CLEVELAND, Miss. — At the end of March, the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area (MS Delta NHA) partnered with the Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy (The Alliance) to offer a one-and-a-half-day grant writing workshop on the campus of Delta State University for a class of nearly thirty participants.
“In alignment with our recently adopted strategic plan supported by the National Park Foundation, our Heritage Area continues to help strengthen federal grants management capacity among Mississippi Delta cultural heritage organizations,” said Dr. Rolando Herts, director of the Delta Center for Culture and Learning and executive director of MS Delta NHA. “Through this program pilot with the Mississippi Alliance of Nonprofits and Philanthropy, we trust that participating organizations will pursue federal grant opportunities with greater knowledge and awareness, which ultimately could increase federal funds supporting cultural heritage development in Mississippi Delta communities.”
On the first day, workshop attendees learned about the development of logic models, how to shape outcomes, and how to weave storytelling throughout the grant process. On the second day, attendees applied what they learned to practice the planning and development of a grant proposal using the MS Delta NHA grant application as a practice template.
The workshop, facilitated by The Alliance consultants LaKesha Perry and Jan Eastman, was well received by participants. In anonymous surveys, attendees described the workshop as “excellent,” “phenomenal,” and “very informative.”
“We’re excited to take this energy into our upcoming grant cycle this summer,” said Todd Campbell, MS Delta NHA Grants Compliance and Community Capacity Building Manager. “One hundred percent of workshop attendees said in their feedback surveys that they plan to apply for MS Delta NHA grants next cycle. We can’t wait to see what kind of projects they propose for the Mississippi Delta.”
To stay up to date on grants news from the Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area, visit their website or join their grants news mailing list.
The MS Delta NHA 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 MS Delta NHA 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 MS Delta NHA, including the complete approved management plan, is available at www.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 MS Delta NHA and the National Endowment for the Humanities “Most Southern Place on Earth” workshops. For more information, visit http://deltacenterdsu.com/.
