Urban Conservation and Community

08/06/2026

🗓Save the dates : Fundraising for Your Public Space: Simple Strategies, Systems, and Structures for the Busy Practitioner 🗓

Project for Public spaces is hosting a two-session interactive mini-course designed specifically for public space practitioners and leaders who want to skip the academic theories and focus on real-world tools: the core structures and systems that translate big-picture goals into an achievable action plan that brings in funding.

Offered in partnership with Mandy Moody, MNA of Odeo Consulting, the curriculum is designed specifically for public space practitioners and leaders who want practical tools to focus their fundraising efforts that they can implement right away. Early registration and scholarship application will open on Sunday, August 9.

Check them out here:

Keeping public spaces thriving requires reliable funding. This mini-course helps place-based organizations shift from reactive fundraising to a more sustainable, strategic approach. Early registration opens on August 9.

08/04/2026

🚨Grant Alert: Game On-Community Places to Play 🚨
DICK'S Sporting Goods Foundation and LISC have partnered to provide grants in the $50,000-$100,000 range. These grants aim to improve the quality, safety, and accessibility of local athletic spaces for young people. These grants will require 1:1 match funding. Funds will be awarded to outdoor and indoor facilities that enable and demonstrate local community access and usage for all organized youth sports, including but not limited to basketball, baseball, softball, soccer, football, tennis, lacrosse, and volleyball.
Check them out here:
https://www.lisc.org/our-initiatives/sports-recreation/game-on/

07/31/2026

Congratulations to our final OXO recipient, First Ward Community Service! They will be using this grant to purchase supplies and make capital improvements to their garden infrastructure as well as conduct community engagement.

07/28/2026

Congratulations to our OXO grantee Street Garden! They will be using this grant to construct a pavilion with tables, seating, and a solar panel system! This grant will also be used to provide engagement and educational opportunities such as gardening technicians and volunteer clean-ups.

07/24/2026

Congratulations to our OXO grantee Merrick-Moore Community Development Corporation! MMCDC will be using this grant for the expansion and enhancement of local pollinator habitats, the implementation of wellness programming and community food distribution events at Samuel Green Sr. Community Garden.

07/20/2026

🚨Grant Alert🚨
The August 1st deadline for the Cliff Family Open Call grant is approaching rapidly. These grants support general operating costs for 501(c)3 organizations, or organizations fiscally sponsored by a 501(c)3. Grant awards typically range from $5,000 to $50,000.

Check them out here

07/17/2026

🤓Don't Miss It - Register for the UCC Annual Peer Exchange today! 🤓
RSVP today to secure your spot at our annual conference for urban conservation practitioners. This year the Peer Exchange will be in Atlanta, Georgia October 14th-16th. We will be having important and relevant discussions about challenges facing our communities like green gentrification, green stormwater infrastructure and much more. We can't wait to hear from all of you about your successes and challenges and share what we've been up to this year!
Register Here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/QZN32SN

07/10/2026

Over the next couple weeks we will be announcing our Catalytic Grant winners. Thank you to everyone that submitted, it was a privilege to read about your work!

Our first grantee is Southeast Environmental Task Force's Land for Healing in the Calumet. This initiative will identify and evaluate vacant, underutilized, and ecologically significant properties across Southeast Chicago and the broader Calumet region for future conservation, restoration, and community stewardship. Through community engagement, environmental analysis, and land-use planning, the project will create a roadmap for protecting and restoring land that can support green infrastructure, habitat restoration, community healing spaces, and increased public access to nature. Together, we are helping ensure that the future of the Calumet region is shaped by community vision, environmental restoration, climate resilience, and local stewardship.

07/08/2026

🎉Fellow Spotlight🎉
Our fourth and final UCC Fellow with Micah 6 Community is Sylvia! Sylvia helps share fresh produce and gardening knowledge with neighbors while building community. They connect with local organizations that share the same value of providing fresh produce to communities with a higher need. Sylvia has a background in health science, wellness, and health promotion. She has been in urban gardening and fresh food space in Pontiac since 2020. Their passion is supporting physical wellness through fresh food!

07/02/2026

🎉Fellow Spotlight 🎉
Hailing from the Bay Area, California, Tina has worked as a filmmaker, special education care provider, and community organizer. She's thrilled to join Amigos de los Rios - Emerald Necklace Group in their work, to be of service to the watershed of the LA basin and to all people who live within it. She's excited to join a team that aspires for every being, of every age and species, to have a safe and peaceful place to live, learn, and grow, without fear of displacement or abuse. In her spare time, you'll find her foraging wild food and painting with friends.