Have you recently moved from a piece of Middlesex Ontario real estate to a zip in Akron, and want to see some improvement in your new community? Have you been involved in a neighborhood improvement program here in Akron for a few years, but think that things could be a little bit easier if you were just able to track down some more money?

There is some great news. Buried deep in the Akron municipal government web site, there is a special little nugget of a program called the Akron Neighborhood Partnership program.

The truth is, city officials and planners are just as interested in building and maintaining high quality neighborhoods as the people living in those areas themselves. Better streets and communities mean safer, happier citizens, a better economy, and higher housing prices. It's a principle that has worked from Dallas to Vancouver. Auto body shop workers and lawyers alike can all work together to make their living spaces better places to be.

That is why this partnership program has been set up. The specific goal is to help improve Akron neighborhoods through the work of individuals and their input into what makes a great neighborhood. It doesn't matter whether you speak English as a second language or no English at all, you still want your community to shine.

The partnership program offers grants to those organizations which have been set up to improve their neighborhoods. It could be a safety program, a kids' club, a church group, and so on. The city screens applications each year and determines who will get these grants.

The process is based on several criteria. First, the quality of the project itself. Dollar for dollar, will it provide a measurable improvement in your neighborhood? Next, how many people from your neighborhood are participating in the project? The more the merrier, and the more likely you are to have the grant awarded to your project to pay for items such as a tubing cutter and other details.

Finally, the amount of the grant will be determined by how much money you and your organization can raise. The program makes the grants on a dollar for dollar basis, from $500 right up to $7500. If you want to make your neighborhood worthy of the pictures you see for a wedding rental in Hamilton company's ads, then getting a grant through the program for your project is the way to do it.