Citizens' Institute on Rural Design - Request for Funding

The Citizens' Institute on Rural Design recently announced a funding opportunity for rural communities looking to host workshops to help address local design challenges. Funding for five winners will entail $45,000 in financial and technical assistance. The contest is open to communities with populations of 50,000 or less.

The organization explained in a recent press release:

Design and development challenges include but are not limited to the following: Main Street revitalization, managing and shaping community growth, the design of community-supportive transportation systems, preservation of natural and historic landscapes and buildings, protecting working agricultural lands, and maximizing the role of arts and culture as an economic driver for local and regional economies.

The deadline for submitting a proposal is Tuesday January 12, 2016 at 11:00 pm EST.

A bit of history on the organization (taken from its website):

CIRD has convened more than 70 workshops in all regions of the country, empowering residents to leverage local assets for the future in order to build better places to live, work, and play. Initially a partnership among the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the State University of New York (SUNY) at Syracuse, the program was managed by Richard Hawks and Shelley Mastran from 1991-2012.

This would be a fantastic opportunity for our members in rural areas. We encourage you to apply.

You can read more and apply here. 

(Top photo from CIRD website)