Philanthropy Internship Program Celebrates Grants to Local Organizations
The public is invited to a celebration of grants made to organizations on the South Cumberland Plateau on Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. The ceremony will take place in Convocation Hall on the University campus at 5 p.m.
The philanthropy internship program is an innovative partnership between South Cumberland Community Fund and the University of the South’s Office of Civic Engagement. Interns spend a full year learning about the grants process. In the spring, they shadow SCCF’s grants committee, and in the fall, students serve as a grants committee. They learn from guest speakers from the community and from their instructor, Katie Goforth, director of community development for both SCCF and the University.
Every year, as part of the learning experience for the interns, a guest speaker presents his or her perspective on philanthropy at the celebration. This year, the guest speaker will be Scott Satterwhite, president of the William Josef Foundation, and a pioneer of social impact investing. Satterwhite will speak about collaborative grant making, following up on the Make Lasting Connections grant that SCCF made earlier this year to launch a new free medical clinic in Tracy City, and an innovative Housing Hub.
This year’s philanthropy internship program grants will fund the following projects:
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;
Easy’s Dog Shelter will outfit a climate-controlled in-take building for new arrivals;
Folks at Home will provide to senior citizens a resource called “Better Balance: Simple Exercises to Improve Stability and Prevent Falls”;
Friends of South Cumberland State Parks, with its partner, South Cumberland Regional Land Trust, will launch a Forest School in partnership with the Cumberland Forest School;
Grundy County Food Bank will provide partial funding towards the purchase of a second walk-in freezer for their new facility;
Grundy County Mayor’s Office will create a professional video about Tennessee’s South Cumberland region that will encourage tourist visitation to this economically-distressed region; and
Mountain Goat Trail Alliance will develop new signage on the trail.
“These students worked hard on studying these grant proposals and thinking about what would make the greatest positive impact on our community,” said Goforth. “Twice a year, we hold grant celebrations that really shine a bright light on the great work that local organizations are doing on the Plateau.”
“We are grateful to the many donors who make this program possible,” said Tom Sanders, executive director of SCCF. “Our vision is that the South Cumberland Plateau be a place of hope and prosperity for all its residents, and these celebrations provide tangible evidence of hope, just as the grants work toward prosperity.”
If you are not able to attend and wish to see a report on the exciting projects these grants fund, please send a request to Tom Sanders <director@southcumberlandcommunityfund.org>.