Bank of America Neighborhood Excellence Initiative

Bank of America's Neighborhood Excellence Initiative (NEI) is a highly innovative and competitive program designed to recognize and reward “Neighborhood Builder” organizations, “Local Heroes” and “Student Leaders” that are achieving excellence in their community building efforts.

Launched in May 2004, Bank of America Corporate Philanthropy, with DTI as a significant partner, publicly recognizes these high performing organizations and individuals in community building.

DTI manages the competition conducted in 40 cities across the country. In conjunction with the NEI awards competition, DTI designed two new leadership development programs for the executive director and an emerging leader of each organization that is selected as a “Neighborhood Builder” in each city.

The Neighborhood Excellence Leadership Program consists of two workshops for Executive Directors and three for Emerging Leaders. Practicum periods use MyDTI to facilitate networking among participants and dissemination of workshop assignments. The final workshop in the series brings together both the executive directors and the emerging leaders from all the participating organizations.

The $200,000 unrestricted grant and leadership experience with DTI is but one aspect of NEI’s potential impact on the field of community building. Neighborhood Builder awardee achievements will attest to the efficacy of providing this type of funding for the rest of the field--raising the bar for the nonprofit sector and foundations alike.

For more information about the Neighborhood Excellence Initiative,
visit Bank of America's website: www.bankofamerica.com/foundation.
For information about the Neighborhood Excellence Leadership Program, contact Kristina Samson, DTI Sr. Program Manager.

“I have never before had the opportunity
to meet the caliber of leaders from across the country that this program has provided.
I have attended the meetings and been awestruck at the leadership among the members of our group and quality of presenters DTI has brought to us.
Thank you for this once in a lifetime experience.”

Alice Harrison, Executive Director
Hope Haven, Inc., Charlotte, N.C.

Executive Directors of the 60 "Neighborhood Builder" organizations that each received $200,000 in core support awards from Bank
of America-- participants in the Neighborhood Excellence Leadership Program conducted
by DTI in 2004.