Final Knight challenge grants announced

The Community Foundation of Central Georgia announced the last of the Knight Neighborhood Challenge grants Thursday evening.

Thirteen grants were awarded during the final round of the five-year program, which began in the fall of 2009. The program awarded grants from a pool of $3 million donated by the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation to individuals and organizations that sought funding for improvements within Macon’s College Hill Corridor.

The largest grant awarded Thursday went to the InTown Macon Neighborhood Association for $97,500 to help revitalize Washington Park. The money will be used to repair a leaking waterway, the water well and crumbling steps and structures. It will also help buy and install plants to stop erosion on the slopes, according to a video shown Thursday evening.

InTown also was awarded five other grants Thursday: $34,875 for the Lights on Macon walking tour; $18,000 for the completion of a natural playground, including steps beside a new slide on Coleman Hill; $11,000 for memorial magnolia replacements for Coleman Hill park; $9,400 for the Coleman Hill Revival Series of concerts and performances; and $1,800 for a trolley for the InTown Christmas tour.

Overall, InTown was awarded $172,575 during the final round of grants.

Other grants awarded and announced Thursday were: Music Ambassadors of Macon ($15,000); $13,788 for the Magnolia Street Soapbox Derby, which will partner with Middle Georgia College and Bibb County schools for a STEM education program; the Bear Bikes program ($10,000); Daisy Park basketball court renovation ($8,000); Mulberry Market in Tattnall Square Park ($8,000); a Hobbit Hole in the Garden in the Beall’s Hill community ($6,000); and the First Saturday Village Market ($1,800).

Kathryn Dennis, president of the Community Foundation, told a crowd there were a total of 286 applicants for grants over the five years.

“The smallest grant was $450 and the largest was $131,000,” Dennis said. “So, you can do as much with $450 as you can with $131,000, and that is a true lesson that we have learned through the Knight Neighborhood Challenge grants.”

Dennis said the grants had a total economic impact of $9.1 million over the first four years, according to a study. More than 69,000 people were involved in and benefited from the projects.

“The Knight Neighborhood Challenge may end tonight, but its community spirit and its momentum won’t,” Dennis said. “We hope that the changes in College Hill have inspired other residents in the area to improve their neighborhood. We can do it one neighborhood at a time, one resident at a time.”

To learn more about the Knight Neighborhood Challenge, visit www.cfcga.org/knc.

Staff writer Laura Corley contributed this report.

This story was originally published October 16, 2014 at 7:58 PM with the headline "Final Knight challenge grants announced ."