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FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 NEIGHBORHOOD GRANT PROGRAM
APPLICATION GUIDELINES
Purpose of the Neighborhood Grant Program
The City of Mountain View is committed to the preservation and renewal of neighborhoods. The City believes that the power to maintain and improve neighborhoods lies in strengthening the civic participation of Mountain View residents in their community. T he Neighborhood Grant Program provides financial support to encourage groups to form new neighborhood associations as well as to support existing associations with funding for neighborhood events.
Application Deadline
Applications will be available starting Saturday, March 1, 2026, and are due by 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. All applications will need to be submitted using the online form on the Council Neighborhoods Committee (CNC) webpage at:
www.mountainview.gov/neighborhoodgrants. Applications must be submitted via the online form. Incomplete or late applications will not be accepted. T h e C N C w i l l h o l d a m e e ti n g o n April 30, 2026 to listen to public comments on the grant proposals and make decisions on the 2026 Neighborhood Grant Awards.
Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for the Neighborhood Grant Program, all of the following criteria must be met.
1. Applicants must be representatives of a group, not an individual. A group can be an existing neighborhood association within the City of Mountain View, a group of individuals who are organizing to form a new neighborhood association, an informal neighborhood group, or a mobile home park resident committee. Special- interest groups (e.g., groups focused on sports or the arts), individuals, businesses, fraternal or religious groups, universities, and public agencies are not eligible applicants for the Neighb orhood Grant Program. However, applicants that are eligible for the Neighborhood Grants Program may partner with these types of applicants to plan and implement activities/events.
2. Applicants must specify a contiguous geographic area their group serves. Groups cannot be a Citywide or general group not tied to a specific geography within Mountain View.
Groups are not disqualified due to overlapping geographies. The application includes a map to indicate your geographic area.
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3. Activities/events must be neighborhood- based and initiated by residents living in the neighborhood or mobile home park.
4. Activities/events must be aimed at improving communication and participation or improving physical conditions within a neighborhood or mobile home park.
Selection Criteria
The applications will be evaluated by the CNC using the following criteria:
• Benefit: How many people are expected to benefit from the activities/events?
• Involvement: H o w m a n y p e o p l e a r e i n v o l v e d i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t a n d coordination of activities/events?
• Program Design: Are the activities/events well-planned and conceptualized?
Activity/Event Team
The applicant is required to form an activity/event team consisting of at least four members of the neighborhood or mobile home park who will be responsible for managing the activity/event.
The team will be required to provide a written activity/event summary to document the achievements of the activity(ies)/event(s). The team should also be av ailable to provide an oral presentation of the accomplishments to the CNC, if requested.
Maximum Grant Awards
A total of $50,000 is available for the Neighborhood Grant Program supplemented with an additional $7,500 in pilot funding to fund groups that are first -time applicants. Neighborhood Grants may be awarded up to the maximum amount outlined in Table 1 below, which is based on the number of households covered by the neighborhood group.
All grant funds must be used between July 1, 2026 and June 30, 2027. There is no carryover of funds that are not used within this time frame.
Table 1: Maximum Grant Awards by Tier
Tier A: <500 households $1,333
Tier B: 501-1,000 households $2,000
Tier C: 1,001-1,500 households $2,667
Tier D: >1,501 households $3,333
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Examples of Eligible and Ineligible Grant Activities/Events
Several types of activities/events may be eligible for the Neighborhood Grants Program if they build community, enhance the neighborhood, and are intended to benefit all neighborhood residents. Some examples of prior Neighborhood Grant activities/events are listed below.
Table 2: Examples of Eligible Projects
Beautification or Enhancement • Neighborhood cleanups, including dumpster rental • Tree planting
• Little Free Libraries
Community Events • Neighborhood block parties/picnics
• Ice cream socials
• Neighborhood heroes day
• Live music events
• Youth events
• Neighborhood garage sales
• Neighborhood scavenger hunts
• Restaurant and catered food with the following
conditions:
— Delivery costs will be reimbursed up to a
maximum of $50;
— The maximum per-person amount for
restaurant purchases is $10 per person; and
— Purchasing food from food trucks or booking a
food truck for an event is an eligible use of
funds under the restaurant category.
