The Black Belt Community Foundation awarded $27,450 in community and arts grants to 19 Hale County organizations at a ceremony held in Selma this past weekend, part of a region-wide grant cycle that distributed nearly $359,000 across 12 Black Belt counties.
Hale County received $20,500 in community grants shared among 17 organizations and $6,950 in arts grants to two organizations. The community grantees are Akron Senior & Community Wellness Center, Alabama Blackbelt Scholars Inc., New Pentecostal Community Development Center Inc., Sawyerville Community Enrichment Organization, Heavenly Hiney Diaper Bank, Thomas Helping Hand, Black Warrior Council of Scouting America, the Hale County Minority & Disadvantaged Farmers Educational Foundation Inc., Healing Steps Movement Inc., Tony Maurice Polion Foundation for Haaven Structure, Bread of Life Ministries, E & B Fields Community Service Program Inc., Mount Harmony Sanctuary of Praise, Theresa Burroughs Residential Living, Sacred Space Inc., Heritage of Hope Association, and L & G Hope For All Inc.
The two Hale County arts grantees are Healing Steps Movement Inc. and Newbern Library Inc. Healing Steps Movement received grants in both the community and arts categories.
Across all 12 counties, the foundation awarded a grand total of $358,883.81 through 150 grants to 142 separate organizations, with eight organizations receiving grants in both the community and arts categories. Community grants totaled $265,443.81 across 125 grants, while arts grants totaled $73,440 across 23 grants. The foundation also awarded two $10,000 festival grants to organizations in Greene and Dallas counties.
The foundation’s board of directors approved $120,000 for community grants in its 2026 budget, with a $10,000 allocation per county based on a 2-to-1 match of up to $5,000. Local fundraising in 2025 generated $142,371.62, and the foundation’s final board match was $116,298.40.
