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CITY BEAUTIFICATION

The Beautiful York Endowment is a source of charitable support to preserve, protect and enhance the beauty of the City of York, Pennsylvania, now and for generations to come. The Beautiful York Endowment is the merged product of two separate beautification initiatives begun in 2002 by the City of York and York County Community Foundation.

The Community Foundation's efforts began with contacts from the City and other groups seeking funds for a variety of arts and city beautification projects. The Community Foundation convened a dozen groups who in time decided to help coordinate the planning and make recommendations about effective mechanisms for ongoing collaboration. Initial work included a series of stakeholder interviews followed by the first "Summit on City Beautification," held in March 2004 involving 70 persons in coordinated planning and priority-setting for city beautification. The idea of creating an endowment fund at York County Community Foundation emerged in conversations with Mayor John Brenner and was developed by the Community Foundation and the City's Economic Development Director. The endowment proposal received resounding support from Beautification Summit participants.

In 2008, York County Community Foundation will award mini-grants of up to $5000 for a one-year period, June 1 through May 31. The Community Foundation intends on awarding multiple grants totaling $11,000. $30,000 will be reserved for proposals specifically targeting a Priority project endorsed by the Beautiful York Action Plan.

City Beautification Grant applications are due March 1st for the spring grant cycle.

GOALS. In keeping with the YorkCounts goal of strengthening the county's vital urban cores, the Beautiful York Endowment will support programs and projects with the boundaries of the City of York that: Advance the 10 Guiding Principals of the Beautiful York Action Plan. Promote stewardship and enhancement of York's natural and built environment Promote inclusion of the arts in designs of the urban environment Promote excellence in the design and construction of a changing cityscape Create amenities that enrich the lives of residents, enliven the tourism experience for visitors, and create a supportive environment for retaining and attracting businesses and employees Encourage collaboration among groups engaged in the above improvement efforts Encourage coordinated, comprehensive planning to insure high-quality products and maximize their positive impact.

Beautiful York Action Plan