North Kenwood Neighborhood Association

NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATIONS - Why We Need Them!!

Jul 05, 2001

Neighborhood Organizing Associations


Neighborhood Partnership works closely with the Council of Neighborhood Associations (CONA) and the Federation of Inner-City Community Organizations (FICO) to encourage and support the formation of neighborhood associations. There are 102 neighborhood associations, 9 business associations and 5 umbrella groups.

CONA, FICO, Neighborhood Partnership and many of the existing associations serve as valuable resources for areas that wish to organize. Neighborhood Partnership provides technical assistance, mailouts, flyers and serves as a resource directory for City services. CONA has a neighborhood handbook offers examples of running meetings, agendas, bylaws and articles of incorporation. CONA also conducts an annual leadership training session that encourages all neighborhoods to build continuing leadership.

A business umbrella group - Council of Business Associations (COBA) formed in 1999 to address the concerns of business districts. COBA is modeled after CONA.

Neighborhood Partnership maintains the mailing list for neighborhood and business groups. This list is used by the various City departments for notification purposes (i.e. boards, commissions, projects, etc.). Staff also maintains a neighborhood association map which outlines the boundaries identified by the residents with those association areas. The map is updated whenever the City is notified that a new organization has formed.

There are numerous reasons for forming neighborhood associations: safety, representation, stronger voice, social and monetary. The organization can be the "voice" for residents when working with the City, private agencies or other neighborhood groups. There are grants available for organized groups to improve their neighborhoods.

Accomplishments

The number of organized neighborhood and business associations are at the highest level in the history of the City.

There are 102 neighborhood associations currently in existence. This is an increase of 33 since February 1997. Nearly 90 percent of the residentially zoned areas of the City is covered by neighborhood associations.