Community Heart & Soul
Legacy Foundation is excited to partner with Community Heart & Soul, a national model designed to help build stronger, healthier, and more economically vibrant communities through a resident-driven planning process. Building upon our Neighborhood Spotlight initiative, Community Heart & Soul will bring a unique opportunity to residents and municipal leaders to work together to develop a plan for the future.
Legacy Foundation launched the Community Heart & Soul program in 2024 to help Lake County towns build community through a resident-driven process and take action on what matters most to its residents. Hundreds of communities across the country have implemented the program and experienced outcomes such as:
- Pride and confidence grow in the community.
- Increased participation in local community decision making.
- Residents feel more connected to one another.
- New leaders and volunteers emerge.
- Local governments better understand what matters to residents.
- Increased economic development and downtown revitalization.
- Increased investment in community-supported programs and activities.
The Community Heart & Soul model was developed over 15 years ago and has been recognized nationally by the American Planning Association as a successful approach to community planning and development.
How it Works
Through an application process, Legacy Foundation will select one community to assist with Community Heart & Soul planning. The application must be submitted via Legacy Foundation’s online grant portal and may be submitted by either the community’s local government or a community organization. The application must demonstrate a strong partnership among residents, municipal government, and local organizations.
The selected community will receive training, technical assistance, and supporting funds to implement the Community Heart & Soul process over a two-to-five-year period.
2025 Application Timeline
- Application Opens: Monday, September 1, 2025
- Application Deadline: Friday, October 24, 2025
- Notice of Award: Mid November (Around November 15, 2025)
It is expected that the selected community will be ready to begin Phase 1 of the Community Heart & Soul program in January 2026 and participate in a pre-launch meeting in early December 2025.
Cedar Lake Becomes Indiana’s First Heart & Soul Community!
Legacy Foundation announced Cedar Lake as the community selected for the new Community Heart & Soul® initiative. The town will be embarking on an exciting journey to engage residents in identifying what they love the most about their community, what future they want for it, and how to achieve it. Cedar Lake will receive training, technical assistance, and up to $80,000 in funding from Legacy Foundation to implement the Community Heart & Soul process and support early projects that arise from resident-driven action planning.
Julie Zasada, Executive Director of the Cedar Lake Historical Association, will serve as the town’s Heart & Soul Project Coordinator. In this role, Julie will provide project administration, work with the Heart & Soul Core Team to develop and implement phased work plans, coordinate volunteers, track progress, and celebrate milestones.
- Communities must be located in Lake County, Indiana with a population size below 40,000.
- If your town or city has a population of over 40,000 and you are interested in engaging your community, please reach out to set up a meeting.
- The selected community must be ready to begin initial planning in December 2025, begin Phase 1 of the program in January 2026 and can commit to continuing the Community Heart & Soul process over the next two years.
- The Community Heart & Soul process must be implemented through a partnership between residents, a local nonprofit organization, and the selected community’s municipal government.
- Each application must identify a Community Heart & Soul 501(c)3 convening partner. This role can be filled by either a nonprofit organization or municipal government. If an organization is the convening partner, the organization can be of any size, including grassroots organizations and resident-led community groups. If the organization does not have its own 501(c)3 status, a fiscal sponsor may be used.
- Both the organization and municipal government must each have at least one staff person, or elected official, who will play an active role in the Community Heart & Soul Core Team.
- The municipality and organization must prioritize community involvement and invite residents from all backgrounds to actively participate in the Heart & Soul process.
Legacy Foundation will commit up to $80,000 over two years to the selected community. The community is required to raise a $10,000 local match over the next two years. This funding is to support the use of the Community Heart & Soul method to engage residents in community planning and development. Legacy Foundation funding can be used on expenses such as: staffing/project coordination (a project coordinator is required), supplies, marketing/communications, events, and implementation. Legacy Foundation funds may not be used for overhead expenses, indirect costs, or capital improvements. Legacy Foundation will also prioritize Community Heart and Soul communities in future grantmaking.
In addition to receiving funding, the selected community will participate in a community of practice and work with Legacy Foundation staff for exclusive training and technical support throughout the course of the Community Heart & Soul process. This training, coaching, and technical support includes:
- Access to Community Heart & Soul resources, materials, and in-person training on each phase of the Community Heart & Soul model, covering topics like completing a community network analysis, creating your workplan, resident engagement planning, story collecting & sharing methods, developing community value statements & action ideas, and stewarding Community Heart & Soul in your community.
- One-on-one coaching from a trained Legacy Foundation Community Heart & Soul Coach, as well as access to regular community of practice calls with the national Community Heart & Soul Network.
Applications are reviewed by a committee of Legacy Foundation staff, Foundation Board of Directors, and Community Heart & Soul staff. In addition to the criteria listed below, the community will be selected with the intention of funding a diverse community based on several criteria such as characteristics of the community being served, and types of stakeholders involved in the project. Above all, communities should demonstrate their readiness and commitment to using Community Heart & Soul as a new way to plan for their community’s future. Additionally, applicants should show:
- Why this is a good time for their residents to engage in Community Heart & Soul and that the community is committed to using the process as a method of planning and development.
- Involvement of key partners, including the local municipality and convening partner. Applicants should show that the convening partner is well-respected and trusted in the community, and that other local community partners and organizations are dedicated to working together to make Community Heart & Soul a success.
- Experience with, and commitment to, engaging the public in decision-making processes, with a particular emphasis on connecting with hidden and missing voices.
- Commitment to contributing significant resources (financial and human) to the Community Heart & Soul process and their community project fund at Legacy Foundation.
