Community Building and Organizing Program - Program Services

Membership Program
Members of CB&O Programs are NeighborWorks affiliates who are committed to resident leadership development, community building, and supporting or creating resident-led groups that work for positive community change. They have dedicated staff or volunteers assigned to this work, a CB&O work plan, and strategies for excelling in this work. Many member organizations also carry out advocacy, community organizing campaigns, youth development and organizing, community planning and other activities that bring residents together to revitalize their communities.

Member organizations have access to specialized grants and technical assistance geared towards strengthening their CB&O work, opportunities for peer sharing with other CB&O members, and other timely information and resources. In exchange, they report quarterly on CB&O activities and outcomes, enabling CB&O Programs to aggregate data at the national level.

Impact Grants: The purpose of these grants is to deepen the impact of CB&O members’ community level work.  Grants are available on a competitive basis to Community Building & Organizing Program members only.

Peer to Peer Learning Opportunities: The purpose of CB&O Peer Learning Site Visits is to facilitate adoption of impactful practices in community building, organizing and resident leadership development across the NeighborWorks network. This resource opportunity is open to Community Building & Organizing Programs members only. .

CB&O Green initiatives: This new initiative assists member organizations to apply equity and organizing principles to Green + Community Building efforts in order to deepen the impact of these efforts. Through grants, training and application of new tools, this opportunity will assist selected member organizations to strengthen current green programming in the following ways:

• Increase opportunities for community residents to build their leadership;
• Build upon local assets, resources, materials, history and culture;
• Connect fractured communities and develop social capital;
• Recognize how their green activities connect to regional systems.

Supporting communities in the Gulf Coast
The Community Building & Organizing Programs supports a small number of community-based organizations in the Gulf Coast in order to strengthen resident voice in the community development process. This support is provided through regional training events, and limited grants and technical assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

• How do I become a CB&O Member? CB&O membership is offered to affiliated NeighborWorks organizations (NWOs) which have a designated line of business in this area. If you are an NWO with CB&O as a line of business, contact your District office regarding membership.
• Can I apply for CB&O Grants? Most CB&O Programs grant opportunities are open to  affiliated NeighborWorks organizations with a designated line of business for Community Building and Organizing  or by invitation only.
• Does the CB&O Programs provide any services to non-NeighborWorks organizations? Non-NeighborWorks organizations can register for relevant courses at NeighborWorks Training Institutes, and access the NeighborWorks Building Leaders, Building Communities resident leadership curriculum by signing up for a train-the-trainer course, offered through the NeighborWorks Training Division.
• Where can I find volunteer opportunities? Contact the CB&O organization near you.