"Best of Neighborhood Contest" in Battle Creek, MI

Category: Best Postpurchase Strategy

Information About Innovation:
Title:	"Best of Neighborhood Contest" in Battle Creek, MI
Summary:	Neighborhoods Inc. of Battle Creek, Michigan, created a “Best of Neighborhood” contest to encourage investments in home maintenance and exterior home improvements. Over the past two years, sixty-four residents have competed in five categories; Best Front Porch, Best Front Yard, Best Back Yard, Best Curb Appeal and Best Group Effort. The contest supports other neighborhood revitalization efforts.
Detailed Description:	Since 1992,Neighborhoods Inc. of Battle Creek (NIBC) has been helping neighbors create healthy neighborhoods. We believe a healthy neighborhood is a place where residents and businesses are willing to invest time, effort and money and manage the day-to-day issues on their blocks. To accomplish this, NIBC offers a number of services to residents including Financial Fitness education, pre- and post-homeownership classes, home purchase assistance, low-interest home improvement loans, Community Builders™ leadership training, and one-shot home improvement workshops. The “Best Of” contest is a cost-effective strategy designed to encourage residents to improve the curb appeal of their homes. Residents compete in the categories of; Best Front Porch, Best Front Yard, Best Back Yard, and Best Overall Curb Appeal. In general, judges make their decisions based on well-maintained exterior, creativity, landscaping, and overall curb appeal. Just prior to National NeighborWorks® Week, NIBC holds a flower sale for residents. NIBC purchases several hundred flats of a variety of flowers and sells them at a discount to residents. Many neighbor groups collaborate in advance to develop a flower theme for their block. For example, a neighborhood association discovered that the red geranium had historical relevance in their neighborhood. For the Historic Northside neighborhood the red geranium has become the neighborhoods’ floral indicator. NIBC partners with a variety of organizations including Leila Arboretum Society (LAS). LAS offers landscaping classes, improves local parks and vacant properties, and provides judges for the contest. Volunteers from around the community assist NIBC by providing manpower for the flower sale and beautification projects prior to the contest. Volunteers have come from local corporations, Battle Creek Public Schools, Battle Creek Community Foundation, Leila Arboretum Society, state and local officials, at-risk teen programs, Girl Scouts, master gardeners, senior groups and neighborhood associations. The National NeighborWorks® Week celebration is the apex of the contest and the venue where the winners are recognized. A corporate sponsor provides food and beverages. Many prizes are donated by local businesses and have included new gas grills, porch swing, lawn furniture, arbors, fountains, charcoal grills, handmade wooden benches, Semco Energy gift certificates and much more. The Group Effort winners receive a $500 grant toward a beautification project in their neighborhood. In addition to winning the “Golden Trowel Award”, the 2004 Best Curb Appeal winner will be teaching landscaping classes for homeowners in the spring of 2005. In conclusion, the “Best Of’ contest strategy not only improves the appearance and value of the resident’s home but the value of every home around them. NIBC staff has been pleased to find that the homeowners surrounding the “Best Of” contest competitors are inspired to improve their properties as well. This project has received great press and been an overwhelming success. We anticipate expanding the contest community-wide in 2005.
Projected Cost:	The major cost of this project is staff time. With corporate sponsorship and donated prizes the out of pocket cost for this project was minimal in comparison with the enormous impact it made. The media coverage was free. Our cost for additional prizes was $250.00. The net cost of the flowers was $2 per flat, approximately $2,000. All program expenses are worked into NIBC’s overall budget.
2003 Outcomes:	In 2003, there were 27 homeowners that participated in the contest, 13 volunteer judges, 2 state legislators, 3 city commissioners, 42 additional volunteers, 12 corporate prize sponsors and more than 100 residents that attended the celebration. Five homeowners were recognized as winners in each category. The week’s events were covered by the Battle Creek Enquirer, Battle Creek Shopper News, WWMT-Channel 3 (CBS affiliate), WOTV-ABC41, and WBCK radio station.
Website:	http://www.nibc.org
Keywords:	Community Partnerships, Home Improvement, Landscaping, Property Beautification, Resident Involvement
Information About Organization:
Name:	Neighborhoods Inc. of Battle Creek
Address 1:	47 North Washington Avenue
City, State, Zip:	Battle Creek, Michigan  49017
Org. Status:	501c3 Non-Profit
Contact Name:	Renee Breitbach
Contact E-mail:	rbreitbach@nibc.org
Contact Phone:	269.968.1113 x 25

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