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Gathered at the Earl Goodwin Theatre at George C. Wallace Community College in Selma, on Saturday, May 3, the Black Belt Community Foundation (BBCF) celebrated the impact of its combined Community Grants and Arts Grants 2025 cycle across all 12 counties it serves in the Alabama Black Belt region. Community-based organizations from Bullock, Choctaw, Dallas, Greene, Hale, Lowndes, Macon, Marengo, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, and Wilcox Counties applied for grants with the opening of the granting cycle in January.

A total of $344,447.20 will be awarded through 141 one-year project grants to 126 different community organizations that are significantly impacting their communities in transformative ways — strengthening, innovating, and advancing the success of Black Belt citizens and the communities they call home.

BBCF continues its model of grant making based on the practice known as Trust-Based Philanthropy. Community arts organizations applied at large, while the BBCF Community Associates network conducted local grant committees in each of the 12 counties. Through this model, decisions were made by those closest to the issues and needs in their own communities. Committees scored applications based on community needs, proposed delivery of services, and the potential of each project to create lasting change.

“As we continue to celebrate BBCF’s 20th anniversary through May, the Black Belt Community Foundation is proud to award these funds in 141 different grants to community and arts organizations across the 12 counties we serve,” said Felecia Lucky, CEO & President of the Black Belt Community Foundation. “We continue our focus on empowering local initiatives by first listening and responding to the very needs voiced by the communities themselves — all while fostering growth and impacting the entire Black Belt region.”

More than just awarding grants, this investment is fueling creativity, resilience, and opportunity across the Black Belt. The funds are supporting projects that build stronger communities, inspire future generations, and celebrate the region’s unique cultural heritage.

Twelve grants were awarded to Marengo County recipients for 2025: Arts Grants to the Marengo County Foster Parent Association; Community Grants to Braxton Senior Care, Chapel Family Life Center, Eastern Star Baptist Church Inc, Essex-Veteran’s Center, Friends of Theo Ratliff Activity Center, Linden Bridges Ministries Marengo BBCF Distribution, Marengo County Foster Parent Association, Marengo Nursing Home, New Birth Outreach Ministry, Rural Business and Training Center Inc., T.E.E.L.A. A Thomaston Education & Enrichment Leadership Academy Outreach, Toney Nixon Music, and Tombigbee Healthcare Authority Foundation Inc.