The Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation announced the recipients of its annual grants during a presentation Nov. 6.
“The foundation awarded $126,650 in grants to 40 local nonprofits,” said Ginger Casteel, grant committee chair for the community foundation.
“This is the fourth consecutive year for the foundation to award over $100,000 in grants,” she said in a news release.
Grantees include: Arkansas Hunters Feeding the Hungry, Neighbor to Neighbor, CASA Women’s Shelter, Pine Bluff School District, Lula Mae’s Day Center, Pine Bluff Mission, Friends of the Library of Pine Bluff and Jefferson County, Depaul USA, First Ward Living Grace Pantry, Delta Regional Community Services Outreach Network, Youth Partners of Pine Bluff/Jefferson County, Potluck Food Rescue, Ivy Center for Education, Arts & Sciences Center for Southeast Arkansas, AR Kids Read, Centers for Youth and Families, Linwood Moscow Volunteer Fire Department, Sharing is Caring Pantry, Old Saint James Missionary Baptist Church, Vera Lloyd Presbyterian Family Services, Jefferson County Humane Society, Old Lady’s Angels, City of Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff Parks and Recreation, Pine Bluff Jefferson County Economic Opportunity, TOPPS, Gould Youth Ministries, Legal Aid of Arkansas, Merrill Restoration Alliance, James Matthew Elementary School, Pine Bluff Police Department, Holy Sews Inc. and Prevention Education Programs Inc.
The Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation, an affiliate of the Arkansas Community Foundation, was founded in 1987 and has awarded more than $4.5 million in cumulative grants and scholarships to area nonprofits.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
This year the grants were made available through the Community Foundation’s Giving Tree grant program and the Jefferson Regional Community Health Endowment. The health endowment is a grant program made possible through Jefferson Regional in accordance with its goal to bring quality health care to the people of southeast Arkansas.
Nonprofits were evaluated on the following criteria:
Potential benefit to the community and sustainability beyond the grant cycle;
Evidence of cooperation with other organizations working in the same field;
Innovation and creativity of the project; and
Services that educate, assess and screen members of organizations or the community regarding health issues.
Applicant organizations are those that serve residents of Jefferson County and the counties of Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Cleveland, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Grant and Lincoln.
For more information about the Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation visit www.arcf.org/pinebluffarea or call Executive Director Lawrence Fikes at (870) 850-7934.