Inner Sunset Neighborhood Resurgence Collaborative

Conceived during a block party almost 20 years ago, the Inner Sunset Neighborhood Resurgence Collaborative represents the shared efforts of two volunteer groups and one business: Inner Sunset Park Neighbors and Inner Sunset Merchants Association, and Sunset Mercantile, a local mission-driven creator of community events. The Collaborative seeks to create a safe, welcoming and dynamic neighborhood for visitors — especially those to nearby Golden Gate Park with its leading institutions and amenities — and to foster a sense of belonging for residents and more opportunity for local small businesses. The Collaborative accomplishes this through locally-designed and implemented initiatives that include:

• Art Walks. Founded by a local gallery owner, the Inner Sunset Art Walks take place around the first Friday evening of each season. These events feature local artists and craftspeople hosted throughout the neighborhood by a local small business or gallery, further enhancing the neighborhood's identity as an emerging arts corridor.
• Neighborhood Cleanups. Each month, volunteers across a range of age groups — including toddlers, kids, teenagers, adults and seniors — participate in twice-monthly street cleanups from 7th Avenue to Funston Avenue along Lincoln Way, Irving and Judah Streets. This initiative is a collaboration with Refuse Refuse SF, which founded the grassroots cleanup effort in San Francisco during the pandemic.
• Inner Sunset Flea Market. Founded by Inner Sunset Park Neighbors in 2010 as a neighbor-led, “by-the-community, for-the-community” event, the Flea Market, which takes place on two closed street blocks in the heart of the Inner Sunset, is now a monthly pop-up town square offering a space for neighbors garage sales, local artists to share their talents, budding entrepreneurs share their wares and ideas, local organizations to share their causes, and a place for the community to connect with one another.
• Holiday Celebrations. The Inner Sunset Trick or Treat and the Inner Sunset Holiday Lights Stroll are two highly anticipated neighborhood events. The Trick or Treat is a collaboration with the Inner Sunset Farmers Market, where a costume parade is held and participants are encouraged to explore the surrounding merchant corridors to trick or treat. The Light Stroll is an outdoor evening holiday party for the community that also supports the local businesses, which decorate and light up their storefronts.
• Small business Incubation and Support. The newly opened Sunset Mercantile Emporium, a brick and mortar project of Sunset Mercantile, is part local merchants and makers collective, part community hub. Retail space will be offered to small makers and merchants, allowing for microbusinesses that usually pop-up at events to experience having a mini retail shop within the Emporium, which will provide staff, a point of sale system, supplies and general retail shop structure. The Emporium also will offer retail space to other local small businesses looking to expand. The Emporium is already developing into a community hub with outdoor seating, games and activities, occasional live music, and plans for offering workshops and meeting space.

“This grant will allow us to scale up our efforts, bringing new energy and resources to our projects while remaining rooted in the community's needs. We believe that community support, when coupled with inspiration and creativity, can create a ripple effect that will not only strengthen the Inner Sunset but will also positively impact surrounding neighborhoods and the rest of San Francisco.” — Martha Ehrenfeld, President, Inner Sunset Park Neighbors