History and Archives • Research/archives for neighborhood history
Neighborhood Group Capacity Building • Neighborhood association website hosting • Video call-hosting subscriptions
• Leadership training
• Neighborhood association newsletters
• Recruitment events
• Planning meetings
• Mentoring new associations
• Advertisements for association events
• Neighborhood association incorporation
• Assistance to form new associations
For projects proposed at a City park or facility, an additional permit may be required. If a City permit is needed, applicants must contact the Recreation Division in the Community Services Department to obtain the appropriate permits. To check availability and permit requirements, visit www.MountainView.gov/Reservations or call the Recreation Division at 650-903-6331.
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Events held on City streets, such as block parties, require a Block Party Permit from the Police Department. For more information, contact the Police Department at 650-903-6344.
Examples of Ineligible Grant Activities/Events and Expenditures
Neighborhood Grants must be used for activities/events that benefit and are open to all households within the neighborhood group. Grant funds cannot be used to directly benefit individuals or homeowners’ associations.
Examples of activities/events and expenditures that are ineligible for Neighborhood Grants are listed below.
• Political activities (campaigns, candidate forums, etc.).
• Regular neighborhood association meeting supplies/refreshments.
• Homeowners association events, meetings, newsletters, etc.
• Improvements that directly benefit a household or homeowners association.
• Equipment that could be primarily used by individuals rather than at neighborhood events, such as portable barbecue grills.
• Improvements in the public right-of-way, such as trees or landscaping, unless done with the approval of and partnership with appropriate City departments.
• Alcoholic beverages.
Alternate Projects
Grant recipients are expected to make a good-faith effort to complete the activities listed in their grant applications. However, if a grant recipient is unable to complete the activity for which they received funding, they may request one-time approval for an alternate project as long as it is eligible for funding in accordance with the grant program guidelines and falls into the same category as the original project.
Any deviation from the activities listed in the grant recipient’s application will be reviewed by staff and must receive approval for compliance with program requirements and confirmation that no other alternate projects have been approved for the grant reci pient in the current grant year .
Grant recipients must receive approval prior to beginning the alternate project to ensure their eligibility for reimbursement. To request review of an alternate project, any of the listed project leads may email [email protected]
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Applications
T h e C N C e n c o u r a g e s i n t e r e s t e d g r o u p s t o p a r ti c i p a t e i n t h i s p r o g r a m . P l e a s e fi l l o u t t h e application available at: www.mountainview.gov/neighborhoodgrants.
City Agreement
All neighborhood groups or associations receiving Neighborhood Grants will be required to enter into an agreement with the City regarding the use of grant funds and term of grant funding.
Reimbursements will not be processed until an agreement has been executed.
Reimbursement of Grant Expenditures
Grant funds are disbursed to awarded neighborhood groups or associations on a quarterly reimbursement basis of expenses for eligible grant activities. Only out -of-pocket expenses, meaning those paid for with the association/individual’s own money rather than paid for with money from another source (e.g., gift card, EBT card, etc.), are eligible for reimburseme nt.
Reimbursement checks are issued to the neighborhood activity/event team leader.
To receive reimbursements, grantees should complete the following:
• Submit reimbursement requests on a quarterly basis. Please refer to the schedule outlined in Table 3 below.
Table 3: Grant Reimbursement Schedule
When Items Were
Paid For
When Reimbursement
Request is Due
Quarter 1 Jul 1-Sep 30 By Oct 31
Quarter 2 Oct 1-Dec 31 By Jan 30
Quarter 3 Jan 1-Mar 31 By April 30
Quarter 4 Apr 1-Jun 30 By July 30
• Submit dated receipts and similar verifiable documentation of expenses along with a description of the neighborhood event/activity to: https://cityofmountainview- hrhcy.formstack.com/forms/cnc_reimbursement_request_form. Upload verification documentation in PDF format.
• Separate personal expenses from eligible Neighborhood Grant activities/events. Refer to lists of eligible/ineligible activities/events above.
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Questions and Comments
For questions or comments about the Neighborhood Grant Program, please email [email protected] or call 650-903-6301.