please review our application instructions in advance. Applications close on Monday, August 3 at 11:59pm ET.

Applications are now closed. Before applying, please review the full application instructions . Still have questions?

Contact us at grants@pps. org .

GrowHouse Pop-Up Civic Space GrowHouse Design + Development Group GrowHouse Pop-Up Civic Space Historic Twin Springs Park Historic Twin Springs Park Rochester Downtown Development Corporation Marion Public Library & Museum Courtyard Marion Public Library & Museum Marion Public Library & Museum Courtyard Parque Zaragoza's Traffic Garden Parque Zaragoza's Traffic Garden Shiloh Museum of Ozark History Entrance Shiloh Museum of Ozark History Shiloh Museum of Ozark History Entrance Downtown Dayton Partnership Downtown Arlington Management Corporation Buffalo Central Terminal Great Lawn Central Terminal Restoration Corporation Buffalo Central Terminal Great Lawn Each grantee receives direct funding for physical and programmatic improvements, as well as technical assistance and capacity building from Project for Public Spaces.

East Side Social District East Side Social District Downtown Detroit Partnership Springfield Cultural Partnership Pop-Up Civic Space Springfield Cultural Partnership Springfield Cultural Partnership Pop-Up Civic Space Leverett Elementary School Leverett Elementary School Leverett Elementary School Farmington Public Library Farmington Public Library Farmington Public Library Detroit Economic Growth Corporation (DEGC) Our Social Impact Partners Thank you!

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