The Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation (PBACF), an affiliate of Arkansas Community Foundation, encouraged nonprofits in Pine Bluff and Jefferson County to apply for the Giving Tree grants online beginning Monday, July 10. The Giving Tree Grant program is the Foundation’s signature grant cycle supporting a broad range of projects to meet immediate local needs.
“Our Giving Tree grants will generally range from $500 to $4000,” said Lawrence Fikes, executive director. “Last year, our application process resulted in a total of $83,650 grants awarded. Our board members want to fund worthy programs designed to enhance the quality of life in our community.”
The PBACF recent news release stated that any IRS 501(c)(3) public charity, public school, government agency, or hospital in Jefferson county is eligible to apply. Grants are not made to individuals. Applications will be reviewed by a grantmaking committee from the Pine Bluff Area Community Foundation. Any nonprofit that received a grant in 2020 must complete a grant report to be considered for this current grant cycle.
Applications must be submitted by August 15, 2021, and organizations can apply at https://www.arcf.org/apply-for-giving-tree-grants/.
In addition to Giving Tree grants, the news releases stated that this year they have two special funding initiatives:
- For organizations providing services aimed at educating, assessing, and screening members of their organization or the larger community regarding health issues, Jefferson Regional Medical Center has created the JRMC Community Health Endowment in accordance with JRMC’s goal to bring quality healthcare to the people of Southeast Arkansas. The PBACF grants committee evaluates proposals. Applicant organizations are those that serve residents of Jefferson County and surrounding counties, including Arkansas, Ashley, Bradley, Chicot, Cleveland, Dallas, Desha, Drew, Grant, and Lincoln.
- Projects with a special emphasis on early literacy are eligible for Early Literacy grants. Applicants who fit into this focus area should apply through a special application available online. Look for the application form titled “Early Literacy.” Proposals for Early Literacy grants should be aimed at increasing local students early literacy through one or more of the five focus areas of the Arkansas Campaign for Grade-Level Reading: 1) parent and community engagement, 2) school readiness, 3) classroom instruction, 4) chronic absence prevention and intervention, or 5) summer learning loss prevention. Emphasis should be on children up to eight years old.
