The Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF) is celebrating the impact of its 2024 combined Community Grants and Arts Grants cycle in Hale County and across all 12 counties it serves in the Alabama Black Belt region. Community- based organizations from Hale ,Bullock, Greene, Lowndes, Choctaw, Macon, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Dallas and Wilcox Counties applied for grants earlier this year. A total of $514,433 has been awarded through 130 different one-year long project grants to community and arts organizations that are significantly impacting their communities in transformative ways that contribute to the strength, innovation and success of Black Belt citizens and said communities. 13 different grants in Hale County were awarded for a total of $31,112.50 in grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 in an award ceremony held in Selma on June 1. These grants are as follows:
- New Pentecostal Community Development Center, Inc. – Arts Grant
- Oakwood Cemetery Association – Arts Grant
- Bread of Life Ministries – Community Grant
- E & B Fields Community Service Program Inc – Community Grant
- Friends of Hale County Animals – Community Grant
- Greensboro Opera House Inc. – Community Grant
- Hale County Community Enrichment Society – Community Grant
- Heavenly Hiney Diaper Bank – Community Grant
- L & G Hope For All Inc. – – Community Grant
- New Pentecostal Community Development Center, Inc. – Community Grant
- Newbern Library, Inc. – Community Grant
- Oakwood Cemetery Association – Community Grant
- Sawyerville Community Enrichment Organization – Community Grant
2024 represented a ground-breaking first for BBCF as it continued its model of giving based on the practice known as “Trust-Based Philanthropy” and combined, for the first time ever in its 20-year history, both the Community Grants and Arts Grants cycles. By utilizing BBCF Local Grant Committees in each county, decisions were made by those closest to the issues and granting needs voiced by their community. Local Grant Committees scored applications from their county based on these needs, proposed delivery of services, potential of project to change the community, how the project will be evaluated, and the results of those evaluations disseminated, and finally, the requested budget for the project.
“Celebrating our 20th year, the Black Belt Community Foundation is proud to award over half a million dollars in 130 separate grants to community and arts organizations across the 12 counties we serve. This record-breaking milestone reflects our enduring commitment to empowering local initiatives, fostering growth and impacting the entire Black Belt region.” – Felecia Lucky, President of Black Belt Community Foundation.
