The City of Spokane, Neighborhood Business Centers (NBC) is pleased to announce it has been awarded a $15,000 grant from the Inland Northwest Community Foundation. The funding will be used to research, develop and begin testing a pilot “Safety Ambassador" program for Spokane's neighborhood business districts in the East Spokane Business Association (ESBA) district on East Sprague. The project and grant application are a continuation of the Safe Neighborhoods CTED grant work done in 2006. During and since the Safe Neighborhoods project the ESBA and NBC have been working to improve the district’s safety and perceived safety. This new opportunity will allow us to explore and test the implementation of an ambassador program, similar to the downtown safety ambassadors at the neighborhood business center level. The City's NBC program will coordinate with Eastern Washington University's Criminal Justice program, Lonnie Schaible to implement this pilot program. Dr. Schaible was employed by the City of Spokane's Police Department, Planning Unit in 2006 and collaborated on the Safe Neighborhoods project and is familiar with the neighborhood business district and its needs.