STATE FARM ROLLS OUT GRANT FOR NEIGHBORHOOD IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS

State Farm is gearing up for its 10th year of the Neighborhood Assist program, which will provide $25,000 to 40 organizations across the country. Last year, four Illinois ideas won the money. Photo provided by Lisa L. Cooper
State Farm is gearing up for its 10th year of the Neighborhood Assist program, which will provide $25,000 to 40 organizations across the country. Last year, four Illinois ideas won the money. Photo provided by Lisa L. Cooper

State Farm rolls out grant for Neighborhood Improvement Projects

BY TIA CAROL JONES
      Individuals and organizations are once again able to win $25,000 in grant money for neighborhood improvement projects with State Farm’s Neighborhood Assist program. Last year, there were four Illinois organizations that won.
     Lisa L. Cooper is a corporate responsibility analyst for State Farm. She said the Neighborhood Assist program is State Farm’s way of allowing the community to tell State Farm what ideas they have that will
help the community. She said initially, it was only supposed to run for three years, but it became so popular, that it was continued. This year is the tenth year. Since Neighborhood Assist began, more than 340 causes have received $9 million.
     “State Farm is pleased to bring back Neighborhood Assist for its 10th year,” Rasheed Merritt, assistant vice president at State Farm, said in a release. “This program is all about building stronger neighborhoods
together.”
     Starting at noon on Wednesday, June 2, those interested can visit www.neighborhoodassist. com. Submissions will end when State Farm receives 2,000 entries.
   From those 2,000 entries, State Farm will have a review committee narrow those entries down to 200 submissions. From Wednesday-Friday, Aug. 18-27, people will be able to vote via the website. The 40 ideas that win the most votes will receive $25,000.
    The winners will be announced on Wednesday, Sept. 29. Applicants have to answer three questions and submit photos of the kind of programs they want to create, if they win the money.
     Cooper said State Farm has a regular philanthropic giving program focused on auto safety, home safety, financial literacy, things that align with the business’ purpose.
     “Neighborhood Assist gives us the opportunity to hear directly from the people,” she said. “We like it that people bring us their ideas and they make this possible.”
     Cooper said the Neighborhood Assist program grant money is larger than what she could do with organizations locally.
     The Bloc, an organization on the city’s West Side that uses the sport of boxing to create access to educational resources won $25,000 in 2020 and 2018. Open Heart Magic, an organization that brings bedside magic to hospitalized kids, also won in 2020.
     Cooper said it is a very grassroots program and the small grassroots groups seem to work out a little better than the larger organizations.
Past winners have been smaller organizations, she said.
     Individuals can connect with nonprofit organizations to help bring their vision to fruition or they can be matched with nonprofit organizations that are willing to do the work, Cooper said. She added, last year, a well-known, larger organization made it to the top 200, but didn’t make it to the top 40 winners. “Now you would think with all
the programs they work with and all the people they employ, that it would be easy for them to get votes,” Cooper said. She added,
normally, Illinois has between two to three winners.
     “There’s definitely an opportunity there if people connect to it and really work it for those 10 days to get the votes,” she said.
“It gives a little broader aspect of programs and projects to consider rather than just the normal course of business, auto safety, home
safety, fire safety, financial literacy, so it gives us a little broader access,” Cooper added.

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