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The Central Alabama Community Foundation (CACF) awarded grants to two organizations serving Lowndes County recently, announcing the news at an Aug. 6 grant ceremony.

Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama received an education grant of $12,000 to provide membership fees for 500 girls in Lowndes, Macon and Montgomery counties to participate in school-based leadership programs.

Hope Inspired Ministries’ Lowndes County site was awarded a $16,000 grant the ministry will use to fund a portion of a career coach’s salary and gasoline costs for one van route addressing students’ transportation barriers. Another $5,000.00 award to Hope Inspired Ministries will provide housing assistance for panhandlers seeking employment with a goal of serving six to eight HIM students in Montgomery. 

“At Hope Inspired Ministries, we are witnessing lives changed each and every day!” said HIM Executive Director John Bowman. “As it says in Jeremiah 29:11, ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ We have the privilege of delivering hope to those who have lost it, helping them discover their purpose.

Through the ministry, students receive career training toward the ultimate goal of changing the trajectory of participants’ lives.

“Through our workforce development programs, we assist individuals in breaking the grip of poverty by providing job training and placement through a relational approach,” Bowman said. “This empowers them to find purpose and achieve self-sufficiency.

“The life change we see — including the 56 graduates we had last year across our three locations in Lowndes County [at the] Hayneville office, The Calhoun School, and Central High School — would not be possible without the support of the grant we received from the Central Alabama Community Foundation and other generous supporters. If you’d like to assist by donating or volunteering, please reach out to us today at www.HopeInspiredMinistries.org or call us at 334-548-HOPE.”

The foundation awarded a total of $132,756 in grants to 18 River Region nonprofits that support family, wellness, and education initiatives in Lowndes, Montgomery, Autauga and Elmore counties. The Education Grants awarded are part of the Family Wellness and Education Grant Cycle that CACF manages. Funds from these grants will go directly toward assisting many within these communities.

Nonprofit organizations received news of the grants from CACF and its two affiliates, Autauga Area Community Foundation and Elmore County Community Foundation, at a Aug. 6 grant ceremony held at Meals on Wheels Montgomery Metro Area’s East Jefferson Street facility in Montgomery. 

The CACF funded $91,471 grants to the following organizations: 

Education Grants ($84,971.00)

* $6,000.00 to Brantwood Children’s Home for curriculum;

* $10,411.00 to Churchill Academy Inc. to support a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) lab;

* $7,010.00 to First Choice Women’s Medical Center for middle school sexual risk avoidance education;

* $5,000.00 to Gateway Baptist Church to fund meals for a tutoring program;

* $12,500.00 to Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama;

* $6,050.00 to Girls on the Run of the River Region – to fund a life skills program;

* $16,000.00 to Hope Inspired Ministries;

* $12,000.00 to That’s My Child for scholarships;

* $10,000.00 to Women of Refined Gold to provide beauty salon staff training;

Technical Assistance Grant ($1,500.00)

* $1,500.00 to Women of Refined Gold to support consultant costs of a fund development strategy;

Give Smart Montgomery Grant ($5,000.00)

* $5,000.00 to Hope Inspired Ministries to provide housing assistance for panhandlers seeking employment with a goal of serving six to eight HIM students 

The Central Alabama Community Foundation has been a valued community partner and resource for nonprofits and students in the River Region and Wiregrass for more than 37 years. Through the generous support of individual and corporate donors, The foundation provides over $5 million in grants and scholarships each year through the support of individual and corporate donors, awarding funds that meet diverse community needs, supporting programs and projects in education, human services, health, cultural arts, and other civic concerns. The foundation’s mission is to create a better quality of life for those who live and work in the River Region for many years to come.