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College Hill Corridor
From facades to festivals, diverse grants stress grassroots efforts
By Tess Harper
When the College Hill Corridor effort received a $5 million grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation last summer, $2 million was distributed toward staffing the College Hill Alliance while the other $3 million went to the Community Foundation of Central Georgia in the form of Knight Neighborhood Challenge grants to fund community-based, volunteerdriven projects in the corridor into action.
When deciding how to administer the Knight Neighborhood Challenge, the Community Foundation wanted an open process that would be accessible to everyone. “We weren’t sure what to expect or what we would get,” said Community Foundation Director of Donor Services Julia Wood. But in their first round last October, the foundation received 49 applications, totaling more than $3 million in requests. They awarded nearly $452,500 in grants. “There were lots of very diverse ideas,” said Wood.
The ideas have been driven by a desire to enhance and contribute to the local community. “So far it’s been very organic, very grassroots, bottoms up, volunteer driven,” she said. “There are a lot of young community people who are doers, who are interested in getting this done.”
A main focus of many of the grants is improving the appearance of the College Hill Corridor’s two-mile, primarily residential vicinity. Historic Macon Foundation’s façade improvement program was established by a $70,000 grant. “One of the best things about the Knight Neighborhood Challenge is that it lets all of the nonprofit organizations and volunteers in Macon find where they fit in the project,” said Historic Macon Executive Director Josh Rogers. “So for us, that’s historic buildings."
To read more about the Knight Neighborhood Challenge grants, subscribe to Macon Magazine for home delivery or purchase the August/September issue at a local store.
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