Kristen Wilson, who graduated from Bard CEP in 2007, is the City of Kingston, NY’s Grants Manager. She and a team of city and county officials and community members worked around the clock to prepare Kingston’s proposal for the highly competitive “Downtown Revitalization Initiative” grant.
The award, announced by Governor Andrew Cuomo late last month, will be used to support a variety of initiatives in Kingston’s Stockade District, including infrastructure and economic development. Kingston’s proposal focused on “equitable development,” a model that seeks to lift up existing businesses and residents, rather than pushing them out.
One of the most interesting potential funding initiatives to come out of the grant proposal process is the creation of a community land trust, which would develop and preserve affordable housing, civic spaces, commercial properties, and other assets on behalf of the Kingston community.
Wilson, who returns to Bard CEP to talk with our second year students about fundraising and grant writing, is delighted at the outcome. Read more about the grant and Kingston’s planned initiatives here.