Winners Announced: 2024 South Eastern Roundtable (SERT) Civic Ignition Grant
March 14, 2024
Congratulations to the 2024 South Eastern Round Table (SERT) Civic Ignition Grant Winners!
We received 6 submissions and had 26 participants join the workshop to discuss each application. Thank you to all the applicants and participants for an engaged conversation around civic impact projects in the southeastern United States.
The 2024 SERT Civic Ignition Grant recipients are:
The Intersection, a 12 Baskets Cafe Journal
by Leslee Johnson
Asheville, North Carolina
12 Baskets Cafe, a program of the Asheville Poverty Initiative hosts a weekly writing collective, a diverse population of regular and itinerant participants, who come together every Friday to write on a common prompt and share their work. The group is dubbed the Moonlight Cheese Alliance (MCA), after an uncanny day when many spontaneously referenced cheese and the moon in the “poems in praise of ordinary things.” This writing collective holds a safe creative space where voices and stories all across the community are welcomed, heard, and honored. After almost two years of this practice, they have curated a rare and eclectic body of work, showcasing the voices of the community, which they wish to publish as an anthology titled “The Intersection”.
Neurospicy Creators Space
by Medusa Boost
Chapel Hill, North Carolina
The Neurospicy Creators Space is an inclusive, sensory-friendly environment to create art, aimed at removing barriers such as cost and insurance limitations, and designed specifically for the neurodivergent community.
The project will consist of weekly art sessions until supplies are exhausted. The goal is to create a recurring event that could become a regular community program depending on its success and feedback.
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What is the South Eastern Roundtable Civic Ignition Grant?
A program aimed at funding innovative community & civic projects within the states of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee or Virginia. We are interested in programs that create collaborations, produce direct actions, utilize several of the 10 Burning Man Principles, are reproducible, and creatively tackle local social problems. This grant allows anyone to submit a collaborative, creative, and principle-focused project with a chance to receive up to a $1,500 grant.
Timeline:
— Grant opportunity is announced on March 26, 2024
— Deadline for grant submissions is April 22nd, 2024 (Midnight wherever you are)
— Workshop participants will review the grant proposals at the 2024 South Eastern Roundtable (April 26 – 28, 2024)
— Winner(s) will be announced the week of April 29th, 2024
Apply here: https://forms.gle/CWo3Heoi8XPgT8wT6
What’s unique about the South Eastern Roundtable Civic Ignition Grant?
Submissions to the 2024 South Eastern Roundtable Civic Ignition grant cycle will be workshopped and judged by a group of participants and community leaders who attend this year’s South Eastern Roundtable. This group will use the submissions as material to review and workshop while learning how to administer their civic grant programs.
Who is eligible to apply?
Anyone! Individuals, Groups, and Not-for-Profits are all eligible. You do not need to be a participant in the leadership gathering to apply, but the project must take place within the states listed above.
How much can you ask for?
The maximum grant that may be awarded is $1,500. We encourage your project’s viability to not solely depend on this grant. Think about other sources of funding that might be available. Grants awarded could be less than the full amount that was requested in the application.
What types of proposals will likely not get funded by this program?
Programs solely based on artistic endeavors and do not have a community or civic aspect will most likely not be considered for funding. Funds should not be used for direct fundraising, chapter promotion efforts, or paying people for their work.
What follow-up will be expected by grant recipients?
All recipients will be expected to submit written reports on what they have accomplished and learned in the course of their projects, along with accompanying visual media. This media will be hosted on the Burners Without Borders website.
Suggestions for a quality grant proposal:
— Look at the BWB Grant Impact & Criteria Document to see how we think about grants.
— Reach out to your local Burning Man Regional Contact and ask if they might be an advisor.
— Watch our video “How to write Quality Grants: Burning Man 101” (Starts rough but gets going at (9:00 min)
— Listen to our podcast “Targeted Grant Writing: with Meta-Regional Jacqui Latendresse”
Who won the previous Civic Ignition grant at SERT?
This will be our third time offering the South Eastern Roundtable (SERT) Civic Ignition grant. Read about the 2018 and 2019 winners to get inspired to apply for the 2024 cycle.
How long will it take to receive the funds if selected?
To process your grant funds, we’ll require contracting and payment information about the Grantee, including tax information as applicable. Once all grantee information has been collected, it may take an additional 2-8 weeks to process your payment. We strive to complete all grant payments as quickly as possible.
Are the funds taxable?
Yes, grants are considered income and are taxable for organizations and individuals.
