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Martin Luther King Jr. Corridor Community Grants

MLK Jr Mural
Grant Guidelines: 2026 Martin Luther King Jr. Community Improvement Grants Application Due: 5pm ET on Mar 16th 2026
Incomplete applications will not be reviewed.
Overview

In partnership with its sponsors, including Target and The Scotts Miracle-Gro Foundation, Keep America Beautiful® will provide MLK Community Improvement Grants in 2026 to support communities in revitalizing, beautifying and transforming areas in and around Martin Luther King Jr. corridors and neighborhoods. With over 950 MLK corridors across the United States transecting a variety of different neighborhood types and commercial uses, these grants will provide funding to businesses, residents and community groups to address challenges and meet their needs for creating vibrant and welcoming spaces. Past MLK projects have included murals and public art installations, the creation of community gardens and green spaces, tree plantings, and cleanup efforts.

Funding Available
  • Up to $228,000 in funding will be available.
  • Cash grants will range between $5,000 – $20,000
Eligibility
  • These grants are open to Keep America Beautiful affiliates, nonprofits, local governments, and other community organizations. Non-KAB affiliates are strongly encouraged to partner with a KAB Affiliate in their community. KAB affiliates will receive priority review and consideration.
  • Project location must be along or near an MLK corridor – these can include streets, roadways, neighborhoods, community spaces, parks and other areas named after Martin Luther King Jr.
  • No more than one (1) application per affiliate will be accepted. 
Application Guidelines
  • Applicants must submit at least one letter of support from a local government representative, community group, or local partner critical to the project’s successful execution to demonstrate buy-in for the project.
  • KAB affiliates in President's Circle will receive priority review and consideration.
  • Proposals must clearly describe the need for the project.
  • Projects must address a need identified by the community and foster a sense of inclusion and self-determination.
  • Projects with a focus on the following will be prioritized:
  • Projects aimed to have longer lasting or more permanent impacts that build on or strengthen social or community infrastructure.
  • Projects that engage local artists or use native plants (when relevant) and outline maintenance plans.
  • Applicant must demonstrate the ability to complete the project and required reporting within the grant implementation period.
Other Requirements

As you plan your grant program activities, please keep in mind that grantees will receive 70% of their grant funding upon executing a grant agreement and submitting an invoice. The remaining 30% of the award will be disbursed after submitting a final invoice and having their final reports approved by Keep America Beautiful. 
  • Grantees must submit photos of their project including photos of volunteers in action, before and after photos, and any other media that showcase the projects activities.
  • Grantees will acknowledge Keep America Beautiful and grant sponsors in any signage.
  • Grantees are asked not to solicit national sponsors for additional funding or in-kind support.
  • Although participation is not required, our funding partners have expressed interest in supporting funded projects through hands-on volunteer engagement. When feasible, we encourage grantees to accommodate their involvement and provide opportunities for partners to participate in or help lead volunteer efforts connected to the project.
Grant Review Process & Considerations
  • Applications will be reviewed & decided by a grant review and selection committee and evaluated for:
  • Clear articulation of program need—strong proposals will address a demand identified by residents, community groups, or business owners/employees along the MLK Jr. corridor. While focusing on community improvement, strong projects would address how the project fosters a sense of inclusion and neighborhood self-determination and how the project builds community/social infrastructure.
  • Expected impact on the project location.
  • Applicant’s ability to successfully complete project within grant timeline.
  • Extent to which project will involve community members, residents, businesses and/or other community volunteers as thought leaders and active participants.
  • Extent to which project will support local/community artists or vendors (as applicable)
  • Extent to which the project has community endorsement and is expected to move forward.
  • Leveraging of matching funds or cross-sector collaboration.
  • Completeness, clarity, and respect for word limits.
Evaluation criteria above are not all required but highly encouraged to ensure strong and successful applications.

