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MDNHA Offers $200,000 in Grants for Cultural Heritage Projects

Tutwiler Community Education Center received a MDNHA grant in 2018 to create a new website and online marketing strategy for the Tutwiler Quilters. Left to right: MDNHA program manager Sarah Hicks; MDNHA board members Meg Cooper and Dr. Myrtis Tabb; Tutwiler Community Education Center director Shelley Ricker; Tutwiler Quilters director Mary Mackey; and MDNHA executive director Dr. Rolando Herts.

The Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area (MDNHA) is making up to $200,000 available for grants in 2019. The deadline for proposal applications is Jan. 30, 2019.

Nonprofits, educational institutions, schools, units of local government, and others are eligible for the grants and are encouraged to attend one of three regional proposal writing workshops. Grants up to $24,500 are available.

MDNHA will host a series of workshops across the Mississippi Delta to present information about available grants that support local projects and activities that further MDNHA’s mission of fostering preservation, perpetuation, and celebration of the Mississippi Delta’s cultural heritage through a climate of collaboration and sustainable economic development.

At each workshop, MDNHA will present the guidelines for the program, and review application and reporting requirements. Other resources available to support cultural heritage programs also will be discussed. Complete program regulations and application forms will be available on MDNHA’s website at www.msdeltaheritage.com.

The workshops are scheduled for:

Thursday, Oct. 25, 2018 – 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Gale Community Center
2601 Elm Street
Hernando, MS
(662) 429-2688

Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018 – 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Capps Center, Room 101 (Seminar Room)
920 US Highway 82 West
Indianola, MS
(662) 887-2876

Tuesday, Nov. 6, 2018 – 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Mississippi State University Extension Center – Warren County
1100-C Grove Street
Vicksburg , MS
(601) 636-5442

The MDNHA has granted more than $500,000 over the last three years to projects throughout the Delta. Since these funds must be matched by cash and in-kind contributions, the three-year effort represents approximately $1 million dollars in federal, state, and local investments in Delta communities.

The MDNHA 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 MDNHA 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 MDNHA was designated by 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 MDNHA, including the complete approved management plan, is available at www.msdeltaheritage.com. Information about the grants program is also available on the 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://deltacenterdsu.com/