Creating Whole Communities

The 2026 Neighborhood Leadership Fellows St. Louis Application is now open!
Seeking St. Louis residents, professionals, and volunteers who want to create stronger regional policies for neighborhoods!

The NLF program is for individuals residing or working in St. Louis City and parts of North St. Louis County. Neighborhood Leadership Fellows is a nine-month leadership training for community leaders aimed at increasing the voices of St. Louis City and North County residents at civic decision-making tables in order to produce stronger regional policies for neighborhoods. This Fellowship provides hands-on workshops on policy, research, and innovation promoting increased neighborhood development; positional power trainings for boards, commissions, and public office; collaborative learning through dialogue and presentations among fellows and experts; and civic mentoring from leaders and peers.

The program, set to convene on January 16, will meet one weekend a month in-person, and for mini-sessions one Wednesday a month virtually, for nine months from January through September 2026. All participants who complete the program will receive a $2,000 stipend and UMSL Chancellor's Certificate in Civic Leadership.

The application for the 2026 cohort of NLF is open! Click here to apply: https://forms.gle/JxrTrfBwSULnhuTS6
The deadline to submit the application is November 14th, 2025.

Visit: https://cwc.umsl.edu/nlf. For questions, contact Tasnim Haq at [email protected].

Creating Whole Communities Grant Opportunities (Apply Now!) - EXTENDED DEADLINES

Are you considering a community-focused research project? The Creating Whole Communities Research Fellows program offers two types of grants (APPLY NOW!) to support UMSL faculty and doctoral students partnering with community to address important place-based challenges through rigorous issue- and practice-based research.

1. Relationship Building Grant: This grant initiative seeks to support University-community partnerships in the exploration process of mutual interests and shared goals with the aim that this will lead to a trustworthy partnership, long-term collaboration, and achievement of community-desired goals. Up to $1,000 will be awarded to partnerships.
2. Research and Implementation Grant: This grant initiative seeks to support faculty research that implements a philosophy of Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) and address issues that are critical to local neighborhoods and municipalities. Up to $8,000 will be awarded to partnerships.

To view the grants information session recording for an in-depth overview of these grant opportunities, please contact [email protected].

Deadlines:
**Phase I (abstract): Friday, February 14, 2025
Phase II (full proposal): Friday, March 14, 2025
**The Phase I submission functions as an initial review to evaluate the applicability of the proposed project for the Faculty Fellows program. Applicants will be informed if their project aligns with the program criteria and can move forward with applying for the full proposal (Phase II). If there lacks alignment, applicants will receive feedback within 1-2 weeks to refine their proposal. Phase I entails submitting a concise abstract, outlining the project's key components and addressing the criteria on the project applicability checklist.

For more information and to apply, click here:

Faculty Research Fellows Program | UMSL The Creating Whole Communities Research Fellows program offers two types of grants to support UMSL faculty and doctoral students partnering with community to address important place-based challenges through rigorous issue- and practice-based research.

https://forms.gle/9oF6au8xAbJZWyLk9

Neighborhood Leadership Fellows 2025 Application is Open
The NLF program is for individuals residing or working in St. Louis City and parts of North St. Louis County. NLF is now open to an increased set of neighborhoods, beyond the Promise Zone. If you reside or work in the zip codes below, you may apply to NLF. Neighborhood Leadership Fellows is a nine-month leadership training for community leaders aimed at increasing the voices of St. Louis City and North County residents at civic decision-making tables in order to produce more equitable regional policies for neighborhoods. The program, set to convene on January 17, will meet one weekend a month in-person, and for mini-sessions one Wednesday a month virtually, for nine months from January through September 2025. All participants who complete the program will receive a $2,000 stipend and UMSL Chancellor's Certificate in Civic Leadership.

Apply here by November 15th: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScfyp5mXGUNRyQF8OgB_-7covEukfN3loZ6L3ccBuAMQoRmrA/viewform

For more information, click here:
https://www.umsl.edu/recd/ecd/community-development/neighborhood-leadership/fellows/index.html

Neighborhood Leadership Fellows | UMSL UMSL's Neighborhood Leadership Fellows is a 9-month civic fellowship for community leaders seeking to produce more equitable regional policies for their neighborhoods.