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(Nelsonville) – The African American Community Fund (AACF) has awarded 31 grants, totaling $175,750, to support Black-led and Black-serving nonprofit and public organizations throughout Appalachian Ohio, including 10 capacity-building grants.
“We are incredibly proud and honored to be stewarding historic levels of funding in support of individuals and organizations doing remarkable work across our region’s 32 counties,” said Ernie Bynum, AACF co-founder and committee member. “The dollars we are giving today will reap benefits for people and communities for years to come.”
This summer, AACF and the Foundation for Appalachian Ohio’s I’m a Child of Appalachia® Fund, with support from the AEP Foundation, invited Black-led and Black-serving nonprofit and public organizations to apply for grants to advance initiatives across five areas essential to creating and sustaining transformative change: arts and culture, community and economic development, education, environmental stewardship, and health and human services. Emphasis was on supporting individuals of all ages who are spearheading projects and programs that create opportunities, meet pressing needs and unleash the potential within African Americans throughout Appalachian Ohio.
Grants were awarded to:
- African American Awareness Research Council to help fund a panel discussion and screening of the film “The Lincoln School Marchers” in Highland County as part of the commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown vs. Board of Education decision.
- Groundwork Ohio to recruit, train and provide stipends to African American families from Appalachia participating in the Family Action Network and engaging in state policy development.
- Pump House Center for the Arts in Ross County to support its 2024 Juneteenth Celebration.
- Trillium Project to help fund crosswalk murals and sidewalk painting in the historically Black North End neighborhood of Portsmouth in Scioto County.
- Women Helping Women to support services provided to survivors of gender-based violence and their children in Adams, Brown and Clermont counties.
The I’m a Child of Appalachia® Fund provided AACF up to $5,000 to support projects developed and implemented by local youth under age 18. The goal of this funding is to empower young leaders and inspire them to embrace greater roles in their communities. AACF awarded youth-led project grant funding to:
- Simon Kenton Council Boy Scouts for supplies, outreach activities and training for the ScoutReach program, serving Adams, Athens, Highland, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Pike, Ross, Scioto and Vinton counties.
AACF, with funding from the U.S. Bank Foundation, also awarded 10 capacity-building grants to help Black-led and Black-serving organizations best meet the needs of those they serve by expanding services, enhancing program quality and/or improving operational efficiencies. A total of $47,000 in capacity-building funding was awarded to:
- Simon Kenton Council Boy Scouts to help train adult leadership volunteers, youth leaders and a diversity, equity and inclusion trainer.
- Women Helping Women to support the influx of crisis hotline calls, to improve system response and to provide direct assistance to survivors of gender-based violence in Adams, Brown and Clermont counties.
To learn more about the African American Community Fund and how to support its work, visit www.AppalachianOhio.org/AACF, email AACF@ffao.org or call (740) 753-1111.
