Fri, March 29, 2024

Local foundation awards nonprofit grants, calls on business community for help

The Community Foundation for the CSRA has announced that more than $616,000 will be awarded to local non-profit organizations, thanks to help from individual donors and community partners, such as the Masters Tournament. But there are numerous opportunities for businesses to provide funding for nonprofits, according to Shell Berry.

Berry, President and CEO of the Community Foundation, said she would love to find businesses willing to fund organizations that didn’t receive money from the Community Grants Fund this year.

Shell Berry, CEO of The Community Foundation for the CSRA

“We’d love for more to participate; all the organizations have been vetted,” she said Friday at a ceremony to announce the winners.

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Of the 130 nonprofits that applied, 44 received grants ranging from $5,000 to $15,000. These organizations include Augusta Locally Grown, Burn Foundation of America, Child Enrichment Inc., and Phinizy Center for Water Sciences.

Ebony Brown, founder of Brown Girls Code, a national nonprofit, said she founded the organization to provide training for girls between the ages of 7 and 18 on a variety of topics, including information technology, computer science, and cybersecurity. It helps to prepare them for careers in those and other STEM fields.

“Parents say they see a difference in the girls,” Brown said.

Ebony Brown, founder of Brown Girls Code

Brown Girls Code received $15,000 in grant funding, which she plans to put to good use in the summer of 2023.

“For the first time, we’ll be able to have summer camp,” Brown said.

She couldn’t wait to tell the students, many of whom ask about camp every year.

Like Brown Girls Code, 143 Ministries International received a $15,000 Community Grant. The nonprofit provides a variety of services to the local community, including addiction recovery, food distribution, and employment assistance. Last year, the organization launched Katherine’s Way, a sober living facility for women in Augusta. Its Community Partnerships Director, Jeff Jarrett, said the grant will be used to cover the cost of installing a fence at that facility.

Jarrett said many of the women have said they don’t feel safe at Katherine’s Way.

“We hope those visual gates will allow the internal gates to come down,” he said.

Augusta Museum of History also received a $15,000 grant, which its Executive Director, Nancy Glaser, said will be used to continue the museum’s internship program.

“We teach them collections management and how to do exhibits,” Glaser said. “We want to bring our next generation into the fold.”

She said interns are paid for their work, and many have launched careers in other museums after completing the program.

“It allows them to not only learn but also live,” Glaser said.

Berry said next year, an additional $290,000 will be given to agencies with the Literacy Initiative, which include Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Augusta, RISE Augusta, and Augusta Partnership for Children.

For more information about the Community Foundation for the CSRA and its Community Grants Fund, visit cfcsra.org/.

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