Alliance for Community Enrichment Program

Benefits of Becoming a Recognized Community

	Community Liaison A City of Gastonia staff member will be designated as a liaison between the City and your community. Community Liaisons are City employees that have the knowledge and experience to assist your community in different ways. These liaisons may regularly attend community association meetings to listen and respond to community concerns that can be addressed through City services and resources.
Block Party Trailer Packed full of outdoor games (including cornhole, giant Connect 4, giant Jenga, and much more), picnic tables, chairs, and sound system, this Block Party Trailer is ready to be dropped off in your community to be a FREE resource for your next neighborhood social gathering. Learn more and reserve the trailer by clicking HERE.
	Movie-in-a-Box Program This kit containseverything aneighborhood wouldneed to host aneighborhood movienight including a movie-screen, projector, Blu-rayplayer, and speakers. TheMovie-in-a-Box isavailable for RecognizedCommunities to utilize atno cost in order to hosttheir own movie night. Learn more and reserve the Movie-in-a-Box equipment by clicking HERE.
Monthly Newsletters As a means of keeping our citizens updated, a monthly newsletter is published and sent out to Recognized Community Leaders. These newsletters provide information of upcoming City-sponsored events, opportunities for public engagement and public comment periods, highlights from the City's Recognized Communities, and much more. View current and previous editions of the A.C.E. Newsletter by clicking HERE.
	A.C.E. Matching Grant Program As a means of keeping he goal of the grant program is to facilitate neighborhood self-improvement. The program gives Recognized Communities an incentive to raise funds, build partnerships, cultivate volunteer and community support to complete projects that improves the neighborhood physically or addresses a need through active involvement of the neighborhood residents themselves. Community building is core to the project success. Learn more by clicking HERE.
Priority to the Gastonia Municipal Citizens' Academy A 10-session municipal education program for adults begins each January and meets once every two weeks. Participants learn about the different aspects of Gastonia’s government, and learn first-hand about the services of the City. Leaders of Recognized Communities would have priority in participating in this academy. For more information about the Academy, click HERE.
	Access to Meeting Space without Fee With advanced notice and no conflicting reservations, recognized communities can request access to meeting space free of charge at local recreation centers, public facilities, fire departments, or police station.

 City Staff Attendance for Meetings
Should your community have a concern that primarily focuses on a single service that the City provides, the Community Liaison will assist your community with securing a City staff member from the Department that can address this concern at an upcoming meeting.

Community and Neighborhood Cleanups
The City of Gastonia makes continuous strides in keeping Gastonia aesthetically beautiful through litter clean-ups and beautification projects. Through a partnership with Keep Gastonia Beautiful neighborhoods and communities can request litter clean-up supplies, at no charge, for community litter sweep projects.

In order for a community or neighborhood to become a formally Recognized Community, a community leader should review and complete the application for Formal Recognition. This application can be completed online by clicking HERE.

If the community meets the needed criteria for recognition, as mentioned in the application, the Neighborhood Program Administrator will prepare all the necessary Council paperwork, including maps, and will notify the designated community contact as to when the community recognition request will be considered by City Council.

Once formally recognized, the Mayor will present the community with a Certificate of Recognition and the community will be assigned a Community Liaison. The liaison will serve as the community’s single point of contact with the City. Liaisons attend community meetings to provide information regarding City services and programs and to receive information from the community that may help the City in developing an effective response to the needs of the community.