Friends of Gaineswood was recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the Black Belt Community Foundation on Saturday, June 6.

The Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF) awarded $167,500 to 43 non-profit organizations through its fourth round of Black Belt Arts Initiative (BBAI) grants.

Among those receiving awards were local museums, community theatres, festivals, and youth organizations offering concentrated arts programs. This awards ceremony marked a major milestone for the Black Belt Community Foundation. In just more than five years, BBCF has awarded over $1,000,000 to community-based organization in a twelve-county region of the Black Belt of Alabama.

The Friends of Gaineswood supports fundraising efforts for Gaineswood National Historic Landmark in Demopolis, owned and operated by the Alabama Historical Commission.

The grant will help to fund Heritage Days at Gaineswood, an educational program focusing on cultural history that annually serves approximately 500 students from the Black Belt. Support from this BBAI grant will support presenters, house tours, hands-on activities, services, and supplies for the 2010 program.

The Black Belt Community Foundation was established in 2004 to support community efforts in the Black Belt that will contribute to the strength, innovation, and success of all of the region’s people and communities. BBCF began a partnership in 2006 with the Youth & Cultural Committee of the Black Belt Action Commission and the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) which established the Black Belt Arts Initiative. The goals of this project are to promote artists, arts awareness, and creativity in the Black Belt. Since 2006, BBCF has awarded $517,500 to support various arts activities across BBCF’s 12-county service area.

This is a Greek Revival mansion featuring original furnishings, domed ceilings, fluted columns and ornate friezes. A small cabin built in 1821 was enlarged 1843-61 as Gaineswood became the center of a 1,400-acre cotton plantation.