<< Back 7/10/02 Barrage of applicants expected for $5 million in grants Cherokee Preservation Foundation funded by gaming revenues By Don Hendershot Officials with the new Cherokee Preservation Foundation are bracing for a barrage of grant applications before the Aug. 1 deadline for the Foundation’s inaugural grant cycle. “We haven’t received an application yet, but the receptionists have been swamped with phone calls from applicants asking for clarification regarding grant applications,” Juanita Wilson, program director for the foundation, said on July 8. According to Wilson, foundation staff have met with about 30 groups on the reservation, four or five groups from off the reservation and held public informational meetings across the region to educate grant seekers about the new foundation. Nearly 170 representatives from non profits across Western North Carolina have attended one or more of the meetings. The foundation was established in November of 2000 as a part of the Second Amendment to the Tribal-State Gaming Compact between the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the state of North Carolina. EBCI Tribal Council Chairman Bob Blankenship believes the tribe has one of the best gaming compacts in the country. He told participants at the foundation’s Cherokee public information meeting that many tribes have to pay a percentage of revenue to the state. “But Gov. Hunt said take the money and spend it on yourselves. I look forward to great things from this foundation,” Blankenship said. The foundation will be funded at $5 million for three years and after that at a percentage of gaming revenue, never to be less than $5 million. The June 27 meeting in Cherokee was the last in a series of meetings the foundation hosted throughout its grant-making region, which includes the Qualla Boundary and the seven westernmost counties. More than a dozen nonprofits were represented at that meeting. Some of them included the Cherokee Boys Club, Discover Life in America, Jackson County Arts Council, Qualla Housing, the Watershed Association of the Tuckasegee River, Friends of the Smokies and the Cherokee Historical Association. All participants were given grant application forms and Susan Jenkins, executive director of the foundation, and Wilson discussed the application and the grant making guidelines and philosophy of the foundation. The foundation offers small grants of $500 to $20,000 and larger grants of more than $20,000. The smaller grants will be awarded in three categories: planning, capacity and project specific. The larger grants have two categories: project specific and preservation and civic enhancement. The foundation will have two grant cycles per year, one in March and one in September. However, Jenkins said 2002 was a “demonstration year” and that there would be only one grant cycle. Deadline for grant applications for 2002 is Aug. 1 and only one-year grants will be awarded. The foundation will be accepting grants in four areas of focus. These areas are environmental preservation, economic development, employment opportunities and cultural preservation. Some areas not eligible for grants include individuals, endowment, general fund drives, influencing elections or legislation and religious purposes. Jenkins, who has served as program officer at the Kellogg Foundation and Hitachi Foundation, said the Cherokee Foundation wants to do things differently. “Very often nonprofits do programs for or to people. We want to do programs with people,” Jenkins said. She had this advice for grant seekers: “If you’re outside the reservation look for programs that can link with the EBCI. If you are in the EBCI look for programs that reach out.” Jenkins urges anyone interested in learning more about the foundation’s grant-making process to call 888.886.8524 or 828.497.5550; or write Cherokee Preservation Foundation, P.O. Box 504, Cherokee, N.C., 28719, for guidelines, applications and/or information. Jenkins said the Foundation has three principal roles: one is as a funder for nonprofits who have programs and needs that meet the foundation’s guidelines; the second is convener — the foundation wants to bring organizations throughout the region, working on similar issues, together in collaboration; and thirdly, Jenkins wants to bring new partnerships to the area. “I want to go to Kellogg and to Ford and bring them here and show them the work being done. There are over 45,000 foundations in the country — all looking for good investments,” Jenkins said.