MDNHA grant workshop at Mississippi State Extension Service, Warren County, Vicksburg.
Photo credit: The Delta Center/Rolando Herts
The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area will hold a series of workshops across the Mississippi Delta in September to present information about grants available in 2020 to support local projects and activities that further MDNHA’s mission of fostering preservation, perpetuation and celebration of the Delta’s heritage through a climate of collaboration and sustainable economic development.
“We are moving the workshops and application deadline forward to this fall for our 2020 grants cycle,” said Dr. Rolando Herts, Executive Director of the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and Director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University. “This will give us more time to review the proposals, make awards and issue grant funds for programs that will begin next summer. As we commemorate the MDNHA’s 10th anniversary, we also have increased the number of workshops from three to five to ensure broader access and engagement across the Mississippi Delta region.”
The deadline for applications is Friday, November 15, 2019, with grants to be awarded in June 2020. As in previous years, $200,000 in grants is available from the Heritage Area in 2020, with a maximum grant of $24,500. Nonprofits, educational institutions, schools, units of local government and others are eligible for the grants and are encouraged to attend one of the five workshops.
Each workshop will present the guidelines for the program, review application and reporting requirements, and discuss tips for submitting competitive applications. Other resources available to support heritage and cultural programs also will be discussed. Complete program regulations and application forms will be available by October 1 on the Heritage Area’s website at www.msdeltaheritage.com.
The workshops are scheduled for:
Tuesday, September 10, 2019 – 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Guaranty Bank Conference Center
105 East Jackson Street, Belzoni, MS
Thursday, September 12, 2019 – 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
City of Lexington Event Center
303 Yazoo Street, Lexington, MS
Tuesday, September 17, 2019 – 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
The Haraway Center, Northwest MS Community College
4975 Highway 51 North, Senatobia, MS
(campus map available at http://www.northwestms.edu/index.php/?page_id=1128)
Thursday, September 19, 2019 – 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Coahoma County Tourism Office
326 Blues Alley, Clarksdale, MS
Thursday, September 26, 2019 – 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Mississippi State Extension Service, Warren County Office
1100-C Grove Street, Vicksburg, MS
The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area is a cultural heritage partnership between the people of the Mississippi Delta and the National Park Service. Led by Dr. Rolando Herts, director of The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at Delta State University, the Heritage Area includes 18 counties that contain land located in the alluvial floodplain of the Mississippi Delta: Bolivar, Carroll, Coahoma, DeSoto, Holmes, Humphreys, Issaquena, Leflore, Panola, Quitman, Sharkey, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate, Tunica, Warren, Washington and Yazoo.
The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area was designated by the U.S. Congress in 2009 and is governed by a board of directors representing agencies and organizations defined in the congressional legislation. More information about the Heritage Area, including the complete approved management plan, is available at www.msdeltaheritage.com. Information about the grants program is also available at this website.
For more information, contact The Delta Center for Culture and Learning at 662-846-4311, or email swinters@deltastate.edu or grants@msdeltaheritage.com.
The mission of The Delta Center is to promote greater understanding of Mississippi Delta culture and history and its significance to the world through education, partnerships and community engagement. The Delta Center serves as the management entity of the MDNHA and is the home of the International Delta Blues Project. For more information, visit http://www.deltastate.edu/academics/delta-center-for-culture-and-learning/.