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Frequently Asked Questions

Who Should Use the CommunityKC Mapping Tool?

This map was created for any organization working in community and neighborhood revitalization. This includes, but is not limited to neighborhood associations, civic groups, faith-based groups, local municipalities, community improvement districts, and even funding organizations.

Individuals and businesses such as planners, realtors, developers, and those looking to buy a home may also be interested in using this map to find projects that are having a positive impact in the community.

What is Considered a 'Community Project?'

For the purposes of the CommunityKC online map, a community project is one that builds the capacity, skills, resources, and leadership of organizations so they can better address challenges they face and effectively take advantage of opportunities and assets.

Projects that would be considered a CommunityKC community project include, but are not limited to:

- An annual Night Out Against Crime event or a neighborhood homes tour
- Community garden
- Neighborhood-based minor home repair program
- Civic leadership development program
- Regular neighborhood cleanup event
- Neighborhood directory of residents
- Digital literacy projects that involve neighborhood organizations
- Cultural and skills trainings led by or involving a neighborhood organization

Projects that would NOT be considered a CommunityKC community project include:

- Events that do not occur annually or regularly
- Fundraising car wash or bake sale
- Church or faith-based event not related to building neighborhood capacity
- New housing or commercial development that is not led by a neighborhood organization or a development that does not have a neighborhood organization playing a major role.

How do I Use the CommunityKC Mapping Tool?

You can view projects on a map or list. Filter projects based on project type or neighborhood so only the projects you are interested in are visible on the map. You can also navigate to specific areas of the map to find projects there.

If you have a project you would like to include in the CommunityKC map, please create an account and submit your project!
If you need to update information on a project already that already appears on the map and you do not have an existing account, please contact us at info@communitykc.org.

How Can This Map Help my Organization Collaborate?

As recognized in the Center for Nonprofit Excellence’s Collaboration Toolkit, collaborating can turn disjointed, small-scale accomplishments into large-scale community change. The CommunityKC map can help identify partners by finding similar or related projects or ones in a specific area.

By pooling resources, contacts, volunteers, and expertise organizations are able to have a greater impact than if they worked alone. Specifically, collaborations can:

- Elevate and promotes each group’s work
- Have a greater voice for their cause
- Gain more credibility and recognition
- Attract more in-kind and financial resources
- Share common costs or overhead across multiple organizations
- Have a greater and longer lasting impact
- Diminish competition for resources
- Share and save resources through joint programming
- Often be viewed by funders as a better return on investment than if organizations address a problem single-handedly
- Function as a central point of contact for funders, planners, developers, and investors

Who Developed the CommunityKC Mapping Tool?

Development of CommunityKC has been led by Amanda Wilson and Megan Crook with the Community Capital Fund, Americorps VISTA Silas Covert-Keefe, community volunteer Ashley Sadowski, and Paul Barham, Jacob Greenberg and David LaCrone with Code for KC, the local Code for America brigade chapter.

Many other volunteers contributed to the development of this tool through working groups and focus groups including:

Dr. Cynthia Annett, Google Earth Outreach
Iris Abramof, B&A Architecture
Leslie Caplan, Scarritt Renaissance Neighborhood Association and the Northeast Alliance Together
Bill Drummond, Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Historic Manheim Park Neighborhood
Andrea Generaux, Livable Neighborhoods
Angela Gunn, Eco Abet
Christina Hoxie, BNIM
Lisa Hummel, DRAW Architecture
Esther Kershaw, Boston Heights Neighborhood Association
Susan Lackamp, Neighbors Helping Neighbors in Historic Manheim Park Neighborhood
Scott Lemmon, Google Earth Outreach
Carmen Lopez, KCMO CDE
Margaret May, Ivanhoe Neighborhood Council
Jim MacDonald, United Way of Greater Kansas City
Kyle Rogler, BNIM

Others who contributed their input include Jesse Crupper, Joshua Boehm, and Tiffany Cartwright.

What are future plans for the CommunityKC mapping tool?

After the launch of CommunityKC at the 2015 Community Development Workshop, the development team has been hard at work improving and redesigning the site. It was re-launched in 2016 with a new design, project submission functionality, custom pages for each project and an email notification system.

The team at Community Capital Fund and Code for KC is currently working on integrating project information with other civic apps such as the KC Neighborhood Stat dashboard. Longer term plans include another visual redesign and more robust neighborhood definitions.