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Starting a Neighborhood Networks Center: A Howto Guide for
U.
S.
DE
PAR
TMENT OF HOUSING
AND
URBAN DEVELOPME
NT
Starting a
Neighborhood
Networks Center:
A How­to Guide for
Property Owners 
and Managers
U.S.

Department of Housing and Urban Development

Office of Multifamily Housing Programs

www.NeighborhoodNetworks.org
(888) 3122743
Starting a Neighborhood Networks Center: A How-To Guide for Property Owners and Managers
The guides in this series offer information on starting a center, creating programs and identifying center
partners, marketing and media outreach, sustainability, funding, and much more. These updated guides
feature new contacts, resources, case studies, and helpful information.
Neighborhood Networks is a community-based Initiative established by HUD in 1995. Since then, centers
have opened throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. These community
learning centers provide residents of HUD insured and assisted properties with programs, activities, and
training that promote economic self-sufficiency.
This guide was published in 2005.
To receive copies of this publication or any others in the series, contact:
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Neighborhood Networks

2277 Research Boulevard, 5J

Rockville, MD 20850 Neighborhood Networks Information Center

Toll-free: (888) 3122743

E-mail: neighborhoodnetworks@hud.gov

TTY: (800) 4832209 All publications are available from the Neighborhood Networks Web site at
www.NeighborhoodNetworks.org.
Copies of this TA guide are available in Spanish and can be requested from the Neighborhood Networks
toll-free Information Center at (888) 3122743.
i Table of Contents
Part I. The Benefits of Starting and Working With a Neighborhood Networks Center on Your Property ......................................................................................................................................... 1 How Do Neighborhood Networks Center Participants Reap Benefits? ................................................... 1 Owner and Manager Focus Groups Address Neighborhood Networks Participation .............................. 2 Profiles...................................................................................................................................................... 3 Part II. How to Start a Neighborhood Networks Center: A Guide to What Is Involved for Property Owners and Managers ........................................................................................................... 7 Preplanning............................................................................................................................................... 7 PreplanningBefore You START .......................................................................................................... 8 Step 1: Beginning the Process .................................................................................................................. 9 Step 2: Program Planning ....................................................................................................................... 13 Step 3: Marketing and Outreach............................................................................................................. 17 Step 4: Organization and Management .................................................................................................. 19 Step 5: Planning for Center Operations .................................................................................................. 20 Step 6: Budgeting and Fundraising ........................................................................................................ 22 Frequently Asked Questions About START .......................................................................................... 25 Neighborhood Networks Information ..................................................................................................... 27 iii Part I. The Benefits of Starting and Working With a Neighborhood Networks Center on Your Property For more than a decade, Neighborhood
Networks centers throughout the nation have
provided computer access, afterschool activities,
job-training programs, education programs, and
much more to residents of HUD insured and
assisted housing as they move toward self-
sufficiency. A Neighborhood Networks center
benefits everyone involvedresidents, owners
and managers, partners, and the community.
How Do Neighborhood
Networks Center Participants
Reap Benefits?
Residents
The immediate beneficiaries of a Neighborhood
Networks center are the residents. Neighborhood
Networks centers help residents gain self-
sufficiency through education, improved life and
work skills, computer literacy, and job-
preparation training. Centers typically offer a
variety of programs and activities to residents of
HUD insured and assisted housing, including:
Technology training and access.
Education.
Job preparation.
Health.
Microenterprise development.
Childcare.
Afterschool programs.
Social services.
Property Owners and Managers
Property owners and managers benefit directly
and indirectly through gains by residents,
partners, and the community.
A Neighborhood Networks center can improve a
propertys bottom line. HUD may allow the use
of certain eligible property funds to help with
startup and operation costs. HUD Coordinators
in each state can provide more information about
property funds that can be used for
Neighborhood Networks centers. Starting a
center could:
Make your property more competitive,
attract new residents, lower vacancy rates,
and stabilize your tenancy.
Decrease security and upkeep costs by
giving residents a greater sense of pride in
the property and a greater stake in the
overall well-being of the community.
Help build lasting, mutually beneficial
relationships with residents and local
partners that work with the center.
Reduce crime by providing increased
economic opportunities, activities, an
attractive gathering place, and supportive
atmosphere for youth.
Partners
Partners and centers build relationships that
meet their specific needs and interests. Local
partners typically include businesses,
corporations, schools, colleges, hospitals, social
service agencies, nonprofit organizations, and
government agencies. Forming a partnership
with a Neighborhood Networks center may help
an organization:
Access an untapped workforce that it can
train to meet its needs.
Provide internship and volunteer
opportunities to residents.
Open an additional link to new markets in
the centers community.
Meet its philanthropic commitments.
1 Starting a Neighborhood Networks Center: A How-To Guide for Property Owners and Managers
Develop a partners image as a positive
force in the community and make a real
difference in the communitys economic
health.
Successful partnerships can work in many ways:
A social service agency provides support
services at a Neighborhood Networks center
and reaches a new group of constituents.
A corporation works with a center to
develop a job-training program and gains
access to a newly trained workforce.
Area colleges and universities provide
student interns to teach afterschool
programs, providing both interns and center
participants with a beneficial learning
opportunity.
Hospitals and community health centers
develop programs and activities to work
with centers on public education and to
improve the communitys overall health.
Communities
A sound local economy is rooted in the financial
resources of the people who live in the
community. When residents prosper, so do their
communities. Neighborhood Networks centers
foster partnerships of local groups and
businesses working together toward common
goalspartnerships that can strengthen the
fabric of a community. By equipping people
with the skills to participate in the information
revolution, Neighborhood Networks prepares
them to take a more active role in our society.
Interested? For more information, write:
U. S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development
Neighbo