Community Revitalization

Blueprint Communities Program--The Blueprint Communities Delaware program is carried out through a partnership between the University of Delaware Center for Community Research and Service and the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh. Launched in 2008, Its purpose is to provide intensive training, technical assistance, coaching as well as initial seed funding to competitively selected neighborhoods throughout the state to help them formulate plans to revitalize their communities. Nine communities were selected in 2008: four are located inside the municipal limits of Wilmington, four are in close proximity to the city of Wilmington, and one neighborhood is located within the city of Dover. Over the course of 12 months the planning team for each of these communities utilized the training, technical assistance and data they received from the program to formulate plans and programs to transform their neighborhoods. In addition to the training and other support given to the planning teams, the program also awarded over $100,000 in competitive grants to the participating teams to help them complete and begin implementing their revitalization strategies. Funding for the Blueprint Communities Delaware program and the grants it awarded came from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Pittsburgh, the University of Delaware, the Delaware Community Investment Corporation and the Delaware Community Foundation. Funding is currently being sought to continue this very successful program.  Read more about the projects developed and implemented through this initiative.

In 2011, a new round of teams was selected through a competitive application process.  The news teams are from the Browntown Neighborhood in Wilmington and from Georgetown in Sussex County and are currently participating in an intensive training program and preparing to develop their community revitalization plans.  Many new members of the teams selected in 2008 are also participating in the training process and preparing to review and refresh their revitalization plans and programmatic efforts.

Wilmington Area Neighborhood Development Initiative (WAND)--Through the continued support of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, CCRS has had the opportunity to increase its revitalization work with the original Blueprint Communities teams.  Teams have had the opportunity for further training, technical assistance, and support.  The next phase of WAND which launched in November 2011has expanded the initiative to allow for new neighborhood revitalization efforts to begin through the recruitment and training of of a team from the Browntown neighborhood on Wilmington.