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Heritage Area Announces 2010 Grant Cycle

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area has announced its 2010 Heritage Grants Program, which will provide funding for projects that preserve and promote the heritage of Western North Carolina.

Grants are available for the preservation, interpretation, development, and promotion of heritage resources in five thematic areas: agricultural heritage, Cherokee heritage, craft heritage, music heritage, and natural heritage. These five distinctive legacies earned the region a Congressional designation as a National Heritage Area in 2003.

“Our grants help sustain the very things that make Western North Carolina such a special place to live and to visit,” says BRNHA Executive Director Angie Chandler. “Preserving and promoting this heritage help revitalize our towns and communities.”

Nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and units of state, local, and federally-recognized tribal governments are eligible to apply. Applicants must provide at least an equal match. The total pool of funding for the 2010 grant cycle is $338,000.

“Our board is especially interested in supporting projects that are regional or multi-county in scope and which involve partnerships between organizations,” says Chandler.

In previous grant cycles, funds have been awarded to support historic building renovation, exhibits, oral histories, documentary films, heritage plays, trail guides, and land conservation planning.

Since its inception, the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area has awarded nearly $1.2 million in grants. These awards have leveraged over $2.2 million in state, local, and private matches.

The deadline for grant applications is October 1, 2010. Grant information sessions will be held around the region in July. Complete information on the 2010 Heritage Grants Program can be found on the Grants page of this website.