FAQ: The Community Project

What is The Community Project?
The Community Project is a program offered by the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health that provides incorporated Idaho cities the opportunity to unite community leaders and residents to define, design, and create outdoor spaces that bring people together. The Community Project is a three-step process:

• Identify the community space (city park, town hall, library, etc.)
• Collaborate with community members and groups to cocreate a design and plan for the space
• The project comes to life through Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health funding

Who can apply?
Only staff or elected officials of any incorporated Idaho city that has attended the Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health’s Community Health Academy can apply for this grant. The application period for 2024 will be announced soon.

Why The Community Project?
The Blue Cross of Idaho Foundation for Health works to create a healthier Idaho by bringing people together and creating partnerships in communities. We take pride in listening to our partners, and we are hearing that cities are looking for ways to bring people together for the benefit of the community.

What types of projects will be funded by The Community Project grants?
Idahoans love the outdoors and their parks, so we envision projects in those areas that would be accessible to all community members, especially families and children.

That could mean a picnic area, pavilion, splash pad, walking paths, trails, gazebos, community gardens, park upgrades, or something else that a community brainstorms.

The Foundation will contribute up to $85,000 toward the project. Communities can contribute or seek additional funds for larger projects. Please note: The Community Project is for new projects and those still being developed with community input.

What do cities receive if awarded one of The Community Project grants?
The Foundation will fund the construction of the project (up to $85,000) and provide a technical assistance contractor to help support community engagement and lead community focus groups. The Foundation will help create communications strategies, including surveys and mailers for communities to distribute, assist with ribbon cutting celebrations and social media support. A focus of this grant is community engagement and cocreating a community space to bring neighbors together, and we’ll be there to support cities in that mission.

What should cities expect if selected and what obligations do they have in the grant process?
Awarded communities must allocate staff time or find outside support to help with community engagement, which is expected to be about 80 hours over the entire project. The Foundation will pay a small stipend on top of the grant to help support the workload. It is important that the community allows time for deep and thoughtful community engagement to get a wide variety of voices for this project. The focus should be on voices not typically heard at a city council meeting – youth, seniors, and multilingual community members.

Cities must have allocated space for a project, such as a green space, park, or other site to develop a community project. Concepts need to have some city support already so that the process runs smoothly and can come to fruition in 2025.

What types of community engagement are expected?
School surveys, focus groups, social media outreach, mailers are ways to communicate and reach the community. This outreach will be done in March and April to allow time to decide on a project and get it completed in a timely fashion.

The Foundation and its technical assistance support will cocreate material needed for community engagement with the city. The city liaison will help create survey questions and offer ways to get their input on The Community Project.

What is The Community Project timeline?

2024 timeline and details are coming soon!