Timeline
  • Application Deadline: 5pm ET on Mar 16th 2026
  • Award Announcements: March - April 2026
  • Project Implementation: May – December 2026
  • Reporting Deadlines: Keep America Beautiful will require every grant recipient to complete interim and final reports by the following deadlines.
  • Interim Report Due: 5pm ET, August 31, 2026
  • Final Report Due: 5pm ET, December 15, 2026
Reporting Requirements

Grantees will be expected to report the following items in their final report:
  • Project’s impact/outcomes on the MLK Jr. corridor and on the community or people residing or doing business within the area.
  • Quotes or testimonials from community members or groups impacted by the project.
  • Photos (before, during and after project) as well as links to social posts or videos documenting MLK grant in action. The photos/video links should capture the initial condition of the project area, showcase project execution, and capture the final result. Photos of volunteers implementing the project (if volunteers were engaged) are also required.
  • Verification and/or updates of materials in grant application.
  • Articulation of project successes and challenges.
  • Metrics such as: Number of volunteers, Number of participants, Number of individuals served, Total number of public spaces cleaning/improved, Location of where activities took place, etc.
  • Media outreach and/or coverage.

Eligibility


Thank you for your interest. Unfortunately, your project is not eligible for this grant. This grant is exclusive to projects located along MLK Corridors or landmarks. These can include streets, roadways, neighborhoods, community spaces, parks and other areas named after Martin Luther King Jr.

All applicants must submit at least one letter of support from a local government representative, community group or partner critical to the project’s successful execution to indicate buy-in for the project. Please secure a letter before moving forward with the application.

Contact and Organization Information


To find your organization, start typing the name in the field and you will soon see a list of suggestions; if your organization is not there and you believe it should be, continue typing until the suggestion list reveals the correct name. Once you see your organization name, click on it and continue with the application. Correctly using this form will pre-fill several of the following fields.

Non-Keep America Beautiful Affiliate Organizations

Only Answer the Following Questions if Your Organization Is Not a Keep America Beautiful Affiliate:


Keep America Beautiful Affiliate's Only


Applicant Contact Information











  Organization Information








Hidden Fields





Grant Project Information


Project Summary

Exceeding the character limit may prevent your application from coming into our system. In order to ensure your application is considered for award please refer to the character counter that will show at the bottom of each long text field when you begin typing.
Project Activities



Those people who have active working involvement in an event. A volunteer does work that would otherwise be done by a paid staff person. Does not include a person or prisoner on court-ordered community service time or work release time. Those who are present but are not actively working on the events goals or activities would be considered a participant or attendee.

Participants are those who contribute to project or attend an event conducted by your organization for the project. This does not include volunteers who contribute to the completion of the project.

To help us understand the impact of this grant project, please estimate the number of individuals whose lives will be directly touched by your project. The number of people served is likely to vary significantly from project to project. For instance, a park cleanup will serve the users of that park and surrounding residents for a designated period of time (e.g., 3 months), a city-wide planting day may serve all city residents if resources are advertised and made available to all community residents, and a cleanup at a heavily trafficked MLK Jr. corridor may serve the number of visitors to the corridor on a given day.

Project Partners

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Project Impact

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Project Plan

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We highly encourage you to research what may be required to implement your project before submitting an application. With an 8-month implementation period, securing buy-in and/or understanding steps required to enable your project’s success is critical.

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Community Benefits

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Project Challenges

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Budget Section

Project Budget Details
Provide a breakdown of how you will spend the requested funds, indicating the amount in each category below. The number must total the requested grant amount. Please enter 0 if you do not anticipate expenses in a particular category.  










Budget Narrative

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Additional Support



Additional Information

Project Area Served


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Project Location
What is the approximate location of your project or an approximate center-point of the MLK Jr. corridor that your project will serve? [Addresses will auto-populated as you begin to enter an address]





Project Timeline

Refer to page one "Timeline" for activation dates.

Refer to page one "Timeline" for activation dates.
Letters of Support

Future Funding Opportunities
Keep America Beautiful may have future partners interested in supporting shovel-ready projects across MLK Jr. corridors in select markets. Shovel-ready projects are in an advanced enough stage of planning and development that they can begin as soon as funding is secured. 



If you are finished with this grant application, please click "Review and Submit" to be taken to the Confirmation Page where you can review and print your completed application. 

On that page, you will be asked to "Confirm" your submission, at which time your application is complete. 
You MUST click confirm at the bottom of the next page in order to finalize your response.  
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