From left, Clara Rominger, Amy Patterson, Jackie and Marvin Lawley, Stewart Miller, Wall Wofford, Stacie Hutcheson, Ashton Butler, Maggie Orames, and Emily Partin.
At a grant celebration held at the Coalmont Elementary School on November 14, South Cumberland Community Fund awarded grants of $24,000 to four partner organizations ($6,000 each): Swiss Heritage Center of Gruetli-Laager, Mosaic Recovery Center of Pelham, the Town of Tracy City, and Folks@Home of Sewanee.
Each of the partners received funding for projects costing $5,000, and were awarded an additional $1,000 in “indirect” costs. “We are so grateful to the grants committee for recognizing that launching a new project requires additional staff time and effort and costs to the institution,” noted Wall Wofford, whose organization–Folks@Home–received funding for a blood pressure kiosk available to the public.
Since 2017, students at the University of the South have comprised the grants committee for the Community Fund’s fall grant round. The philanthropy education program was made possible by donors to the University who created an endowment to support community philanthropy. University faculty and staff partner with staff and volunteers of South Cumberland Community Fund to educate students on the grantmaking process. As part of the practical experience gained in the course, they analyze grant requests and make recommendations to the Community Fund’s board.
“This is a really wonderful collaboration between the University and South Cumberland Community Fund,” said Tom Sanders, executive director. “Other educational institutions have similar grant making program, but Sewanee has taken their program a step further than most by integrating their work with that of the Community Fund. We are really grateful to help educate students and to have more funding for good causes on the Plateau.”
Stewart Miller, Ashton Butler, Emma Lively, and Clara Rominger were this year’s philanthropy students. They not only carefully considered the grant applications, but they also served as interns with other educational or charitable organizations in the area.
To provide context for the awards, the students read personal essays connecting their own life experiences to the work of the plateau partner who was receiving the grant. The essays not only developed the rationale for the grant but gave insight into how the work being supported would have a meaningful positive impact on the community and people in it.
“It’s important for effective learning that students make personal connections,” noted Amy Patterson, who led the evening’s remarks by telling a story of her grandmother, who made quilts for family members. “We learned about public narrative as a tool for social change by reading Marshall Ganz and wanted to incorporate that in our study and the public celebration. The story of self connects to the story of us and then that connects to the story of now. What is the issue that prompts us now?”
In turn, the grant recipients added their own remarks–their own story of now–reflecting on the long timeline of hope, the positive power of collaboration, and the value of persistence in pursuing charitable goals.
Grant recipients
Mosaic Recovery Center - Represented by Maggie Orames
The Mosaic Center of Pelham, Tennessee, is on a mission to see men experience the fullness of freedom from addiction, and this includes their relationships with children. With the grant, the Center will build a playground at its residential facility so that men in residence can have the opportunity to play with their children.
Grundy County Swiss Historical Society - Represented by Jackie and Marvin Lawley
The Grundy County Swiss Historical Society has been given the Old Gruetli Post Office building located on TN Highway 108 and 20th Avenue N in Gruetli-Laager with the stipulation that it be moved to the Stoker-Stampfli Farm Museum. The grant will help the museum prepare for moving the historic structure to the new site.
Folks at Home - Represented by Wall Wofford and Woody Deutsch
Folks at Home, centrally located in the downtown area of Sewanee, will purchase a Blood Pressure Monitoring Kiosk and to place it in the front lobby. The Kiosk will be available to all members of the community to bring a significant preventive health benefit for the entire community.
Town of Tracy City - Represented by Stacie Hutcheson and Emily Partin
The Town of Tracy City is renovating the old Grundy County High School auditorium to offer more opportunities for this rural community to engage in art through music, drama, and film. The 200+ seat venue will be the only indoor stage of its kind available in Grundy County. In the past year renovations have included the installation of a new roof, windows and exterior doors (doors are ordered). This grant will focus on upgrading the electrical and lights inside.
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