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Add a dash of ‘Small Sparks’ to your own 2013 Capitol Hill block party

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Night Out 2012 (Image: David Lavin for CHS)

$1,000 could make for one fun ‘Night Out’ and the Seattle Department of Neighborhoods has the funds to make it happen. The Night Out mini block parties against crime will be popping up on the Hill August 6, and the city is ready to help your street make the most of the 29th annual event or in helping your community project.

From their Small Sparks Fund, the SDON will match up to $1,000 for neighborhood projects promoting engagement in the community. Last year the program collectively gave out $28,845 in Small Sparks Awards to 34 groups with the Republican P-Patch receiving $550 in funding due to the “community garden’s efforts to create more public spaces for the community,” Department of Neighborhoods rep Lois Maag said. It’s the community part that will help your project generate some funds.

A City of Seattle release lists a couple of example events/activities that receive funding as, “outreach efforts, educational fairs, youth concert, bike parades, neighborhood cleanups, and entertainment.” The applicants are already starting to pile up. Maag tells CHS, “So far there are approximately 40 applications in the system (in other words, they are working on the application, but have not submitted them yet).” The funding awards are available year round, but if you need help getting your Night Out event off the ground, the city has cash for that as well.

“The deadline to apply is July 8 and I expect a bunch [of proposals] coming in on that date,” Maag tells CHS. If your planning to get city funding for your Night Out registration needs to be completed by July 1. In 2012 two Central District groups pulled in a collective $850 from the fund for Night Out, and with recent crime woos on the Hill, the event comes at a fitting time.

Last year the event featured 1,366 registered events across the city, but a look at the Seattle Police map of Night Out events currently lists the only Hill gathering as Friends of 19th and Madison Park. This will kick off at 6pm August 6, but you can expect to see that map beef up over the coming weeks as people register their Night Out soirees.

CHS caught the fun at last year’s Night Out, and 2011, and 2010 — can we get some of those city funds? You can learn more about the Small Sparks Fund here, and the following document expands on the fund and its relation to the Night Out: Night Out Small Sparks Frequently Asked Questions

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