Toledo program trains neighborhood groups to pursue funding, partner with city

The Toledo City Council Housing and Community Development Committee on April 24 heard a briefing on the Toledo Neighborhood Capacity Building Institute, a Community Development Block Grant-funded program that provides training and technical assistance to grassroots neighborhood organizations.

Department of Housing and Community Development Director Rosalind Clements, who led the presentation, told council the institute aims to build neighborhood groups' capacity to organize, develop strategic plans and access funding. "We want to build up that skill in our neighborhoods," Clements said. She said the program is now in its second cohort and is funded from CDBG planning and administrative dollars.

The institute, run in partnership with Reinvest Toledo, trimmed an original 21-module curriculum to 12 modules focused on areas city staff identified as most important for nonprofit sustainability. "By investing in capacity of our residents and small nonprofits, the true heart of our disinvested communities, we unlock their potential to revitalize…