Statements

Mission

The Alliance for Green Hills, Inc. works to UNIFY neighborhood stakeholders, CREATE beautiful, functional spaces & BUILD a better Green Hills for all. The Alliance for Green Hills Foundation, Inc., aims to implement community plans for the betterment of all who live, work & play in Green Hills. Our major areas of improvement include: multi-modal transportation & traffic, streetscape, access to open community spaces, community education & beautification. More about our mission: The cornerstone of our organization is high quality educational programming on community planning. We hold meetings on pertinent issues such as transportation & traffic, but our agenda is well-rounded and responds to the needs of the community. We welcome residents, developers, government & business representatives. By bringing everyone to the table, we elevate our understanding of current community plans & we become better prepared to seek solutions. Building on several year of educational programming, we are ready to implement changes, but we have recognized the need for a shared vision of what changes are possible before launching into projects, which is a focus for 2019-2020. Better walkability, biking, auto & transit options are all part of the picture, along with enhancements to existing community spaces, including greenspaces. A 'healthy' neighborhood is one that contributes to the city as a well-functioning artery, while also contributing to the wellness of those who live, work and play here. Please join us in helping to improve Green Hills by donating to the Alliance for Green Hills Foundation, Inc. via www.alliance4greenhills.com.

Background

The Alliance for Green Hills, Inc. started as a meeting of concerned citizens in December of 2014. In response to an increasingly fractured neighborhood and in the face of progress versus preservation, stakeholders from both sides of the aisle decided to meet and discuss what could be done to move forward with improving the neighborhood. We all realized that we could accomplish great things by working together. With all stakeholders at the table - residents, developers, businesses and government - we have started the process of 'understanding the problem' through a study of community plans. The monthly meetings have provided a forum for education and an opportunity to discuss solutions. Now, we have a direct email list of over 475 and a reach beyond that, due to our successful track record of building bridges with neighborhood stakeholders. The Green Hills neighborhood is still somewhat fractured in its identity, but our group is working to build a sense of common purpose. Our number one goal is to improve multi-modal transportation and traffic in Green Hills. Although Green Hills sits along Hillsboro Pike, a vital corridor, it is not functioning in a way that best serves the neighborhood or the city. Our group is taking the approach that building a better neighborhood with complete streets and better pedestrian connectivity is an important piece of the traffic-relieving solution. In addition, we identified the need for more significant funding to actualize the Area Transportation Plan in NashvilleNext (the 25-year community plan for Nashville). The Alliance for Green Hills Foundation, Inc. will work towards funding these and other initiatives related to education, transportation, beautification and other community-building projects of the Alliance for Green Hills, Inc.

Impact

1. We have built a direct mailing list and social media outreach of stakeholders who care about Green Hills. Through our communication channels, we distribute a monthly-to-quarterly newsletter to inform the community of important events and opportunities for outreach. 2. We have offered high-quality educational programming on community planning through our meetings. We have changed these meetings from monthly to quarterly as we pivot into more change-making projects. 3. We have successfully forged relationships with developers, residents, government and businesses. Through these relationships, we are beginning to target specific issues that need attention and we are bringing all stakeholders to the table to discuss solutions. For the current year, our top goals are related to a vision for greenspace and multi-modal transportation. 1. We continue to host educational programming, but the programs will be less frequent. 2. We have funded the initial study and proposal into a wayfinding program in Green Hills. We are looking for ways to fund installation of a wayfinding sign system in Green Hills in the commercial area. 3. We are working on a vision map and charrette to showcase how this Foundation might best accomplish goals that serve the entire community re: beautification and transportation.

Needs

1. We are seeking donations to fund a wayfinding sign program in Green Hills. The first phase of pedestrian-scale wayfinding in the core of Green Hills will cost approximately $15K. 2. We need to start building a vision map and beautification fund to address issues with installation and maintenance of landscaping on pedestrian walkways, addition of lamp post lighting, etc. which will make pedestrians more likely to use sidewalks in the business district, rather than the car. Range of costs for these types of improvements is fairly wide - every donation helps! 3. We need funding to continue to offer educational programming and community-building events. We keep costs rather modest for educational programs. A budget of $1K for the next year would go far.

CEO Statement

Without the funding to bridge the gap between plans and implementation, we are losing opportunities to implement changes. This organization is uniquely positioned to provide a private-public partnership to facilitate changes sooner rather than later. Through the Alliance for Green Hills Foundation, we hope to continue to provide educational programming. However, we plan to pivot away from monthly educational meetings and into quarterly meetings. Our goal is to transition to change-making projects that remain tethered to stakeholder input and community-building forums. Thus, the bridge between educational forums and change-making projects is the vision/map for the commercial district in Green Hills and charrette. Eventually, we want to fund site-specific plans to support multi-modal transportation in key areas of the commercial district. We also want to establish a fund to address beautification and planning needs on an ad hoc basis, which would likely be a project for 2020-2021.

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Community Improvement, Capacity Building  - Community & Neighborhood Development
Secondary Category:	Philanthropy, Voluntarism & Grantmaking Foundations  - Voluntarism Promotion
Tertiary Category:	Public & Societal Benefit  - Single Organization Support

Areas Served

The Alliance for Green Hills Foundation, Inc., serves all who live, work and play in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, TN.

TN - Davidson