FLORENCE-The deadline to apply for the next round of Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area community grants is Monday, April 2.
“As more people learn about what the MSNHA is and what we want to do, we are able to help fund more projects that preserve, protect and promote northwest Alabama’s cultural heritage,” said interim director Carrie Barske. “Partnering with community groups to tell stories about our area’s history and offer opportunities for learning about and appreciating our area’s natural resources is MSNHA’s mission.”
Grant awards from $1,000 up to $10,000 are available for heritage-focused projects in MSNHA’s six counties: Colbert, Franklin, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Limestone and Morgan. To be eligible, proposed projects must focus on assessment, preservation activities, interpretation, archiving or workshops and training sessions and be connected to one of the MSNHA’s themes: music, Native American culture or the Tennessee River.
Guidelines, applications and instructions are at msnha.una.edu.
In the previous grant cycle, which closed in September, MSNHA received eight applications and approved grant awards totaling $61,982. That’s the largest total award amount since MSNHA opened its grants program in 2015.
Those awards were for a portrait of mezzo soprano Patti Malone in the Scout Music House, submitted by the Athens Arts League; developing a city park with access to Big Nance Creek that will focus on outdoor recreation and Native American heritage, submitted by the Courtland Development Council; interpretive signage for RIVERWILD, an accessible playground, garden and splash pad in Delano Park, Decatur, submitted by the Delano Park Conservancy; local musical performances at First Fridays in downtown Florence, submitted by the Shoals Area Chamber Foundation Inc.; development and restoration of the Tuscumbia Landing Historic Site, submitted by Sacred Healing Circle; an updated sound system for the Shoals Theatre, Florence, submitted by Community Theatre Inc.; and an Americans with Disabilities Act-approved trolley for heritage tours, submitted by the city of Tuscumbia.
For more information on MSNHA or its grants program, email msnha@una.edu or visit msnha.una.edu.
Media Release/Cathy Wood, media coordinator & grants administrator/Muscle Shoals National Heritage Area
