Here’s some great news for a West Philly based nonprofit: Neighborhood Bike Works (NBW), which offers educational and recreational programs and career-building opportunities for youth and adults in underserved areas, was awarded a $100,000 grant this week. Impact100 Philadelphia, an all volunteer women’s collective giving group that funds Philadelphia nonprofits, selected NBW as one of the $100,000 grant winners after they presented their cause on Monday during Impact100’s sixth annual meeting. In total, $328,000 was awarded to five area nonprofits on Monday.

Neighborhood Bike Works receiving a $100,000 check from Impact100. (Photo courtesy Impact100 Philly).

Thanks to the grant, NBW can now move forward with some of their big plans.

First, a new West Philly hub is planned, which would bring NBW’s two sites, in West and North Philly, together. With the help of the Impact100 grant, this vision will become a reality. The new single hub will enable NBW to expand its programming, strengthen relationships with community partners, increase its retail and instructional spaces, and reduce the overhead costs associated with maintaining two facilities.

NBW will also launch a new program, Freedom to Ride, that will bring their services to the heart of the neighborhoods. NBW staff will go to schools and community centers and involve 100 new middle and high school students in an intensive 10-week program. The students participating in the program will build their own bikes and then go on cycling field trips to explore natural areas, like Bartram’s Garden and Cobbs Creek.

Finally, NBW is planning to launch a series of outreach activities to get families and communities engaged in cycling. They’re planning to train and employ teens as assistant instructors and ride leaders. Teenagers employed by NBW will go to block parties and other community events and will talk to the public about safe riding skills and offer quick bike tune-ups.

For more information about Neighborhood Bike Works and their work, visit: http://neighborhoodbikeworks.org/.

The regional non-profit Repair the World: Philadelphia just moved its headquarters to West Philly (4029 Market Street) and tonight from 6 – 8:30 p.m. community members are invited over to celebrate the brand new office’s opening together with staff and volunteers. We reported on the pending move last month.

The open house will have food, drinks and entertainment, including a photo booth and kids activities. You can also meet neighbors participating in community-building collaborative art projects.

One of the main goals of Repair the World is to mobilize Jewish youth to help improve communities and guests can learn about volunteer opportunities available in the area.

For more information, email: matthew.renick@werepair.org. The open house registration page is here.

Two years ago people participating in State Farm’s Neighborhood Assist campaign helped two West Philly non-profits, Neighborhood Bike Works and West Philly Tool Library, win $25,000 grants each for community improvement projects. This year, the youth-led philanthropic program has returned and anyone with a Facebook account can nominate and vote for their favorite local cause. The program’s goal is to improve neighborhoods in three important ways: education, community development and safety.

Here’s how it works:

• Identify and submit a cause using the Facebook app from March 3 through March 23, 2014.
• The first 4,000 Neighborhood Assist submissions will be reviewed by the State Farm Youth Advisory Board (YAB).
• Two hundred finalists will be chosen.
• The finalists will be announced on Facebook.
• Public voting to select the winners takes place April 28-May 16.
• Winners will be announced on May 27 on Facebook.

Forty causes with the highest numbers of votes will be selected to receive the grants. In 2013, over 3.4 million votes were cast and the difference between the 40th and 41st cause was only 62 votes! For more information about the program, click here.

Come this fall, Mighty Writers will ink its missive on the streets of West Philly.

The beloved Philly nonprofit dedicated to teaching Philadelphia’s youth to think and write with clarity will open its third location, Mighty Writers West, housed in People’s Emergency Center at 3861 Lancaster Avenue. Fall programs will launch September 16, and former Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Annette John-Hall will serve as Mighty Writers West program director.

This is a new Mighty Writers site in West Philly. They are looking for someone who can replace the words “Make Your Mark” with “Mighty Writers.” (Photo via Mighty Writers’ Facebook page).

“We’re excited because the kids and volunteers we meet in West Philly will define the flavor of Mighty Writers West,” Maggie Leyman, Mighty Writers’ development director, told West Philly Local.  “We’ll incorporate a lot of what we’ve learned in South Philly, but we can’t wait to learn what gets West Philly kids excited, and what gets them writing.”

According to Leyman,opening locations in the North, South and West locations of Philadelphia was Mighty Writers’ intention from the start, as the non-profit’s “honing in on three neighborhoods” it sees as underserved and “reasonably far apart.” In West Philadelphia, she said, Mighty Writers will be able to reach those kids who have traveled to the South Philadelphia location for past workshops, as well as kids who wouldn’t travel to either location, but are interested in its programs. Still, the non-profit does understand that the entire city “needs more accessible and free out-of-school programs.”

“Our executive director, Tim Whitaker, always says that you could put a Mighty Writers, or pretty much any writing program, every ten blocks and you’d see programs filled to capacity,” Leyman told West Philly Local. “The whole city is underserved, as far as kids’ educations are concerned. We wish we could put a Mighty Writers in even more Philly communities but that would take some serious funding.”

Mighty Writers will host an open house at the new location in early September “to welcome people into Mighty Writers West so they can sign up for programs, meet our staff and volunteers, and see what we’re all about,” said Leyman.

Mighty Writers West is also currently accepting applications for its afterschool program for students in grades 5-8 residing or going to school in one of the following ZIP codes: 19104, 19131, 19139 or 19143. For more info and to download an application, click here. Application deadline is August 15, 2013.

–Annamarya Scaccia

Until next Monday, July 15, local nonprofit organizations with a strong community-centric focus are encouraged to apply for a $10,000 grant provided by West Philly-based Vineyard Community Church (VCC). Last year VCC developed “Building It Together,” a capital campaign to renovate a building at 123 S. 51st Street into a worship space and community center. Ten percent of the proceeds was set aside to fund a new capital grant program. The purpose of the grant program is to “support new capital-intensive, community-centric philanthropic endeavors in Philadelphia and around the world.”

To be eligible for the grant, your organization doesn’t have to be faith-based and doesn’t have to be located in West Philadelphia, but organizations that meet either of these criteria will receive preference for funding. Funding is to be used for capital projects only, and is not eligible for operating and maintenance activities. Eligible activities include labor for construction, purchase of equipment, materials, and supplies.

For more information on eligibility, evaluation criteria and how to apply, please visit: http://www.vineyardwestphilly.org/serve/bit-capital-grant/. Deadline for applications is 5 p.m. on July 15, 2013. All applications should be emailed to: erik.johanson@gmail.com.