<< Back 6/12/02 Cherokee grant meetings planned SMN The Cherokee Preservation Foundation (CPFdn) will hold a series of community meetings June 24-27 to brief prospective grantees about its giving guidelines. CPFdn is a non-profit foundation funded by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI) from gaming revenues in order to renew the culture, economy and environment of the Cherokee community and the seven counties in Western North Carolina in which its tribal lands are located (Haywood, Jackson, Swain, Macon, Clay, Graham and Cherokee counties). CPFdn is encouraging qualified applicants to submit applications by Aug. 1 for the foundation’s initial round of grants. CPfdn will award up to $3 million in October. The community meetings will be held on the following dates: ° Waynesville (June 24, 10 a.m., at the Haywood Public Library) ° Murphy (June 25, 10 a.m., at the Murphy Power Board Conference Room) ° Robbinsville (June 25, 2 p.m., at the Robbinsville Community Center) ° Sylva (June 26, 2 p.m., at the Justice Center Building, Rm. 215) ° Franklin (June 27, 10 a.m., at the Franklin Public Library) ° Cherokee (June 27, 2 p.m., at the Holiday Inn) The CPFdn’s priorities are programs that promote cultural preservation, economic development, economic opportunities or environmental preservation. The programs it funds must be created by non-profit organizations with exempt status under the IRS code — or by schools, institutions of higher learning, and government units (federal, statue, local or tribal). The proposals that CPFdn will consider to be the strongest will be those concerning initiatives that foster collaborative partnerships with the EBCI. Programs that do not benefit the seven-county region will not be considered, although an organization that resides outside the seven-county area whose project would specifically benefit the seven-county region may apply. The CPFdn will explain the small ($500-$20,000) and large ($20,000 and up) grants that will be available. Susan Jenkins, executive director of the Cherokee Preservation Foundation, and Juanita Wilson, CPFdn’s program director, will conduct the meetings. The Cherokee Preservation Foundation was established on Nov. 14, 2000, as part of the Second Amendment to the Tribal-State Compact between the EBCI and the State of North Carolina.