Financial and technical assistance for new businesses. Campus outreach to involve faculty and students. The examples listed above represent only a few of the activities that the COPC Program actively supports. In fact, comprehensive, multifaceted approaches to community problems are the hallmark of successful COPC initiatives. COPC encourages creativity, enabling universities and their partners to tailor their community building efforts to local needs and resources.
Partnerships can include public, private, and nonprofit institutions.
Centers can serve communities ranging from a single neighborhood to an entire metropolitan area. Research activities designed to address specific problems in the project area cannot exceed 25 percent of total project costs. COPC grants may not be used to fund building construction, rehabilitation, or other physical development activities. Non-Federal matching funds equal to at least 50 percent of the cost of proposed research activities and 25 percent of the cost of proposed outreach activities. A community advisory committee that will identify local needs and develop strategies to meet those needs.