Community Foundation of Central Georgia awards more than $345,000 to regional organizations

The Community Foundation of Central Georgia funded more than 20 nonprofits, community health organizations and local businesses in its latest round of grants, covering a range of needs and programs.

The philanthropic organization announced the recipients of more than $345,000 in grants at the Fire Station off Napier Avenue Thursday afternoon. Grantees received anywhere from $7,500 to $23,000.

Kathryn Dennis, president of the Community Foundation of Central Georgia, said their endowment allows them to seek out the “highest needs” in the community for funding.

The foundation currently has a slew of grants. Dennis said the smaller sized of the grants, $25,000 or less, gives local nonprofits the opportunity to learn how to manage a grant before they go after larger ones.

“I am absolutely thrilled with the grants that we awarded and the organizations that are doing wonderful work to help our community,” Dennis said.

The Mentor’s Project of Bibb County, a nonprofit that matches mentors with middle and high school students, received $10,000 from the foundation to keep providing their programs.

Tracy Allen, executive director of the Mentor’s Project of Bibb County, said the organization wants to expand its summer programming by adding a chess club, rubix cube courses, drama productions and agriscience courses.

She said the programs help kids graduate high school by keeping them out of trouble and promoting learning while having fun.

“I think that’s the reason we have a lot of violence with youth because they don’t have anything to do,” Allen said. “You have to come up and be creative with these different programs so they’ll want to participate and not be in the streets.”

The grants were not just limited in scope to Bibb County. Several grantees serve surrounding counties, like the Houston County Volunteer Clinic.

Patricia Butler, the clinic’s administrator, said she screamed when she saw she earned a $24,000 grant.

The clinic runs on grant money, she said, and receiving this grant will allow them to expand services and extend their hours to meet the needs of veterans, victims of child abuse and homeless people.

“It’s very rewarding for us in order to keep the doors open and keep people in the community working so they can sustain their families and jobs,” she said.