top of page

Philanthropy Internship Program Grants!

Updated: May 24, 2023


SCCF Philanthropy Awards Ceremony scheduled for next Friday, November 18th, 5-7 pm at Convocation Hall at the University


Arts Inside: $5,000 of a $5,251 project

Arts Inside will create and manage a Mutual Aid Network that will be dedicated to

meeting the immediate needs of formerly incarcerated people and other at-risk

individuals. The program is meant to fill immediate financial gaps in resources available

for necessities like housing, food, and fuel while connecting individuals with other

resources to ensure they are able to build safe, stable environments for themselves and

their families. Arts Inside will partially fund the volunteer stipend for the project, and the

SCCF funds will be last dollar in. The need to create a mutual aid network was an

initiative that all those in PIP believed was necessary towards helping our community.


Easy’s Dog Shelter: $5,000 of a $5,000 project

The funding from this grant will allow Easy’s Dog Shelter to complete the in-take

building by adding a washer and dryer, and installing heat and air. In doing so, the

shelter will be more efficient and better able to care for the animals by providing clean

bedding in the winter and a climate-controlled in-take building for new arrivals. On the

day of their interview, Easy’s had just taken in a total of 17 boxer puppies, which

demonstrates more than ever the need for this grant to properly care for all of the dogs

in their facility.


Folks At Home: $750 of a $1,000 project

Harvard Medical School has recently released a 53-page Special Health Report entitled

“Better Balance: Simple Exercises to improve stability and prevent falls”. This

comprehensive little booklet – well illustrated and easy to read - includes an explanation

of how balance works, problems that can arise with one’s balance (particularly age

related), safety measures around the home to prevent falls, and simple, beginner,

intermediate, and advanced exercises that can improve one’s balance. Fall related

injuries are a major threat to older adults and often reduce their ability to remain

independent; they are the leading cause of accidental death in older adults. Folks at

Home would like to purchase and distribute (to its members and to Sewanee Senior

Center members, and a limited number to the public) 100 copies of this booklet (at a

bulk rate 50% discount). The additional funding needed for the books will come from the

Folks at Home program budget, which has funds available since programs remain on

hold due to Covid. PIP was impressed by the booklet that Folks at Home wants to

provide copies of to community members. It was very easy to read and follow along,

and this booklet will be an important resource to older community members.


Friends of South Cumberland Park: $5,000 of a $10,000 project

The Friends of South Cumberland (FSC) in partnership with the South Cumberland

State Park (SCSP) and the South Cumberland Regional Land Trust seeks funding to

launch the Cumberland Forest School, with the goal of providing a Forest School that

serves the whole of the Plateau. In keeping with SCCF’s goals of encouraging

collaboration FSC is partnering with a local land trust, which also has aspirations of

developing educational programs. Both organizations will, through this grant, employ

the services of Abbey Moore, founder of the Cumberland Forest School LLC to launch

the school and to develop plans for each organization to enhance its educational

offerings, as well as develop upon the potential of the fledgling Nature Play Area located

at the South Cumberland State Park Visitors Center located between Monteagle and

Tracy City. The $5,000 requested will pay for startup costs for the project. As Moore

builds the school, she will also receive revenue from tuition-paying students beyond the

students being subsidized by the grant. PIP believes that the creation of a forest school

will be valuable for the youth in the area.


Grundy County Food Bank: $5,000 of a $23,098.46 project

Grundy County Food Bank is asking for an SCCF Philanthropy Grant of $5,000 to

provide partial funding toward the purchase of a second walk-in freezer. GCFB believes

that this is necessary to provide flexibility in obtaining food at the lowest cost and to

reduce the risk of loss in the event of the failure of one freezer. Residents of Grundy

County rely heavily on the Grundy County Food Bank for meals. GCFB holds the

additional funds needed for this project in its New Building Fund, and will continue to

seek other funding sources so as not to deplete the New Building Fund entirely. PIP

believes that it is important for the Grundy County Food Bank to upgrade its facility to

better serve the community.


Grundy County Mayor's Office: $5,000 of a $15,000 project

An important part of our ability to grow a sustainable, responsible tourism economy

involves using words and images to tell prospective visitors about this region, and why

they should plan a multi-day visit – even a “destination vacation” -- in this area. To make

that possible, Tennessee's South Cumberland Tourism Partnership seeks to create a

short, engaging, professional video about Tennessee's South Cumberland region that

can be used in all of our online media (website and multiple social media channels), as

well as in advertising on broadcast and cable channels in target markets across the

Southeast. This grant will enable the Tennessee's South Cumberland Tourism

Partnership to hire a professional videographer to shoot and edit the video; the raw

footage will also provide future content that can be re-edited for a variety of other

marketing purposes. The videographer is a local resident who will be able to begin a

new career with stable income as a result of this project. The additional funds needed

are through a Tennessee Department of Tourist Development grant; the SCCF funds will

enable the project to begin. The work of the local videographer was truly amazing, and

PIP believes that the videographer and Tennessee's South Cumberland Tourism

Partnership will produce a compelling video that best showcases the beauty of our

community.


Mountain Goat Trail Alliance: $4,250 of $4,680 request

With the completion of several new sections of the Mountain Goat Trail, new signage is

needed to direct users and increase awareness and knowledge of the trail. SCCF

funding would be used for both posted signs and for thermoplastic signage on parts of

the trail. PIP sees the value of the Mountain Goat Trail Alliance and recognizes that their

project is easily scalable in comparison to the other organizations.

Comments


bottom of page